No Offence CSP (media language, representation, industry & audience)

'No Offence'

Context:

-British television police procedural drama on Channel 4

-Created by Paul Abbott (English television screenwriter and producer)

-"A group of big-hearted bobbies go above and beyond to bring down the criminal rabble in a crumbling cop-shop. It is a Herculean task, but there is a reason why this hotchpotch of committed cops are on this force and the front line"
-Team of detectives from Friday Street police station, a division of the Manchester Metropolitan Police (a fictional version of the Greater Manchester Police). The team’s investigation into the serial murders of young girls with Down syndrome

-15 episodes (2015-2018)

Genre:
-hybrid genre: comedy, crime drama 
-‘shared characteristics’ of genre based around type of story being told
-crime dramas based on quest narratives where protagonist (police or private detectives) try to solve mystery of who committed crime

Target Audience:
-appeals to adult audiences/ identifies as adult programme
-It contains adult language/ themes and depicts violence - making it a post-watershed programme
-some might argue that having three female protagonists makes programme more appealing to women - can be an issue implies that men may find it difficult to identify with female protagonists 
-women protagonists -unconventional so audience need to be happy moving away from convention
-likely to be fans of the crime genre/police procedural, enjoys murder mysteries/ investigation narratives but also comedy elements


Uses and Gratifications:

-genre’s narrative - enigma, tension and has delayed gratification of waiting to find out who is responsible for the crimes

-resolution where criminals are captured & values of law and order are reinforced with the police being victorious and the criminal being punished

-Being a hybrid example of the genre, No Offence also offers relief from the tension with humour and the realistic characters and situations allow the audience to identify with the people and events

Analyse DVD cover:
-dark tones - convey seriousness, mystery - demonstrate the crime and devastation of the murders within the film
-positioning - heroic posture - woman on left is boss and woman in middle is main character - large strides - on a mission to solve the crime and find the suspects 
-shots in motion - movements suggest involvement in case and how they are striving to solve the incidents
-dressed in dark colours - again shows seriousness and how they are just focused on the cases and their jobs



Analyse trailer cover:

Genre:
-police procedural drama ( sub-genre of procedural drama and detective fiction that emphasizes the investigative procedure of a police officer or department as the protagonist)
-elements of comedy - not classed as a comedy genre 
Neal - genres have to change to keep audiences interested and one of the ways they can do this is by subverting audience expectations in terms of the representations used

REPRESENTATION
-representation of females - mainly female characters - women in higher roles - police/ detective/ forensics - unusual for women to be given such important and crucial jobs that may not usually be associated with women
-importance of women rather than just males 
-representation of disability - mocks disabled people - doesn't respect - views them as inhumane, finds it funny to talk about people with disabilities and view them as very abnormal and not worth talking about them like anyone else without a disability
-males are used as props - audience made to think they are not very intelligent and lower status than women

Setting:
-set in Manchester
-run down, tired looking
-realistic, gritty environment 

Characters:
-very invested/ involved in their job
-uses slang/ rude language that comes across as dismissive - not very seriously spoken
-Everyone in the team has something to offer and they all contribute to the investigation. 

Narrative:

-serious but actually has lots of humour which cannot be interpreted through cover


How does it engage the audience? (Extract from film)

representation of women
-women in higher roles - police/ detective/ forensics - unusual for women to be given such important and crucial jobs that may not usually be associated with women
-importance of women rather than just males 

representation of disability
-mocks disabled people - doesn't respect - views them as inhumane
-finds it funny to talk about people with disabilities and view them as very abnormal and not worth talking about them like anyone else without a disability

representation of police
-more women used in TV who are protagonists 
-powerful
-dominant

character development
-characters show their progression of confidence and power throughout series being heroic/ protagonists 
conventions of crime drama
-less serious as have humour/ comedy - not as serious than other crime dramas
-subverts stereotypes - use females as protagonist

narrative
-Police procedurals also use similar set pieces - scenes or actions specific to genre:
*start - chase scene
*woman on her way home from night out dashes from taxi to peruse someone
*multiple angles using tracking shots and fast paced editing - creates exciting & dynamic atmosphere

humour
-adult/ rude humour - swearing, references etc.

mise en scene
-dark, gloomy scenes - suggest danger

social realism
-comedic elements - realism in society and individuals thoughts/ behaviours-some of main characters/ protagonists talk about their lack of self confidence and anxiety - link to real world problems
technical codes: camera angles, editing, sound
- diegetic music adds an element of the absurd to the violent death being shown

-music parallels action adding to overall effect for audience 

-action scene & way it is shot/ constructed follows conventions that audiences of genre will recognise but there are some aspects of scene that break convention

REPRESENTATION

-combination of conventional and unconventional ideas
-In many ways it's typical of crime drama genre & police procedural sub-genre but where it's less conventional is due to representations chosen to tell story

The police
-crime dramas usually have serious tone as they deal with serious topics but in No Offence there storyline is about abducted girls is treated very seriously but the characters in the investigative team are often shown in a more comedic way
 -Viv’s swearing and crude mannerisms and Joy’s nervousness and lack of self-esteem are also presented in a comic way
(highlighted in scene where the team have a meeting in the ladies’ toilet. The camera presents the discussion in a toilet stall using unconventional camera angles and sound. The overhead shots and high and low cameras angles showing the toilet stall seem out of place in a serious crime drama. The sound of Viv’s singing on the toilet alongside the editing to show her team’s desperate attempts not to laugh, provide a moment of farce within the serious and tragic storyline)

-represents police officers as humans with flaws & strange behaviours - creates realism in characters - helps enhance audience engagement with the story - when audiences can identify with characters, more likely to create emotional attachments - could be created with humour but leads to more emotional investment in characters which pays off in the tense and dramatic moments
(e.g. the tension of the search scene towards the end of the episode is heightened because the audience have been encouraged to care for the characters earlier in the episode)

Gender
- traditionally represent male police officers with main protagonists often being a male dominated team, often female member of the team will be depicted as being extremely attractive 
- No Offence breaks convention - 3 female lead characters in charge of investigation:
*Viv - superintendent in charge of the team, large woman who swears and is often inappropriate in what she says, not a boss who provides conflict for her team but she is loyal & supportive, despite her unusual manner she is admired by those who work for her
*Joy - recently promoted sergeant, lacks self-confidence & often seeks reassurance from colleagues
*Dinah - dedicated/ determined police officer,  most conventional crime drama character - good police officer who tends to act first and think afterwards as she is driven by compassion and a strong sense of right and wrong

Disability
-Viv appears to be a ‘bad boss’ at the start of the episode but by the end of the episode this idea about her has to be changed as she is quite the opposite
-At the heart of the story is the disappearance & murder of young women with Down’s Syndrome.
-At first, they are set up as simple victims and this replicates the stereotypes of characters with disabilities are often replicated in media representations.
-Some girls with Down’s Syndrome have been attacked but when we meet other people with the same condition they are shown not to be simple victims. 
-Jocelyn (one of the victims) and her husband Mikey are autonomous individuals and are active rather than dependent and passive.
-The police officers register surprise as they learn that Jocelyn ran a prostitution business and this reflects the way the audience’s expectations about these characters may well be subverted by these representations again creating a complex and realistic representation of people with disabilities rather than the simplistic stereotypes that are often used.

MEDIA LANGUAGE & NARRATIVE
-The aim is to find the criminal and bring them to justice. How this story is told can vary enormously within the genre. The settings and the characters can be changed to provide variety within the genre. There are many sub genres of crime drama and it is often used within other genres creating hybrids with e.g. sci-fiction, comedy
-genre based on enigmas with narrative structure being based on discovery of initial crime, complications in the investigation (including complex clues, mistakes and misdirections, false villains and further crimes) until the mystery is resolved and the criminal punished
- Sometimes genre is part of genre of order with a lone-wolf protagonist and at other times it is part of the genre of integration where a team of protagonists (a collective) work together to achieve their goals. 

Police procedurals are usually focused on a team of detectives who work together to find and interpret clues and solve the case. Iconographies that are familiar in this genre include: 
• A police station setting.
• Police officers (some in uniform)
• Police cars. 
• An investigation board

Industry
Channel 4
-commercial broadcaster but they also receive some government funding
-to receive public money, Channel 4 has to ensure that (amongst other things) its programming is innovative, offers alternative points of view and reflects cultural diversity of the country
-Format - innovative, experimentation, creativity and content of its programming
-has to ensure that its programming is innovative, offers alternative points of view and reflects the cultural diversity of country
-buys programming from production companies and, when doing so, will consider how the programme will help support its remit
-Programmes that fit into Channel 4’s brand identity are more likely to be bought by the broadcaster
-well known production background & being a ‘Channel 4 programme’ adds to branding of No Offence itself and helps audiences know what to expect from the programme
-With no other information about the show, audiences would assume it would have an irreverent approach to storytelling and may provide representations & storylines that are unconventional
-Being broadcast on Channel 4 (and then accessible via streaming service, All 4) may lead audiences to expect use of adult language & programme to deal with adult themes

-As we will see, choices in the construction of programme make it ideal for Channel 4 as programme gives a voice to several under-represented groups

Public Service Broadcaster
- provide information, advice & entertainment to public without trying to make profit - channel is trying to reduce its obligations to produce PSB e.g religious programmes, supposed to provide content for all age groups

Paul Abbott/ Abbott Vision
- produced by Abbottvision and broadcast on Channel 4
- Abbottvision: production company created by writer & producer Paul Abbott
-Abbott - many successful TV programmes known for breaking conventions (approaches to genre, representation and story-telling) 
-Before No Offence, Abbott’s most successful programme had been Shameless (realistic representation of the lives of people at the lowest end of the socio-economic scale) 
-Abbott - reputation of making programmes that have realism and use drama and comedy to entertain audiences

Channel 4: unique broadcasting institution
-only broadcaster with significant PBS remit to be entirely commercially funded
-only PSB in world to enjoy high share among 16-34 age group
-only major broadcaster in world to get its programming all from external suppliers
-tries out more new ideas each year than any other channel in UK
-sticks with ideas each year that show some promise
-relies least on long running "schedule bankers" to support its competitive position in UK market, effectively having to reinvent itself every few years 

Channel 4's coverage of 2012 games but Paralympics of the map as pure sport
-challenged ideas of Paralympic sport as less competitive or dynamic that people able-bodied competition
-developed imaginative marketing campaign - largest ever - draw attention to Paralympics, starting with tongue-in-cheek "thanks for the warm up" posters and press campaign as London 2012 Olympics were ending
-followed a gritty, hard-hitting 90-second film- Meet the Superhumans - produced by the in-house 4creative agency, which captured power, drive and attitude of Britain's Paralympic attitudes

"Not many PSB's would tackle love and disability, let alone in prime-time"
-the 'Undateables' (Betty TV) follows group of people with physical disabilities and mental-health issues as they search for a partner
-programme title challenges preconceptions about disability and attention around series has helped to stimulate debate around issues programme raises - 3rd series of Undateables in 2014 averaged 3million viewers
-"Undateables is typical of channel 4's work, made with a challenging edge, grating against mainstream and challenging conventional thought"

Drama
-"the scale of the bets a broadcaster needs to make to succeed in drama - where series can cost well over 1m pounds an hour to make -are enormous, but drama builds stronger emotional connection than any bother format, enhancing audience affection and loyalty and contributing to UK cultural life"
-Channel 4 drama is typically high quality, co funded output with international potential. It's uniqueness i in the tone of the drama  - often dark and awkward, sometimes witty and satirical. Channel 4 drama is also more author- driven than any other channels which often use a team of writers to construct a drama series
-Southcliffe, Utopia, Babylon, Misfits