Life on Mars : genre and narrative

 Within the beginning of the episode modern crime genre conventions are presented as the main character Sam and officers raid a suspected murders house instantly creating a mystery as they are nowhere to be seen until a chase scene and questioning of the suspect professionally until Sam is in the past as they question another suspect which turns into more of an interrogation as DCI Gene and the other police in the past are presented as politically incorrect also Sam already having an idea about the suspect from the evidence from the present subverting modern crime conventions but still sticking to other conventions like the mystery and solving it by the end of the episode which links to Steve Neale's Genre Theory as the genre changes through time and having sci-fi conventions like the idea of him being in a coma. 

The main opposite present within the episode is the differences of the main character Sam and Gene as they battle throughout the episode on what to do about the mystery as Sam works like he did in the present which is drastically different from how Gene and the other officers work for example how Gene goes against the law for justice. Another major opposite being reality vs fantasy as its constantly questioned whether the past is actually real or just a figment of Sam's imagination these link to Levi-Strauss's theory as these opposites help continue the narrative as the confrontations between Sam and Gene usually end with more information in the case. 

An enigma is instantly created as we have a suspect in the murder case which is carried out throughout the episode but also more enigmas are created like Sam's condition after being hit by a car as some form of hallucinations throughout the episode connoting to him being in a coma however having reasonable explanations to just being hallucinations and Sam actually traveling back in time. These link to Barthes theory as Enigma codes are created throughout the series  

The narrative is restricted as we only know the same as Sam we as the audience have no further information on the narrative.      

Life On Mars: Textual analysis 1

The conventions of the crime genre are littered within the beginning as it starts with the police raiding a suspects house and the main character (Sam) chases down the suspect and catches him, they interview the suspect on a murder case having a lawyer and the detectives in the scene with him which is conventional of the crime genre however having a psychiatrist and social worker with the suspect making the scene unconventional and more realistic, also when Sam goes to the crime scene of his partners kidnapping having the area taped off and police surrounding the crime scene conventional to the crime genre however no connections to the sci-fi genre is shown until Sam is hit by a car and this begins the sci-fi elements as he is transported into the past and s the episode continues a psychological element is introduced as its implied that he is in a coma and everything he is seeing in the 70s is just his imagination. 

The enigmas created within the beginning align more with the crime genre as the suspect is let go after having an alibi and the murder case is still open ended and this enigma is reinforced when Sam's partner is following the suspect and is kidnapped, When Sam is hit by the car and wakes up in the 70s the enigma of wondering if he is in a coma and everything was fake or he really did travel back in time is created and spans along the entire series but also another enigma is created as the murders mirror each other in both the past and present  and this is solved at the end of the episode. 

Within the present the police are presented as more professional and gender is portrayed equally until we are put into the past as the police are shown as unprofessional messing up evidence and being sexist to female police officers.         

Section B Exam questions

 What is a media conglomerate? : A media institute which owns multiple other media companies  

How does ownership shape the content of  newspapers? : Ownership shapes the content within newspapers through the bias within the stories they report on like political bias for example The Times is a left wing newspaper thus having a bias towards the Conservative party and portraying them in a more positive light and The Mirror being more politically aligned to the Labour Party so the stories they report on and how they report their stories will attract the audience with the same political alignment

What has been the impact of recent technologies on all elements of the newspaper industry and how has it responded to these changes? : With the advancement of technology the news industry has grown exponentially but has needed to evolve as newspapers have moved onto the internet for example The Mirror online allows their audience to view on their website and on an app, and also doesn't have a paywall for their audience to see all of the news but having advertisements to earn their revenue which they would've got from selling newspapers which over time have been sold less and less.

The Times however has a paywall this digital descriptions has multiple variations increasing in price and as the price increases the more features audiences have like exclusive newsletters and rewards to give an incentive for their audiences to buy the more expensive subscriptions. As newspapers have moved to the internet this allows a wider range of audiences to view their content and have a much wider reach than what newspapers ever could do. 

What is the importance of fandom in media products? :  Fandoms allow media products to keep a following to a franchise and building support and helping market their product to a larger audience for example the Assassins Creed franchise has a massive fandom which discuss the game using wikis to have these discussions allowing fans to connect. 

How is the gaming industry regulated or what are the challenges in this particular industry? : In the UK video games are regulated by The Games Rating authority (GRA) using the PEGI system to rate the minimum age in which the game can be sold to using factors to help create these ratings like Fear and violence. The PEGI rating was created to stop younger audiences be exposed to mature content as games began to evolve to more mature audiences. 

How important is historical context? :  historical context is important as it can change the overall meaning of the product which contemporary audience would usually miss as their perspectives have changed for example the Tide print advertisement which was post WW2 and an economic boost and household appliances and products became highly desirable