Long Form TV Drama - House of Cards

Long Form TV Drama - House of Cards

Drama - TV drama is a broad genre. It is  a fictionalized action in the narrative form

Long form TV drama - Long Form Drama is a term coined to describe the recent shift of interest towards television series of high quality that many consider having replaced the cinema as a locus of serious adult entertainment. Unfolding over multiple episodes, hours, and even years, these TV shows are seen to provide content, often dark and difficult, and an innovative style that strain against the conventions of cinema as well as network television. 

Media convention - A code is a system of signs which can be decoded to create meaning. In media texts, we look at a range of different signs that can be loosely grouped into the following: technical codes - all to do with the way a text is technically constructed - camera angles, framing, typography etc. verbal codes ...

Genre Hybridity - Some media texts are hybrid genres, which means they share the conventions of more than one genre. For example, Dr Who is a sci-fi action-adventure drama and Strictly Come Dancing is a talent, reality and entertainment show. 

Synopsis - A brief summary of the major points of a written work

Roland Barthes - Open or closed? Texts may be either ' open ' (i.e. unraveled in a lot of different ways) or ' closed ' (there is only one obvious thread to pull on). Barthes also decided that the threads that you pull on to try and unravel meaning are called narrative codes and that they could be categorized in the following five ways: Hermeneutic/Enigma code; Proairetic/Action code; Semantic code; Symbolic code; Referential code

The Hermeneutic/Enigma Code -  The Hermeneutic Code refers to any element of the story that is not fully explained and hence becomes a mystery to the reader. The purpose of the author in this is typically to keep the audience guessing, arresting the enigma, until the final scenes when all is revealed and all loose ends are tied off and closure is achieved.

The Proairetic/Action Code - The Proairetic Code also builds tension, referring to any other action or event that indicates something else is going to happen, and which hence gets the reader guessing as to what will happen next. Action code - applies to any action that implies a further narrative action. For example, a gunslinger draws his gun on an adversary and we wonder what the resolution of this action will be. The Hermeneutic and Proairetic Codes work as a pair to develop the story's tensions and keep the reader interested. Barthes described them as: "...dependent on ... two sequential codes: the revelation of truth and the coordination of the actions represented….." 

The Semantic Code - This code refers to connotation within the story that gives additional meaning over the basic denotative meaning of the word. The semantic code - any element in a text that suggests a particular, often additional meaning by way of connotation

Family Drama - A popular and well-worn genre, the family drama centres on conflicts at the heart of family life and family relationships. Not to be confused with family-oriented drama, family dramas can touch on such adult topics as incest and political violence.

Thriller Conventions - There are all kinds. The legal thriller, spy thriller, action- adventure thriller, medical thriller, a police thriller, romantic thriller, historical thriller, political thriller, a religious thriller, high- tech thriller, military thriller. The list goes on and on, with new variations constantly being invented. In fact, this openness to expansion is one of the genre's most enduring characteristics. But what gives the variety of thrillers a common ground is the intensity of emotions they create, particularly those of apprehension and exhilaration, of excitement and breathlessness, all designed to generate that all-important thrill. By definition, if a thriller doesn't thrill, it's not doing its job. Uses suspense, tension and excitement as the main elements. Includes many sub-genres: Mystery, Crime, Psychological, Political and Paranoid. The atmosphere of menace, violence, crime and murder.  Society is seen as dark corrupt and dangerous. Literary devices like the plot twist, red herrings, and cliff hangers

Steve Neale’s theory of Repetition and Difference - Steve Neale states that genres all contain instances of repetition and difference, the difference is essential to the economy of the genre. Neale states that the film and its genre is defined by two things: How much is conforms to its genre’s individual conventions and stereotypes? A film must match the genre’s conventions to be identified as part of that genre; How much a film subverts the genre’s conventions and stereotypes. The film must subvert convention enough to be considered unique and not just a clone of an existing film. 

Political Thrillers - A political thriller is a thriller that is set against the backdrop of a political power struggle. They usually involve legal plots, designed to give political power to the enemy, while protagonist has to try to stop the enemy. They can involve national or international political scenarios. The common themes are: political corruption, terrorism, and warfare. Political thrillers can be based on true facts such as the assassination of John F Kennedy. In political thrillers there is usually a strong overlap with the conspiracy thriller. For example in the 2012 film Argo, the protagonist has to rescue the American hostages from IranMain Characters in House of Cards:

• President-elect Garrick Walker,
• Linda Vasquez The President’s Chief of staff, woman, Latino! "tough as a 2 dollar cheque"
• Frank Underwood, the narrator (t the camera) protagonist/anti-hero House majority whip – "keep the sludge moving."
• Claire Underwood (Owner of Charity Clearwater Initiative) – dependant on Franks electoral success (Sandcorp)
• Zoe Barnes Journalist at Washington Herald:
• Michael Kern – Recently elected secretary of state (frank’s rival)
• Peter Rosso - drink driver,, solicitation, use of controlled substances.
• Doug – Frank’s sidekick.
• Walker – The President-elect.

Summary

• Set in Washington
• Political Drama
• The tone is set at the start - the dog is dying - makes the character seem cold - Frank - Protagonist - main 
• Frank is promised to be the secretary of the state - but then is told that he is to stay in the Congress - wants revenge on Garrett Walker
• Politics is ruthless
• Christina secretary to a politician - failure
• Errand boy is now Peter Russo
• Peter Russo - Drink Driving - Drug use - soliciting
• Dark and Dingy - dirty aspects of politics
• A lot of music - pull the dialogue along - some tense music
• Juxtapositions of different scenes - church scene where the priest is saying to be really nice to everyone no matter what happens - before that there is a scene of Frank planning against people - before that there is a sex scene
• Doug fished into the bins for the education bill for Frank so that Zoe can put together an article in order to make the plan for it go downhill.  

Synopsis

House of Cards is set in Washington and is a political drama themed series. Immediately at the beginning, the tone is set through the use of a dog dying and the protagonist, Frank Underwood, having to put the dog down by strangling it. This makes Frank seem cold off the bat. It is seen that Frank was initially promised that he would be the secretary of the state (which would be a grand promotion from where he is), but when he goes to a meeting thinking that he would be able to share his ideas and thoughts, he is met with the drastic news that he is to stay in the Congress and the secretary position is going to Garrett Walker - his now newest enemy - another member who was running to become secretary. This whole situation goes to prove that politics is not all that it seems to be and is actually quite ruthless. Throughout the whole episode, we see transitions between Frank and another politician, Peter Russo, who is seen to be sleeping with Christina Gallagher (an assistant to a politician). Peter Russo is soon to be Errand boy to Frank, is also known of drink driving, drug use and soliciting - which Frank has used as blackmail towards him. Doug (Frank's sidekick) is ordered to fish through the bins for the education bill for Frank to give to Zoe Barns (a journalist as Washington Herald) can put together an article in order to make the Garrick Walker's plan to go downhill. Throughout the whole thing, the colours of the scenes (dingy and dark), make the dirty aspects of politics stand out; the music behind the scenes help pull the dialogue along and creates a more tense atmosphere. Juxtapositioning is used strongly throughout the whole episode - the priest at the church creates a speech by saying that all the people in the church should be nice no matter the outcome of what has just happened, however in the scene just gone, Frank is plotting his revenge on Garrick, Linda Vasquez (the presidents chief of staff); and before that there is the sex scene between Peter and Christina.