Essay Question Attempt

Why do long form television dramas from different countries offer different representations?                      In your answer you must:

• consider the contexts in which long form television dramas are produced and consumed

• explain how media contexts may have influenced representations in the set episodes of the two long form television dramas you have studied

• make judgements and reach conclusions about the reasons for the differences in representation between the two episodes.

In the following answer i will be comparing and discussing the U.S long form television drama of Stranger things with the German long form television drama of Dseutchland 83. I will be discussing various theorists and their theories including Van Zoonen's, Butler's, Curran and Seaton's, DH's and Todorov's. These will be used to reflect on representations created in both pilot episodes.

Produced by 21 laps, Stranger Things essentially rides off of the Institution it is financed and distributed by, that being Netflix. The film is vertically integrated meaning that Netflix dictates over the writers and producers of the series due to their financial input (Fifty-Million per season). Many counter-types can be found within Stranger things as in the hybrid genre (Sci-fi thriller) Eleven appears to eat like messily like a boy which an audience would not expect from her as a young girl, this particular counter-type would create a representation of ambiguity which isn't unheard of for a thriller, it may even link to Van Zoonen's feminist theory of patriarchy as a woman should be able to eat this way when hungry as if it were a boy nobody would question it as men are spectacles. Any liberal feminist would agree with my previous statement as it is only fair for woman to be held to the same standards of maintenance as men. on the other hand, a liberal feminist would say that women are much less deserving of this harsh judgement opposed to men. The advantages of LFTVD are that it allows the flexi-narrative (main plot intertwined with sub plots) to unravel and develop in all areas

Produced by Sundance TV (under AMC's financing) and distributed by the governmentally financed Channel 4's more4 section of their streaming service at the suggestion of Italian Producer Walter Presents, Dseutchland 83 (2015) was 20 million dollars per season to finance (substantially less than stranger things). Despite their low production budget the series has a glossy finish giving the impression of a significantly higher budget. Strong segregation themes are evident within the spy drama which could easily make reference to the divided Brexit referendum as some claim the (right-wing) Conservative party are capitalists due to their increasingly one-sided governmental enforcements, this reflects the west side of Germany in the series where they often enjoy the luxuries of their time such as "proper coffee" a.k.a Nescafé. Likewise, the (left-wing) labour party can be seen in the communist (east) side of Germany during the cold war due to their rewarding nature towards those who work hard. This appeals to me as a British citizen, though it's inevitable that it would also appeal to Americans and potentially a scarce amount of Germans because each country have their own societal divisions which will allow them to relate in their own way to strands within the narrative.