TV: Capital case study

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

They have managed to squeeze an incredible amount into one street, one book, and then further squeeze into three hours of television. A lot of the important stuff, as well as what is most wonderful and most terrible about the place. 

It shows sympathetic and unsympathetic characters. 

The representation of the neighborhood in Capital is identical to how most neighborhoods look like in London. 

It’s not just a brilliant allegorical portrait of London. There are stories to tell, the postcards keep coming, then DVDs, someone really WANTS WHAT THEY HAVE. We’re heading for a crash, big bang, meltdown. Is it that kind of Capital, too: not just principal city and wealth, but also punishable by death? Because Pepys Road, its residents, London itself, has cancer – a tumour of greed, and mistrust, hatred and pointlessness.

For the novel, it received significant praise from critics, and its themes remain disappointingly relevant almost a decade later.

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 captures modern day London by the bonkers housing market and increasing rate of gentrification across London.

Capital offers a microcosmic metaphor for London at large, but it also feels real in the portrayal of its characters, from the financially-sound to the economically-struggling. 

The characters are relatable and well-drawn.

Trailer analysis
Watch the trailer for Capital:



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

• Ariel shot that shows the compact neighborhoods of London
• long shot of the neighborhood
• introduces the main characters with medium shots and what they do for their job

2) How does the trailer use mise-en-scene to capture the family element of the drama?

With the setting it sometimes shows the inside of the characters houses and them having dinner and conversations. It also shows casual, every day clothing. Facial expressions of the characters when they're having dinner gives the audience a sense of a close relationship and happiness between the family. 

3) How does the trailer introduce narrative strands suggesting tension or enigma in the 40-second running time?

The trailer starts of with the text pure drama. It introduces the main characters of the series with what they do as a job and/or with short sequences of their private life and issues that happening which are unique to each character. It also shows multiple close up shots of the "WE WANT WHAT YOU HAVE" postcards which tells the audience that a group of people are getting these postcards. In addition, it shows the characters confused and worries about something happening which creates an enigma code since the audience doesn't know the thing they're worried about. 

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
Scene 2: work in the City 6.28 – 8.10
Scene 3: “Which of those isn’t absolutely essential?” 14.00 – 15.35
Scene 4: asylum 18.03 – 19.42 AND 31.10 – 32.40
Scene 5: “What use is 30 grand?” 36.40 – 39.00 
Scene 6: life at the corner shop 40.10 – 42.55

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.

Scene 1:

• diversity
• familiar location
• ariel shot of London
• immigration as positive
• flashbacks; family
• lower-middle class family
• house price inflation
• entrepreneurial; corner shop
• traditional gender roles
• "He'll be volunteering for Syria"; stereotypes for Muslims

Scene 2:

• Birds eye; City of London
• Wealth; skyscrapers
• White privileged men; banking
• competitive environment
• work hard, play hard
• greed
• German boss

Scene 3:

• Cost of living 
• Traditional gender stereotypes; Man being breadwinner, women taking after of kids
• “You’d be surprised at how little £1m covers these days.” Shows how privileged the richest Londoners are
• “Maybe we should get Pinker Lloyd to pay Bogdan my bonus directly…” 

Scene 4:

• Quentina narrative emphasises the opposite side of London compared to Roger, Arabella and Pinker Lloyd.
• Black female lawyer - representation subverts usual picture of lawyers in media.
• Contrast between life for white people in London compared to black people in London.
• Quentina narrative emphasises the inequality at the heart of London where she earns £300 - “I worked overtime” - but only takes £200 home.
• Why people come to London - Quentina contrast to Lothar. She is just trying to survive “If I go home I will be killed. 

Scene 5:

• Use of audio codes when Quentina is getting ready for work. 
• Roger completely destroyed by 30 grand bonus shows his white privilege laid bare.
• Audio and camerawork used to emphasise the difference between rich and poor in London - and create sympathy for Quentina. 
• Handheld camerawork when Quentina picks up her money to emphasise the danger she is putting herself in.

Scene 6: 

• Scene with Arabella in corner shop - clear she has never been in that shop before, Ahmed doesn’t realise she lives in same street. Shows disconnect in London.
• Representation of race/ethnicity: “White people have no idea!” Shows how out of touch Arabella is compared to most people.
• Mise-en-scene of the dinner table scene - Kamal family all packed around a small dinner table and also including their mother in Pakistan using a video call. In contrast, we never see Roger’s family around a dinner table. 
• Social class - Arabella doesn’t know how to react when Kamal family provide coriander for free. Working class values of helping out a neighbour seem completely alien to Arabella. Reflects the difference between rich and poor - emphasises the negative representation of the rich. 

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?

One stereotype is towards the Pakistani family, which shows that Pakistani families or individuals often run corner shops. Another stereotype is towards Roger and his wife which reinforces traditional stereotypes of British white families and that they're are often wealthy. Another stereotype is towards Roger and the fact that he's a white British citizen that words in banking. A stereotype towards immigrants which is that they are often lazy and don't want to work, this stereotype is subverted by the traffic warden Quentina, the Pakistani family, and the Bogdan the Polish builder.

 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?

Banijay UK

2) What was the breakthrough show for Kudos in 2002?

Spy drama Spooks

3) Watch the showreel on the Kudos website. What other TV dramas have Kudos produced? What awards have they won?

Then You Run

Sas Rouge Heroes

Tin Star- Winner of 2021 British Academy Scotland awards and Nominee 2020 writers guild of Great Britain award best long form TV drama 

Code 404

Two weeks to live- Winner 2021 Venice TV best comedy and nominee Rose D'or 2020 Comedy drama and sitcom

Grandchester

Deep water

Responsible child- Nominee Bafta TV awards best single drama and winner of 2 international emmy awards Best TV movie/mini series and best performance by an actor, and nominee Bafta TV craft breathrough talent

Deadwater fell - Nominee RTS craft 2020 music original score and nominee 2020 british academy director fiction Lynsey Miller TV scripted

4) What audience pleasures does the showreel suggest Kudos productions offer? 

New variations of the genre create interest

Diversity in their media productions

Audience escapism

Relatable characters and situations

Marketing and promotion
Read the BBC Press Pack for Capital.

1) How does the programme information on page 3 make Capital sound interesting to audiences?

Introduces the main character by their character name and real name and also mentioned that the star in BAFTA-winning Peter Bowker’s adaptation of John Lanchester’s critically acclaimed and bestselling novel Capital, produced by Kudos for BBC One.

Mentions that the line-up also includes multi-award-winning Indian actress. It also mentions relatable issues that are currently happening in London (prices of houses are increasing).

In addition it gives an exciting introduction to the narrative of the series and what it's about.

2) Why does the programme information mention the other shows that the director and producer have worked on?

Because directors and producers have loyal audiences, therefore these audiences will be attracted to watch Capital if they enjoyed the directors' and producers' other productions.

3) Who commissioned Capital for BBC?

Charlotte Moore, Controller of BBC One and Ben Stephenson, Controller of BBC

Drama.

4) Read the interview with Toby Jones. What does he say about the character of Roger?

Roger isn’t an evil banker, he’s a slightly complacent banker. He’s become used to a certain way of life and has a self-imposed pressure to live that way. He’s a very well educated, functioning human being on one level, who has obeyed the rules and earned a lot of money, but on another level something is happening to him internally that he doesn’t have the language to articulate. Something is shifting and changing within him, and what happens to him in the story makes him realise that his life is not all it might be. It’s a creeping dissatisfaction, a creeping sense of loss and directionlessness.

5) Read the interview with Adeel Akhtar (page 10). What does he suggest Capital says about the fictional Pepys Road and the sense of community (or lack of it) in London?

We’re living in a strange time now. I think we’re at a crossroads and a lot of things are slowly happening, socially, economically and culturally. Pepys Road is a manifestation of this. It’s an example of what is happening on a lot of roads in London and Britain. 

It looks at the idea of a community, and what it means to belong to the community from whatever background you’re from. One of the problems is that some people within a community, such as  Ahmed’s brother Usman, feel ostracized from it. They feel like they don’t belong and are on the outside looking in. Capital looks at that concept and also that they are all part of something bigger than themselves

6) Read the interview with Shabana Azmi (page 12). What does she say about Asian representations in Britain? 

Question: Do you think that the Kamal Family is a fair representation of what it’s like to be an Asian family in Britain now?

Her answer: I think so. If you look at the subject of Capital, and the number of communities that are being represented, there’s awareness that the world is shrinking, and becoming a global village. We are absorbing cultures, and understanding them, or at least trying to understand them within their own paradigms. 

7) Read the interview with Peter Bowker (who adapted Capital - page 14). What are his favourite scenes in the drama and why?

Christmas morning where Roger has been abandoned and left to look after his two children, because . Roger realises that his life is changing but it’s done with such comedy! It is one of those glorious Basil Fawlty moments where the farce is working at one level and the emotional farce is working at another.

He also love the Kamals’ chaotic family meals. They are quintessentially archetypal family scenes that everybody lives through, but played with great comedic panache.

And when Bogdan the Polish builder talks to Matya the Hungarian nanny about the affluent Londoners they are working for, it’s fascinating. Capital has a wonderful scale but is all about the minute observations of human nature. 

8) Read the interview with Derek Wax, the Executive Producer for Kudos (page 16). Why did he produce Capital and what does it say about the way we live now?

The novel really spoke to me as it has a sweeping Dickensian ambition to it, all life in one street. He loved the sense of this big, expansive panorama of life as well as the small details of human behaviour. The whole of London seen through the microcosm of one street. And the characters are so complex, real and believable. Sometimes big ‘state of the nation’ novels use characters to illustrate political points, but Capital is far more subtle and nuanced. John gets inside their heads and allows us to engage with their thoughts and feelings, observes them with insight, humour and humanity, allows the story to breathe.

It speaks to Derek Wax by where London and the country is now. The obsession with property, the fact that London house prices have risen extraordinarily, has only intensified the sense of a society of haves and have-nots. Everyone’s connection to money is explored but then the novel expands to ask what life’s real value is, and it does this with a very deft, light touch. He said the novel is profound but never overtly polemical. 

DVD packaging
Look at the DVD packaging for Capital. There are many marketing techniques employed here.

1) How does the packaging use other critically acclaimed TV dramas to promote Capital?

Displays at the top "From the makers of Humans and Broadchurch", which attracts the audiences of who enjoyed Humans and Broadchurch.

2) What does the use of design and images suggest to the audience about the drama?

It shows the main characters, some with serious facial expressions others with a happy smiling face which can hint to the audiences that there's a sense of drama in this series, with different multi-strand narratives for each character displayed on the DVD cover. 

3) How are review quotes used on the cover and what do they suggest to the audience about sub-genre, narrative and audience pleasures?

"Insightful and moving... a compelling portrait of modern Britain" tells the audiences that the series talks about modern problems or difficulties that people are facing nowadays in London.

The tag line "Someone Wants What They Have" can show that all characters have something in common.

"A dazzling, able cast.. before you know it, the story has got you gripped" suggests that the acting is powerful and meaningful and that they tell their own unique story excellently. 

4) What representation of London does the DVD packaging offer?

It shows the main attractions of London ex. London Bridge, and Buckingham Palace.

STOP PRESS! Optional extension work - Capital in Media Magazine

 Read ‘We Want What You Have’ in MM83  (p10). You'll find our Media Magazine archive here. 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?

State-of-the-nation TV dramas have a lot to cover, particularly when they only get 4 episodes and the nation is in a right state.

Such novels try to represent an entire country at a particular moment in time. As such, they involve multiple storylines and a large cast. With a population of almost 9 million people, speaking about 250 languages, clearly no single text is going to encapsulate the reality of London, let alone the nation. That’s what makes the selections made in terms of

characters and storylines so interesting to explore further.

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

Setting the drama entirely in the capital city might enrage those who see the UK as being too London-centric, but it makes sense in the context of a multi-stranded production. 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. However, only top earners can afford to buy houses by the time the drama is set.

Given the houses are unaffordable to large numbers of Londoners, 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. We also have Polish builders and foreign-born nannies.

Roger represents money– or capital, to draw on an alternative meaning for the title. Thematically, it seems that money is breaking up the community and, by extension, breaking up social bonds up and down the country.

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. We have community-minded Petunia, similarly community-minded Ahmed, the hard-working Eastern European builders and the spirited Quintana. The representations of good versus bad, rich versus poor and industrious versus feckless make for straightforward drama. 

To many viewers, such a perspective would itself be a recommendation of the drama’s value. However, it is worth asking whether or not it would be preferable to have more range and ambiguity in the storylines given to minority groups.

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

I’ve talked about Capital as a state-of-the-nation drama, but its opening sequence draws on the crime genre. Capital positions the actions of the banks as criminal. So hidden are their activities, so complex and difficult to track down, that a straightforward state-of-the nation drama could not possibly hope to cover them adequately. 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