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LFTVD Question 3

The differences in the codes and conventions of long form television dramas reflect the different attitudes and beliefs of the audience that consume them. This is because LTVD’s need to create content which caters to their target audience such as mass audiences and niche audiences. In order to be successful. Netflix is an international company which services are available in 190 countries, therefore the codes and conventions need to appeal to the range of values in different countries. Differently DR’s codes and conventions appeal to a niche Nordic audience as it’s a small public service broadcaster, requiring a licence fee to create this content. Netflix however, needs more subscribers by appealing to a wide audience.

Netflix hybridised genres including sci-fi, buddy, teen romance, coming of age and horror in the making of stranger things to appeal to its mass audience which contains viewers with different values and interests. Steve Neal’s genre theory is applicable to stranger things as it suggests genres are not fixed allowing a product of hybrid genres. Therefore stranger things appeals to fans of multiple genres. The killing reflects the values of its niche Danish audience through genre as it is of the Nordic noir genre with the conventions of crime, corrupt government and an overall dark setting. This reflects the values of the audience as in 2007 which was the time of the release of the killing, social issues which were in present in the killing were present in reality. The bridge and the legacy are other popular LFTVS’s of the Nordic noir genre presenting a sense of social reality.

As well as the audience, the  ownership of LFTVD’s also affects the codes and conventions. Netflix’s  high budget and creative freedom gave control back to their viewer allowing them to create content with hybrid genres. With now 180 million subscribers Netflix could collect data on what people liked which was useful for creating new content like stranger things which would appeal to its vast worldwide audience. In addition to this, Netflix being a streaming service allows for ”bingabitlity” with Stranger things having 8 episodes which are around 60 minutes, appealing to generation z and millennials which are the main audience demographic. Differently, DR needed to appeal to a smaller audience of danish license fee payers. To generate money for the budget of the killing DR had to synergise with German public service broadcaster, ZDF and was distributed in Germany and Holland and later on BBC4, despite its small danish target audience. Unlike stranger things, the killing has 20 episodes shown in double bills over 10 Saturdays with one episode equaling to one day real time. In the Uk it was shown post watershed on BBC4 to appeal to an older, educated, culturally aware audience, which is similar to the danish target audience.

Cultural background of audiences also influences the content in LFTVD’s, with stranger things predominantly millennial audience growing up with Steven King and Spielberg films and the content using intertextuality from popular 80s films like E.T, stand by me and fire starter. (Elevens character is a pastiche based on E.T and the girl from fire starter and scenes from E.T and stand by me are mirrored in stranger things with the bikes chase and ). This creates a sense of nostalgia for the audience and links to David hesmonhaugh’s theory that narratives repeat themselves in order to minimise risk and guarantee success . Social background if the audience also influences the content of stranger things as it is set in the 1983 at the time of rising fear of the unknown, Cold War and aids/HIV which are highlighted in stranger things and would be relevant to the childhood of the millennial audience. In the killing, the content is influenced by political background. The left and right wing conflict in the government of Denmark reflects real life in 2007 and presents two different worlds in the same society of politics and family life which is relevant to a danish audience. In terms of representation, Lund the female protagonist in the Killing is presented as taking on the role of the traditional masculine detective, which stereotype is embodied by Meyer. This concept reflects society in 2007 with gender roles becoming modernised and links to Liesbet Van Zoonan feminist theory which suggests ideas of masculinity and femininity are constructed through performances of these roles. Therefore through time gender roles have changed normalising Lunds character being the central protagonist and a detective. In stranger things however, the group of kids, will, Mike, Lucas and Dustin are the main characters with the absence of parents and the difference of the child and adult characters. This reflects the idealistic suburban family life of the 80s that parents wanted and is apparent with mikes family.

Overall codes and conventions in stranger things and the killing reflect the values of their audiences of mass global and niche danish. In stranger things this is done through Its hybridised genre, it’s bing ability to and social and cultural contexts. In the killing this is done through its well liked Nordic noir genre and political contexts along with its weekly double bill showing. The difference in ownership, production and contexts have shaped the content that suit the programmes audiences.


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