TV: Capital case study

 

Reviews and features

Read the following review and feature on Capital:

Guardian review by Sam Wollaston
London Evening Standard: five things you need to know about Capital

1) What positive points does the review pick out about Capital? What criticisms are made - either of the TV drama or the original novel?

It says that the narrative is important and 'There are stories to tell' and the characters are complicated and are not all terrible like Arabella 'But even she has an ember of humanity and is touched by the generosity of Ahmed with coriander on her first-ever visit to her local shop.'

2) What references can you find in the reviews and feature to the idea Capital is a 'state-of-the-nation' drama? How does it capture modern-day London?

'It’s all so instantly recognisable. We have pretty much that exact shop.' The writer expresses the similarities to modern day London and shows similarities to his street and Pepys Road


Trailer analysis

Watch the trailer for Capital:



1) How does the drama use camerawork to capture London life?

Drone shots are used to bring familiarity to an audience and to show the power of London's financial centre.

2) How does the trailer introduce the different narrative strands suggesting tension or enigma in the 40-second running time?
It shows the postcards being sent and dialogue from different discussing the mystery postcards and the danger of them. It also shows the residences of the street in distress and in 'crisis

Capital in Media Magazine

Issue 83 of Media Magazine has a feature exploring Capital as a media product. Read ‘We Want What You Have’ in MM83  (p10). You'll find our Media Magazine archive here - remember you'll need your Greenford Google login to access. Answer the following questions:

1) What does the article suggest about the 'state of the nation' genre and how Capital is an example of this?

The drama, Capital (BBC 2015), is based on a ‘state- of-the-nation’ novel of the same name by John Lanchester. Such novels try to represent an entire country at a particular moment in time.

2) What does the article suggest regarding the setting of Capital?

London sucks in people from around the country and around the globe. It is vast, complex and endlessly fascinating. Centring the action on a single street then helps bring some focus to the narrative.

3) What are the major themes in Capital and what does the article suggest regarding the impact of money on communities?

The street contains characters from all walks of life with different levels of economic security and income. 

The exploration of housing and house prices is established early on by the street’s oldest resident, Petunia .Some of the themes are tackled through people with links to the street. Immigration is explored through the character of Zimbabwean-born traffic warden, Quintana. Petunia represents community and continuity. An opening sequence shows key stages in her life, all in the street.

4) What different representations in Capital are discussed in the article?

The production leaves us in little doubt that the banks are the bad guys. Almost

all of the other characters are set against Roger and Arabella as ‘good’ people. We have community-minded (if borderline racist in an old-person way) Petunia, similarly community-

minded Ahmed, the hard-working Eastern European builders and the spirited Quintana (even if she is a traffic warden).

5) What does the final section of the article suggest regarding genre and overall message of the drama? 

Capital is a state-of-the-nation drama, but its opening sequence draws on the crime genre. 

Framing a state-of-the-nation drama with this crime element helps to hold the viewer’s attention. Capital positions the actions of the banks as criminal. If the state-of-the-nation is in some ways unseen, perhaps the job of the artist is to make it clear. Perhaps that is just what

Capital is trying to do.

Capital Media Factsheet

Use our Media Factsheet archive on the M: drive Media Shared (M:\Resources\A Level\Media Factsheets) or on Google Drive here (you'll need your Greenford Google login) to find Media Factsheet #194 on Capital (BBC TV Drama). 

Read the whole of Factsheet and answer the following questions:

1) What does the factsheet say about the characters on the first page?

The interactions between the characters reflect the tensions between different cultures and costume is used to quickly communicate the different character roles.

2) Focusing on the industrial contexts, how does Capital help the BBC meet its obligations as a public service broadcaster?

To reflect, represent and serve the diverse communities of all of the United Kingdom’s nations and regions and, in doing so, support the creative economy across the United Kingdom. - The narrative includes a range of ethnic and socio-economic groups.

3) What do we learn about the ownership structure for production company Kudos? 

The ownership of Kudos reflects a horizontally integrated company. The parent company, Endemol Shine UK, own a range of TV production companies across different formats and genres.

4) How can David Hesmondhalgh's ideas in The Cultural Industries be linked to Capital and Kudos? 

5) How does the factsheet suggest Capital meets the genre conventions of crime and social realism?

Crime/Social Realism conventions evident? Crime genre. Mystery to be resolved. Tension and suggestion of villainy.

Social realism. At the end of the episode, Roger and Mashinko meet for the first time at the park. Explores themes

of diversity and culture.

6) How does the factsheet analyse the DVD packaging and what this communicates to the audience?

The silhouette skyline of London contains clear geographical

markers that denote the setting, and also establish the themes of British culture and financial issues

7) Look at page 5 of the factsheet. Choose one of the audience theories in the table and apply it to Capital.

Uses & Gratifications – Blumler and Katz

personal identification- With some of the characters in the Kamal family and identifying with struggling to take care of your family financially.  

Surveillance- understanding inflation in the UK and being informed about the economy and cost of living in London 

Personal relationships- Forming a relationship with petunia and feeling sympathetic towards her health situation and her living alone

Diversion- The crime elements of the show and figuring out who is sending the postcards

8) What does the factsheet suggest regarding binary oppositions in Capital?  

The multi-stranded narrative uses binary oppositions throughout to highlight the difference or inequality in Pepys Road, and then raise questions about inequality in London more widely.

Representations: close-textual analysis

Capital offers a range of fascinating representations - from London and asylum seekers to capitalism and inequality. You need to be able to confidently discuss these issues in the context of 2015 London - with reference to key scenes from episode 1. Representations include: London, family, gender, ethnicity, religion, immigration, asylum, inequality, wealth, capitalism, aging and more.

These notes from a lesson analysing these clips will help with this element of the case study. You'll need your Greenford Google login to access the document.

1) Write an analysis of the representations in each of the key scenes from episode 1 we studied in the lesson:

Scene 1: opening sequence 00:30 – 4.49  

• Prices of houses going up
• Gentrification £2.5 million to £2.75 million
• immigration: Usnain gets vertigo going north of the river'
• Kamal family are a very close knit family

Scene 2: work in the City 6.28 – 8.10

• Drone shots of London 
• Commute is long and tubes are packed
• The meeting only included white men - contrast to the other scenes as capital is big on diversity

Scene 3: “Which of those isn’t absolutely essential?” 14.00 – 15.35

• Arabella is represented as the spoilt, rich wife
• Traditional female stereotypes 
• Roger is the breadwinner

Scene 4: asylum 18.03 – 19.42 AND 31.10 – 32.40

• Where Quentina lives- loud and noisy which contrasts quiet/ peaceful street
• Black female Lawyer
• Quentina represented as sympathetic and positive despite working illegally 

Scene 5: “What use is 30 grand?” 36.40 – 39.00 

• Editing is sped up (roger's state of mind)
• Cross cutting non linear
• White privilege - 'this isn't how it works'

Scene 6: life at the corner shop 40.10 – 42.55

• Arabella has never been in the shop - disconnection of community 
• 'white people have no idea'
• social class- Arabella does not understand basic human kindness

You can choose which aspects to focus on for each scene: e.g. London, family, gender, ethnicity, religion, immigration, asylum, inequality, wealth, aging etc. Feel free to use bullet points for each scene - a summary of your notes is fine.

2) How does Capital use stereotypes? Do the characters and issues represented in Capital reinforce or subvert the stereotypes we typically see in the media?

Arabella reinforces stereotypes of upper class white women and she is presented as ungrateful and out of touch. Roger also reinforces stereotypes as he is the breadwinner. The Kamal family reinforce stereotypes on how ethnic families re more close knit compared to white British families like Roger and Arabella

Industries and production context

Capital was produced by independent production company Kudos for the BBC. Look at the Kudos website and also read the Kudos Wikipedia page.

1) Who is the parent company for Kudos? What changes of ownership have there been for Kudos? This is an example of conglomerate ownership.

Banijay UK is the parent company and is one of the leadng televison production companies specialising in scripted content

2) Watch the showreel on the Kudos website. What other TV dramas have Kudos produced and for which channels? What awards have they won?

 Broadchurch which won a Peabody award and Gunpowder (2017) for BBC One starring Kit Harrington