Working Title
The title of my critical investigation is - "To what extent is Luthur a positive representation of black masculinity?" I choose this question as my topic involves a black character playing the role of lead actor and this is something that is not usually associated with many TV programmes. This is not something we see in society either.
Angle
- How significant is Luther's role ?
- What impact does a black protagonist have ?
- Is this something we should be seeing more off in the 21st century ?
- How relevant is this in our internet age ?
- Could the role of the Black protagonist be seen in a positive way or negative ?
- What affect may the Black protagonist have on the audience ?
Hypothesis
A black character is not usually seen as a positive character, we usually see them as very negative. An alternative stereotype regarding black characters which we hardly see. Luther is a good character also is a DCI - something we would not expect due to the black community usually hating the police for various racial reasons (Stephen Lawrence case). Goes against stereotype of black people hating police officers and creates an alternative stereotype of a black detective chief inspector.
Linked production piece
- Top Boy - Channel 4 - British crime drama involving drug abuse and gangs.
- Holby Blue - BBC 1 - British crime drama about a group of white police officers.
- The Bill - ITV 3 - British crime soap involving different crime stories.
- Sherlock Holmes - British crime drama about white detective.
MIGRAIN
Media Representations
Luther is a recent British television crime drama. It has been airing since 4th May 2010 and is still going on after yearly breaks. Luther portrays normal working class people who all work together under DCI Luther. It is built around the life of DCI Luther and how he tackles problems which go on such as serial killers and malicious rapists. The characters in Luther are sometimes presented in a very negative way as we see majority of the characters turn 'heel' and go onto the 'evil' side. The crime drama shows us how hard the life of a Detective can be. However the representation is not always accurate as at the end of nearly each series, we see characters turn against Luther and he is portrayed in a very negative way, a way we do not usually associate with detectives.
Luther represents a ethnic group which we do not usually see as protagonists, in most movies the stereotype is that we see black characters as thieves and murders but never the 'hero' but in Luther we see an alternative stereotype where the protagonist is black and is actually the 'hero' and not the villain
Narrative
Luther is usually a four part series that comes on once a year that is shown usually at 9PM. The narrative usually starts off from where it has left off in the previous series. A recap is usually shown of what has happened in the previous episode and even though there may be some small storylines going on in the background, the show usually consists of one main storyline. The narrative usually follows many theories such as Todorov's narrative theory alongside Propp's character structure theory. The narrative always follows Todorov's theory where the plot starts off with an equilibrium of some sort which due to unfortunate circumstances is followed by disequilibrium and then near to the end of the series is followed by the new equilibrium. Todorov's theory is usually accompanied by Propp's character structure theory using characters such as villains, heroes and victims.
An example of this is when Luther used Todorov's theory in the first series where the equilibrium is Luther getting close to his wife again which is followed by the disequilibrium where his wife is killed by his best friend. This is then followed by the new equilibrium where Luther's once called enemies help him kill his best friend.
Genre:
The genre of the text is crime drama. The conventions of a crime drama are usually one continuous storyline that goes on throughout the series, episode or movie, the storyline usually focuses on a criminal and how he is tackled by the police or a different hero. In the case of Luther he is a police officer. The storyline is still usually focused mostly on working class communities.
Media audiences/ Institutions
Luther is addressed to a wide range of audiences. The main audience although is teenagers and young adults. Also people in the CDE classes would be the typical working class to be watching the crime drama as even though they are not fully engaging with what is happening but they can still relate to it as they know of stuff that has happened previously. The crime drama is shown at a time where the whole the older family can watch the show while they are having dinner. It is just after the watershed time period which connotes the values of the BBC as even though it is after watershed we rarely hear any swearing or see any sexual content. Which could potentially make the show suitable for all ages.
SHEP
Social
- 2010 London riots - The London riots could have affected how people see black people in society, many people blamed black people for the started of the riots which still affects people now as many people still stereotype them as thief's and blame them for the riots.
- The Civil rights Movement - The African-American civil rights movement (1955-1968) affected black people majorly, it was a new coming for them as they were finally seen as equal to other people such as white people as equal and it cause major riots and violence in America but it finally gave them an identity in America
- Barack Obama being selected as president of the most powerful country in the world; America was also a great thing for black people, it finally helped fulfil the dream Martin Luther King had and it also gave black people a better platform around the world.
Historical
- Nelson Mandela becoming the prime minister of South Africa has been a big help to the protagonist of Luther (Idris Elba), as Elba is playing Mandela in the new movie coming out about Nelson Mandela.
- The Civil rights Movement again is a massively historical event that has helped put black people on a platform that sees them as equal and makes sure they do not suffer the same amount of abuse they did very recently.
- The African-American slave trade also was a big thing regarding black people, it showed how the rest of the world saw them and it also showed how they suffered much abuse in the past.
Economical
- The recession Britain is currently going through has put a lot of pressure on many companies that advertise things on their shows, this is not the case with the BBC. The BBC get paid through TV licenses and in return for this they do not advertise, this has helped Luther significantly as people watch the BBC a lot and it being on at such a mainstream time has made Luther very successful
Political
- Having someone like Barack Obama in such a high powered place, has been beneficial to a show such a Luther, it has resulted in them being able to have someone as the main character in their show and it isn't really frowned upon by society as the leader of the most powerful country is a man who is black.
- Luther being a police officer who has a high rank such as DCI is a stereotype we would not associate with, so the team behind Luther have done well to show a black police officer as being the hero and the one who saves everyone.
Issues/Debates
- Representation and stereotyping - Luther is a crime drama about a black man who is a DCI, this in itself is an alternative stereotype to what we are usually accommodated with. We usually do not see a black man as someone who has a good job let alone a black person with the job a police officer we have become accustomed with the stereotype of black people hating police officers and vowing not to ever become on as they see them as 'snakes'/'snitches' moral virtues they do not agree with. So Luther being represented as a moral black police officer is something we see as being 'normal' in society. So this in itself creates a new stereotype and something we are not usually accustomed with.
- Media effects - As Luther contains a black character as the lead role, the media effects theory can come into play as it can portray how the audience is influenced by the media, in this instance, the institution of the BBC have portrayed Luther (Idris Elba) as a positive role model and shown him as a lead character who always finds the better in himself and helps others do the same, even when he is at his lowest.
- News Values - Through Luther we see many aspects of News Values, such as ; Negativity, Predictability unexpectedness and unambiguity, even though Luther is a linear narrative, through the series we see News Values and how the news in Luther tends to anticipate and justify expected outcomes and even show bad news have priority over good news. This is also shown outside the show too, as we see the show Luther being mentioned on the news a lot due to the popularity of the show.
- Moral Panics - The concept devised by Jock Young explains the way in which media can focus on the behavior of a social group or event which can be inflated by sensational reporting and the repeated use of stereotypes, leading to public overreaction or panic at a supposed threat to society. This links to the issues concerning black males and masculinity, this is also a debate that has been hot for the past few years due to the recent riots in London. So it links to my question perfectly as the issues and debates surrounding black males and masculinity is something that has been morally panicked.
- Media technology and the digital revolution – changing technologies in the 21st century - New and digital media has helped Luther become successful majorly, the BBC introduced digital platforming through BBC iPlayer, which is an on demand App/Website which lets viewers watch previous shows on demand where ever whenever, the change in technology has helpt more people view Luther online and add another target market. The BBC also has sneak premieres of current shows on iPlayer so it gives them a platform to work on and helps develop Luther worldwide.
Theories
- Postmodernism and its critiques - Postmodernism theory is literally meaning 'after the modern', it explores the culture of consumption where the globalized media corporations provide a universal package of information and entertainment. They may also involve a bricolage of elements which are often ambiguous and ideological postions that challenge the relationship between the text and the audience. For example we can see that Luther is a very postmodern as it mixes elements from previous TV crime dramas such as Sherlock Holmes and The Bill.
- Gender and ethnicity- Through the gender theory we see cultural aspects of behaviour associated with masculinity and femininity acquired through socialistion in accordance with the expectations of society and the representations of gender increasingly challenge traditional concepts of masculinity. This links well with my question as a concept I will be talking majorly about will be masculinity.
- Colonialism and Post-colonialism- Colonialism was a big thing in Africa and Idris Elba's background involves his parents being from Ghana and Sierra Leone and places where black males were made slaves and taken to countries such as America and England, and this started a major representation about black males and involves masculinity too, so this could be a thing I could talk about in my Critical investigation.
- Audience theories- Audience theories consist of many theories through it such as the Hypodermic needle and effects theory, but it can be divided into active models where the audience is seen as reacting to texts in a challenging and engaged way where the audience is seen as being influenced directly by the media content, this can feed into my question as I can talk about the effect Luther has on the audience and how viewers at home can interact with the TV show 'Luther'.
- Genre theories- Genre theory is an explanation of the role played by genre in differentiating media texts and aligning an audience. Where genre theorists consider the relationship between the audience and the media texts, it can be used by producers to target specific audience groups with predictable expectations of audience numbers and responses. Theorists such as Richard Dyer argue that genres are pleasurable because they offer escapist fantasies into fictional worlds which remove the boredom and pressures of reality and sees these worlds as Utopian.
Media texts
Main focus :
- Luther
- The Bill
- The Wire
- Top Boy
- Sherlock Holmes
- Crimewatch
- Casualty - The Riots
TV documentaries
Black Stereotypes
http://24wired.tv/50675/hoodwinked-documentary-about-black-men-and-stereotypes/
http://24wired.tv/50675/hoodwinked-documentary-about-black-men-and-stereotypes/
Why Young Black Boys Are Underachieving' / Spoken Word Education - Panaroma
Black Boys in School
Academic texts/books
- Adewunmi. B. (2012). Why black British drama is going online, not on TV [Internet]. Available from: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jul/02/black-british-tv-drama-online
- Alia, Valerie, and Simone Bull. Media and ethnic minorities. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2005.
- Fanon, Frantz. Black skin, white masks. New York: Grove Press, 1967. Print.
- Malik, S. (1998). Representing black Britain: black images on British television from 1936 to the present day.. SAGE, 2002: : Open University Press.
- Lacey, N. (1998) Image and representation, MacMillan press LTD: Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire, and London.
Internet Links
Newspapers
Websites
Newspapers
- Adewunmi. B. (2012). Why black British drama is going online, not on TV [Internet]. Available from: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jul/02/black-british-tv-drama-online
- Gray, Sadie (2008-07-17). "Ethnic minorities accuse TV programmers of tokenism". The Independent (London). http://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/ethnic-minorities-accuse-tv-programmers-of-tokenism-869817.html
- Spectrum of blackness http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jul/02/black-british-tv-drama-online
- Prominent regular supporting roles http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/film-news/9051992/Young-black-actors-should-go-to-America.html
- Underachievement representations of black people -http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/oct/05/london-black-children-awards
- Stereotypes
- Top Soaps Accused Of Stereotyping Ethnic Minorities
- Media stereotyping
- Failing to reflect modern ethnic minority cultures -http://blogs.coventrytelegraph.net/passtheremote/2008/07/top-soaps-accused-of-stereotyp.html
- Morris, K. (2009) The Pervasiveness of Racial Stereotypes in American Film, http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/2402358/the_pervasiveness_of_racial_stereotypes.html?cat=40,
