LESSON 30: TRUE DETECTIVE

This session we need to extend the way that we consider how best to analyse a moving image text. We need to move our thinking from statement of the blindingly obvious into deeper thinking about the institutional nature of the product, establishment of brands, audience perceptions etc.

True Detective was created by HBO [Home Box Office] the American cable TV company. It was aired in the USA on HBO and then sold around the world to other TV stations [Sky Atlantic in the UK].

 The most successful programmes have been Sex and the City, The Sopranos, The Wire, Entourage, Six Feet Under, Boardwalk Empire, Game of Thrones and True Blood

Aimed at an adult audience the programme deals with the investigation over a period of 20 years into a gruesome series of murders and delves into issues surrounding the abuse of children, strange quasi-religious groups and cults and corruption. the series was a huge commercial success being syndicated around the world and also won great critical acclaim. It featured two significant Hollywood names in using Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConnaughy as the principal leads.

[A] Watch the trailer. Apply the model approach to ascertain the general response we might make to the product.

MODEL:
·         WHAT TYPE OF PRODUCT IS IT?
·         WHO IS THIS AIMED AT?
·         WHAT WOULD THEIR EXPECTATIONS BE OF SUCH A PRODUCT?
·         HOW DOES THIS PRODUCT TRY TO MEET THESE?
·         HOW SUCCESSFUL IS IT IN DOING SO?

[B] How does the credits reflect the trailer?

[C] Watch the credits for Luther and then apply the model to this product.

Luther was a successful BBC TV series broadcast in 2010 to 2013. The series were short runs of 6, 4, 4 episodes with talk of a mini-series for 2015. The series was a huge critical success and also a large income earner for BBC as it was syndicated around the world, adding prestige to the BBC brand.

Task [1]
How does each product reflect the needs of contemporary audiences for realism?


Task [2]
Crime and detective programmes have always held popularity with TV audiences, never more so than today. Account for the popularity of crime and detective programmes on our TVs


Task [3] 
The growth in popularity of thrillers and programmes about violent and brutal crime are seen by some as contributing towards an increasingly violent society. Do you agree that such products encourage violence or might be contributing to a moral panic in society?