Shameless is a British drama television series created by Paul Abbot and set in Greater Manchester, England. The story centres around the dysfunctional Gallagher family which consists of Frank and his 8 children. It is broadcasted on channel 4.
Production: Company Pictures
Distributor: Channel 4 Television Corporation
The show is known for it's unique setting and how it portrays the lower working class of Greater Manchester in everyday life. Shameless primarily deals with the representation of the working class people/family where some stereotypes (e.g. typical 'manchester boy', teenagers, sexuality of people) are used to portray that representation.
Shameless has been critically acclaimed by some British media including The Sun Newspaper and BBC Two's Newsnight Review. It is a BAFTA award winning series where it's first series won a BAFTA in the 'Best Drama Series' in April 2005. It was also nominated for the BAFTA as the 'Best Drama Series' in the years 2006, 2007 and 2009.
in 2007 it won an award at the 'Royal Television Awards Society' beating Coronation Street but lost out to Doctor Who as the 'Best British Drama' in the 'National Television Awards 2007.'
It was also nominated for a British Comedy award and an Emmy in 2004.
Average Viewing figures
Series 1 = 2.57 million
Series 2 = 2.67 million
Series 3 = 3.01 million
Series 4 = 3.38 million
Series 5 = 2.65 million
Series 6 = 2.69 million
Season 4 has had the highest viewer figures so far with 3.38 million viewers (although series 7+8 are not included).
Wednesday 6 April 2011
Friday 1 April 2011
Representation of Gender - Ashes To Ashes
The two characters we are focusing on are the protagonists of the show, Alex Drake (portrayed by Keeley Hawes) and DCI Gene Hunt (portrayed by Philip Glenister).
Looking at the first episode of Ashes to Ashes, it begins with a scene showing a building trying to set a scene and also showing what year it was. The scene moves to a close-up of the protagonists daughter going to a close-up of Alex Drake through the car window as she is driving.
The daughter is holding some files which Drake states are classified meaning she is a working woman of the modern day with a daughter. A call comes in later asking for DI Drake meaning she works as a detective. She is also wearing smart clothing suggesting that she is professional and takes her job seriously.
The audience is then taken to a scene where a man (the villain) has a hostage and a gun and has specifically asked for Alex Drake so he can talk to her. There is a crowd and armed response had been called to show the seriousness of the situation. Camera angles varied from close-ups to mid-close ups and establishing shots - the setting was established and so were the emotions of the characters.
Alex Drake was shown as calm and collected even though she had a gun pointed at the (the hostage was let go). She never stopped talking to the villain doing what he asked and tried to negotiate with him. Close-ups of Drake were shown to show the emotions she was feeling, there were also some on the villain who wasn't as collected as Drake. He shook and looked as if he was in panic and in rage, where the rage got worse every time Drake was shown as calm in the situation.
There were also a couple of low angle shots on Drake showing the authority of her character and how she is handling the situation. Although things go downhill for her when the villain starts talking about her parents.
Drake's daughter is then introduced to the scene creating chaos. Drake shows a complete breakdown of emotions different to how she was first acting at the beginning of the scene. The daughter is taken hostage and Drake is in panic. This shows that the character of Drake thinks deeply of family and the it is first priority.
Looking at the first episode of Ashes to Ashes, it begins with a scene showing a building trying to set a scene and also showing what year it was. The scene moves to a close-up of the protagonists daughter going to a close-up of Alex Drake through the car window as she is driving.
The daughter is holding some files which Drake states are classified meaning she is a working woman of the modern day with a daughter. A call comes in later asking for DI Drake meaning she works as a detective. She is also wearing smart clothing suggesting that she is professional and takes her job seriously.
The audience is then taken to a scene where a man (the villain) has a hostage and a gun and has specifically asked for Alex Drake so he can talk to her. There is a crowd and armed response had been called to show the seriousness of the situation. Camera angles varied from close-ups to mid-close ups and establishing shots - the setting was established and so were the emotions of the characters.
Alex Drake was shown as calm and collected even though she had a gun pointed at the (the hostage was let go). She never stopped talking to the villain doing what he asked and tried to negotiate with him. Close-ups of Drake were shown to show the emotions she was feeling, there were also some on the villain who wasn't as collected as Drake. He shook and looked as if he was in panic and in rage, where the rage got worse every time Drake was shown as calm in the situation.
Drake's daughter is then introduced to the scene creating chaos. Drake shows a complete breakdown of emotions different to how she was first acting at the beginning of the scene. The daughter is taken hostage and Drake is in panic. This shows that the character of Drake thinks deeply of family and the it is first priority.
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