Contemporary British Television Research Articles

LINGUISTIC PECULIARITIES OF THE FEMALE CHARACTER ARCHETYPES IN CONTEMPORARY CINEMA DISCOURSE BASED ON THE TV SERIES "WHY WOMEN KILL"

The research focuses on the linguistic characteristics of the female characters' speech in the contemporary British television series Why Women Kill and the peculiarities of creating psycholinguistic images of female characters in accordance with the corresponding film archetypes. The scientific novelty of the study lies in the fact that it attempts to analyze the psycholinguistic images of female characters in television series, and thus determines the originality and significance of this study. This research contributes to the enlargement of works dedicated to cinematography characters' language peculiarities revealing the correlation with a particular psychological archetype that presents the topicality of our research. The script is viewed as one of the primary universal methods for unveiling the character's image in an audiovisual text. Based on theories of character archetypes and the use of language in the media, this article examines the replicas and speech patterns of three prominent female characters to determine the linguistic choices used to convey character archetypes. The research is based on the script from the series Why Women Kill (2019) by M. Cherry. The descriptive method, contextual analysis, and method of quantitative calculations have been the appropriate methodological instruments for achieving the purpose of the study. W. Schmidt's (2007) classification serves as the basis for determining the primary psychological characteristics of the characters. The article examines the formation of psycholinguistic images of three female characters from the film archetypes The Nurturer, The Seductive Muse, and The Amazon. Beth Ann Stanton belongs to the film archetype The Nurturer, Simone Grove belongs to the film archetype The Seductive Muse, and Taylor Harding belongs to the film archetype The Amazon, as determined by W. Schmidt's analysis of the peculiarities of the characters' speech and his study of the implication of film archetypes. Beth Anne Stanton's adherence to The Nurturer film archetype is characterized by the high frequency of implications of formal language vocabulary, appellatives, and second-person singular pronouns, as societal recognition of The Nurturer film archetype is crucial. The defining linguistic characteristics of Simone Grove as The Seductive Muse film archetype are the use of hyperbole, the high frequency of first-person singular and second-person pronouns, and the repeated use of interjections, as The Seductive Muse film archetype is characterized by the constant attention of the audience and the demonstration of the importance of her own personality and other characters. Taylor Harding as The Amazon film archetype is characterized by the use of sarcasm, irony, and speech marked by assertiveness and vulgarity, as the Amazon film archetype is always ready to defend its point of view and professionalism, sometimes aggressively, in order to assert dominance.

Book Review: Contemporary British Television Drama

Review of: Contemporary British Television Drama James Chapman, Contemporary British Television Drama, London: Bloomsbury Academic, 2020; 187 pp.: ISBN 9781780765228, £63 (hbk), ISBN 9781526125859, £22.99 (pbk), ISBN 978135015250, £16.55 (EPUB/MOBI)

James Chapman, Contemporary British Television Drama

James Chapman, <i>Contemporary British Television Drama</i>

Book Review: Contemporary British Television Crime Drama

Book Review: Contemporary British Television Crime Drama

The Truth Will Set You Free: Implicit Faith in Sherlock and London Spy

:This essay takes, as a focus, Sherlock (2010–) and London Spy (2015) to argue for the importance of faith in contemporary British television. It reveals how the two series characteristically tax their central focalizers' (and the viewers') trust and advocate the value of taking a leap of faith—in essence, a (re)turn to trust. With close attention to form, imagery, and language, this study reveals how Sherlock uses John's (Martin Freeman) trust of Sherlock (Benedict Cumberbatch) to explore the processes by which information is variously produced and disseminated: I trace how the conflict between Sherlock and Moriarty (Andrew Scott) operates as a structuring principle, and how this is destabilized, in “The Reichenbach Fall,” when Moriarty offers a plausible counter-narrative, presenting himself as an actor and Sherlock as his employer. If initially suspicious, John believes in Sherlock despite the overwhelming evidence leveled against him. I go on to examine how, in a similar rhetorical move, Danny (Ben Whishaw), the central protagonist in London Spy, grows from being a victim to the unwilling investigator of his lover Alex's (Edward Holcroft) murder despite the accounts offered by the media. My article illustrates how Sherlock and London Spy shift our attention from global issues to personal stories, how the truth offers neither liberation nor solace in both series, and how faith ultimately brings together their characters. In so doing, I demonstrate how the two series variously recall and raise questions about Conan Doyle's stories.

Making Film Programmes for the BBC and Channel 4: The Shift From In-House ‘Producer Unit’ to Independent ‘Package-Unit’ Production

This article examines the shift in British television programming from vertically integrated, in-house BBC producer-unit production to commissioned-out, independent, package-unit production typified by Channel 4. This shift is characteristic of much British TV production but has rarely been experienced within the same series and by largely the same production team. The article analyses that shift as it impinged on two specific series, both film magazine programmes that I was personally involved in producing. The first, Moving Pictures (BBC2, 1990–1996), moved from in-house to independent production between its first and second series, though I remained as Series Editor. The second, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (Channel 4, 1998), was made by the same independent production company and several of the same programme-makers (I was Executive Producer) but for Channel 4 rather than the BBC. Whilst much has been written about the economic and employment consequences of independent production, there has been little attempt to investigate whether that shift had any consequences on programming. By analysing two specific series and adapting Janet Staiger’s pioneering discussion of Hollywood independents in the 1950s, this article suggests how that shift helped transform the forms and formats of contemporary British television.

And the beat goes on: The continuing influence of The Singing Detective

Abstract From the 25 years of its original broadcast on British television in December 1986, this article aims to assess the continued influence of the British TV serial, The Singing Detective (BBC). It aims to clarify many of the major techniques employed in the programme and suggest ways in which its particular style and non-naturalistic aesthetic (with its roots dating back to the early 1960s) has influenced a whole generation of TV drama since. In particular, it will draw direct parallels between writer Dennis Potter’s work and serials such as Twin Peaks, Oz, Six Feet Under and The Sopranos, citing various sources that suggest these connections are more than just hypothetical. The American cable channel HBO (Home Box Office) will come under particular focus, with the author drawing links between its current remit to produce experimental and adult-themed drama and Potter’s own work. It will then investigate the state of contemporary British television drama and suggest why it arguably refuses to take as many risks as some of its American counterparts, citing various sources which suggest that contemporary British hard-hitting drama appears to have been forsaken for a plethora of heritage and period-based serials. In conclusion, it will argue that while the influence of The Singing Detective appears to have been profoundly significant elsewhere, its dramatic legacy is now surprisingly missing from British TV screens.

Precarious creativity: Changing attitudes towards craft and creativity in the British independent television production sector

ABSTRACTThis article focuses on television workers' attitudes towards craft and creative practice within the field of factual television production in the British independent television production sector (ITPS). Based on longitudinal qualitative research, it argues that a radical shift has occurred in the professional values that television producers' associate with their creative work, by focusing on ethical and professional norms within factual television production. By considering the historical and contemporary discourse of ‘craft’ within this area of creative work, the article interrogates the nature of the changes that have taken place. The wider significance of these changes is also considered, through an engagement with theoretical concerns about the place of craft within late modernity, and with debates about the changes that have taken place within the political economy of independent television production. The article's findings have contextual significance within contemporary debates about creative work. Despite the celebratory policy rhetoric of the ‘creative industries’, the transformed production environment within contemporary British television has had a detrimental effect on skills retention and development, as well as on the potential for creativity within the industry.

Dynamics of social class contempt in contemporary British television comedy

British television comedy has often ridiculed the complexities and characteristics of social class structures and identities. In recent years, poor white socially marginalised groups, now popularly referred to as “chavs”, have become a prevalent comedy target. One of the most popular and controversial television “comedy chavs” is Little Britain's fictional teenage single mother, Vicky Pollard. This article examines the representation of Vicky Pollard in light of contemporary widespread abuse of the white working class. Highlighting the polysemic and ambivalent nature of Vicky Pollard's representation, the article argues that whilst Little Britain's characterisation of Vicky Pollard largely contributes to contemporary widespread demonisation of the working class, there are moments within Little Britain when a more sympathetic tone towards the poor working class may be read, and where chav identities are used to ridicule the pretensions, superficiality, and falsity of middle-class identities. The article concludes that television comedy has been, and continues to be, a significant vehicle through which serious concerns, anxieties, and questions about social class and class identities are discursively constructed and contested.

British television satire

Satire is a regular feature of British television, both in fiction and topical comedy. Its contribution to contemporary culture and politics deserves to be taken seriously but it has attracted little academic interest. An exception is Wagg’s analysis of post-war British satirical comedy (1992) where he argues that satire has had a negative effect on political life by encouraging a cynical view of politics. This research discusses satire on contemporary British television, specifically topical news satire in the news quiz. Drawing on literary theory it seeks to illuminate how such satire works as a communicational form and what we might expect of it politically. Extracts are analysed of the news quiz Have I Got News For You? It is argued that topical news satire offers some examples of the traditional version of satire as a moral and pedagogic form identifying vices and urging their correction but it is found to be more likely to involve less conclusive features such as (following Griffin 1994) inquiry, provocation, play and display and to be dedicated to pleasure as much as moral and political persuasion. Whilst contemporary tv satire provides plenty of evidence to support the claim that it abuses politics in general and encourages cynicism, it can equally be argued that it is part of an established tradition of public complaint and mockery which is useful to a healthy democracy.