Capital: Case study

Capital: Case study

Reviews and features

Read the following review and feature on Capital:

Guardian review by Sam Wollaston 
London Evening Standard: five things you need to know about Capital

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

• The cast is brilliant-- As mentioned, Toby Jones – well on his way to true national treasure status – leads the way as investment banker Roger Yount, imbuing what could easily have been a predictable character with a weary warmth.

• It’s more complicated – and more interesting – than just wonderful and terrible.

• 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.

• So, obviously, that’s not every single aspect of London, but Lanchester – and in turn Peter Bowker and Euros Lyn, who have adapted and directed so excellently – 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.

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’s all so instantly recognisable. I live in the capital, in a street from a similar era, though in a far less salubrious area (house prices, obviously still insane, but about a third of Pepys Road). We have pretty much that exact shop. And a few – fewer and fewer – Petunias.

Trailer analysis

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

In the beginning of the trailer, it starts off with a wide drone shot that captures the view of London. The camerawork captures shots of the neighbourhood and captures medium shots of the different characters that appear in the drama. Close up shots are used to show the street name and the trailer carries on to show another medium shots of the street, to show that the characters in this drama live close by to each other.

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

The trailer features a number of diverse families from various backgrounds getting these postcards from an anonymous person. It causes a sense of mystery and captures the interest of the audience in learning more about the individual who sent these messages.

Capital in Media Magazine

Issue 83 of Media Magazine has a feature exploring Capital as a media product. Read ‘We Want What You Have’ in MM83  (p10). You'll find our Media Magazine archive here - remember you'll need your Greenford Google login to access. 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?

Capital is based on a ‘state-of-the-nation’ novel of the same name by John Lanchester. Such novels try to represent an entire country at a particular moment in time. As such, they involve multiple storylines and a large cast.

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.

3) What are the major themes in Capital and what does the article suggest regarding the impact of money on communities?

One theme is the economy and inflation. 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. This thematic exploration of housing and house prices is established early on by the street’s oldest resident, Petunia. Another theme is immigration. Immigration is explored through the character of Zimbabwean-born traffic warden, Quentina. 

4) What different representations in Capital are discussed in the article?

Banker Roger is a weak, feckless character, in thrall to wealth and capable of uttering phrases like ‘What use is £30,000 to anyone?’ His wife Arabella, obsessed with interior design and foreign holidays, is only with him for his money. We have community-minded Petunia, similarly community- minded Ahmed, the hard-working Eastern European builders and the spirited Quentina. The representations of good versus bad, rich versus poor and industrious versus feckless make for straightforward drama. There are still questions to be asked, though. The Daily Mail was outraged by what it saw as yet another attack on the banks and an uncritical portrayal of immigrants as unfailingly good and hard-working.

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

Capital positions the actions of the banks as criminals. 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. But it can try and expose them in other ways. The shadowy figure in episode one comes across not so much as a criminal as a Banksy-style urban artist. 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.

Capital Media Factsheet

Use our Media Factsheet archive on the M: drive Media Shared (M:\Resources\A Level\Media Factsheets) or on Google Drive here (you'll need your Greenford Google login) to find Media Factsheet #194 on Capital (BBC TV Drama). 

Read the whole of Factsheet and answer the following questions:

1) What does the factsheet say about the characters on the first page?

The characters also demonstrate the state-of-the-nation aspect of this drama. The interactions between the characters reflect the tensions between different cultures and costume is used to quickly communicate the different character roles.

2) Focusing on the industrial contexts, how does Capital help the BBC meet its obligations as a public service broadcaster?

The public purposes outline the values the BBC holds when striving to achieve its mission to inform, educate and entertain:

• To provide impartial news and information to help people understand and engage with the world around them. 
• To support learning for people of all ages.
• To show the most creative, highest quality and distinctive output and services.

• To reflect, represent and serve the diverse communities of all of the United Kingdom’s nations and regions and, in doing so, support the creative economy across the United Kingdom.

• To reflect the United Kingdom, its culture and values to the world.

3) What do we learn about the ownership structure for production company Kudos? 

Capital was written by Peter Bowker, and directed by Euros Lyn. It was produced by Kudos Film and Television, a British production company that makes TV dramas for the BBC, ITV and Channel 4. Kudos specialises in TV series which can be sold or remade for the US market, making it typical of contemporary media institutions which operate globally rather than nationally. The ownership of Kudos reflects a horizontally integrated company.

4) How can David Hesmondhalgh's ideas in The Cultural Industries be linked to Capital and Kudos? 

Hesmondhalgh explores the ways in which businesses in the cultural industries can use both horizontal and vertical integration to reduce the risk associated with creating media products. Kudos, a horizontally integrated business that produced capital, demonstrates how they have made the decision to lower the risk associated with that process.

5) How does the factsheet suggest Capital meets the genre conventions of crime and social realism?

Conventions of crime genre:

• Use of narrative enigmas.

• Restricted narrative.

• Resolution of a mystery.

• Question of morality.

• Debates around innocence and guilt.

• Verisimilitude – representations of ‘ordinary’ people in everyday life are recognisable to audience.

• Power struggles (within different divisions of police or within the community).

• Teamwork and pleasures in successful resolutions.

• Corruption and betrayal often key theme within a

narrative.

• Villainy is evident through the characteristics of various

characters.

Conventions of social realism:

• Strive to represent regions of UK with authenticity.

• Narratives explore social issues (such as economic inequalities/immigration/Islamophobia).

• Triumph over adversity.

• Shooting on location to offer authenticity.

• Wide shots used to establish the location and setting as this is often key to understanding the narrative and themes.

• Humour and seriousness intertwined in a narrative.

6) How does the factsheet analyse the DVD packaging and what this communicates to the audience?

The DVD cover uses the same promotional images that feature in media pack, website and press coverage. This creates the recognisable brand for the audience.

7) Look at page 5 of the factsheet. Choose one of the audience theories in the table and apply it to Capital.

We can link Blumer and Katz uses and gratification theory. It is used in situations where it allows us to relate to or form emotional bonds with characters whose financial hardships we can identify with on a personal level.

8) What does the factsheet suggest regarding binary oppositions in Capital?  

The multi-stranded narrative uses binary oppositions throughout to highlight the difference or inequality in Pepys Road, and then raise questions about inequality in London more widely. The character of Roger Yount is a clear example of this. During his own narrative development, we see binary oppositions within his own character (the money driven banker starts to yearn for a life with more meaning). We also see the financial inequalities through Roger and Arabella. Their initial highly stereotyped dialogue (“How do you feel about cedar wood cladding?”) serves to position the audience to understand the change in society and the Pepys Road community from ‘normal’ residential street to million-pound properties.

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:

You can choose which aspects to focus on for each scene: e.g. London, family, gender, ethnicity, religion, immigration, asylum, inequality, wealth, ageing etc. Feel free to use bullet points for each scene - a summary of your notes is fine.

Scene 1: opening sequence 00:30 – 4.49

Issues (immigration):

• Petunia talks about how most Indians have immigrated to the UK
• Ageing is fast- difficult to endure
• Petunia is shown as sympathetic and is accepting of the immigrants 
• Immigration is increasing
• "Albert didn't much like change"- Albert is Petunia's husband (older white male)- he doesn't accept immigration.

Scene 2: work in the City 6.28 – 8.10

Place- London:

• Roger commuting to work on train- authentic- the train is packed with people- under the armpit shot used in the train
• Drone shots of the city- presented as powerful
• Shows shots of the office- wind downs overlooking the city

Scene 3: “Which of those isn’t absolutely essential?” 14.00 – 15.35

Issues (capitalism):

• talking about money and how expensive things have gotten
• man naming useless things- luxury things- ironic- shows the gap between rich and poor.
• "You'd be surprised how little £1 million covers these days"

Scene 4: asylum 18.03 – 19.42 AND 31.10 – 32.40

Issues (inequality, work):

• black male had to "raise his commissions"
• he gave her £200 instead of £300 even though she worked overtime
• inequality between male and female
• "did you dress up for me"- Quentina exploited by the man

Scene 5: “What use is 30 grand?” 36.40 – 39.00 

Place- London:

• drone shot of the city-establishing shot for all scenes following this narrative strand
• editing cross cutting (non linear editing) the pace is sped up to show Roger's state of mind
• this scene reflects the nature of poeple with capitalist mindsets

Scene 6: life at the corner shop 40.10 – 42.55

Family:

• Pakistani family is close, eating dinner together as a family
• contrasts with Petunia living alone and Roger's family
• despite a small fight, there is still warmth in the family

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?

Stereotypes are certainly utilised and reinforced by Capital, as the episode's characters demonstrate. This is due to the way that white people are portrayed as being in control of the financial system and as being dominant in the city of London (Rodger), earning large salaries and living in luxurious homes. Along with Ahmed Kamal, a Muslim who owns and operates his own shop, we also witness stereotypes within the Asian community being reinforced. The stereotypes that are perpetuated by Capital are similar to those that describe Rodger's workplace in central London, which is a male-dominated area devoid of female representation.

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? What changes of ownership have there been for Kudos? This is an example of conglomerate ownership.

The parent company is Endemol UK.

2) Watch the showreel on the Kudos website. What other TV dramas have Kudos produced and for which channels? What awards have they won?

Kudos has produced series for the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Sky, Amazon and Netflix and its productions include Tin Star, Humans, Broadchurch, The Tunnel, Grantchester, Apple Tree Yard, Utopia, Spooks (US:MI5), Hustle and Life on Mars/Ashes to Ashes.