TV Drama Revision

KILLING EVE:

Narrative:

Split narrative:

Narrative 1: following the protagonist 'Eve' as she tries to find out who the assassin is (Villanelle), 

Narrative 2: we see Villanelle's murders so we know before Eve does - omniscient audience?

both narratives are connected to each other

Characters:

Villanelle: Antagonist, Female, Russian, Cruel - knocks ice cream onto child, Unhelpful - doesn't help the older lady (possibly joking/friendly?) Dark sense of humour - playing dead when her boss comes to her apartment. Middle class = Consumerism culture - many shopping bags, apartment in the centre of Paris. Intelligent - able to get away with her assassinations

Eve: Protagonist, Female, Asian, Married, works for MI5, Not happy/not attracted to her husband, Obsession/Attraction to female assassins. Middle Class - owns a nice house with her husband, works for MI5. Intelligent - working for MI5.

Elena: Female, Black, younger, Eve's assistant at MI5.

Bill: Male, Caucasian, older, Eve's Boss at MI5, Friendly with Eve - sharing food. Sides with Eve when Frank fires her, gets fired himself.

Frank: Male, Caucasian, Older, Bill's Boss at MI5, suspicious character - hiding evidence/lying about evidence.

Carolyn: Female, Caucasian, Older. Head of Russia desk. At the end she offers Eve a job, alongside Elena and Bill, in helping to stop Villanelle.

Konstantine(?): male, Russian, older, Villanelle's boss. Controlling, darker sense of humor.

Niko: Male, Eve's Husband, Polish, older, helpful to eve (translating the interview with Kasha)

Dominik: Male, Teenager, polish,, young - teen. Helps eve (translating the interview with Kasha, Accompanying eve to the hospital)

Kasha: female, Polish, young. The only lead Eve has on finding out anything about villanelle and her assassination(s).

Events:

Ice cream shop scene - this is our first meeting with villanelle. we are able to see that she lacks social skills as she only smiles at the child after the man running the shop smiles. We can see through the mise-en-scene of her facial expression that the smile is insincere. Next, we see her look down and wipe blood/Ice-cream off of he watch. This use of mise-en-scene is foreshadowing for the later events in the episode. We then see Villanelle's cruelness as she knocks the ice-cream onto the young girl as she is leaving. This juxtaposes the normally good feelings surrounding ice-cream with the cruelness of her actions.

Villanelles Assassinations - 

Each Assassination becomes more and more violent throughout the episode. 

The first assassination - Meeting scene : done off-screen, and is done to a politician who is known to traffic women. Due to the vileness of the character and his actions, as well as us not seeing the assassination happen, it is not exactly seen as a violent assassination. We are able to hear this through the use of sound in the dialogue from the discussions between Carolyn, Bill, Frank and Eve at the MI5 meeting.

The second assassination - Tuscany Scene: done to a mafia boss, who touches villanelles face without her consent. This assassination is more violent, as we see her stabbing the man with a poisoned hairpin in his face. She also takes the time to write down the name of a designer on her hand (presumable to buy from) which shows her lack of empathy or emotion in general.

The third assassination - Hospital Scene: Here we see Villanelle's most violent point. Whilst eve is on the phone to Bill in the toilet, Villanelle manages to sneak in and murder an entire room of hospital staff as well as Eve's only witness - Kasha

Context:

[Historical] [Political] [Social] [Cultural] [Economic]

Cold war - Russia is demonised through Konstantine and Villanelle as antagonists, villanelle as an assassin

Salisbury poisonings - Villanelle using a poisoned hairpin in an assassination.

Trump elected as president - Donald Trump is known for his bigotry towards anyone who is LGBTQ, Female, Non-white. Eve is Asian, Female - strong, determined lead character. Villanelle is Russian, Female - strong, skilled, intelligent.

Saudi Arabia - Strong, Intelligent, female lead characters

#metoo - Eve as a powerful, confident lead character. Villanelle as strong, intelligent, powerful.

Multiculturalism - Range of ethnicities in Killing Eve - Asian, Polish, Black, White,

MI5/Secret Services - Every country has a secret service group, universal context

Use of Star vehicles - Eve played by Sandra Oh - famous american/asian actor. 

Gender:

Villanelle: 

conforming to gender stereotypes:

Paris Scene: 

Traditionally feminine: Seen to love shopping (consumerism culture), Clothing, Make-up
Mise-En-Scene: holding multiple shopping bags - presumable expensive brands.
Feminine Clothing: Beige coat

Tuscany Scene:

Traditionally Feminine - Cares about her appearance 
Mise-en-Scene: Feminine shirt - slightly see through - light blue. Hair Tied up into a bun. Wearing gold earrings.

Changes into a light blue dress with lace - feminine, traditional stereotypes of women caring about their appearance.

Writes down the name of the designer - passion for consumerism

Villanelle Subverting Stereotypes:

Her job as an assassin converts stereotypes - violent, unsympathetic, cruel.

Tuscany Scene:

Riding a bike - traditionally masculine thing.

Leather Jacket, Helmet

Climbing up a wall - athletic. 

Eve:

Subverts traditional gender stereotypes:

Determined leader - determined to do her job - takes the lead in getting information out of Kasha as she is dying. Calls for help

Frank:

Traditional masculinity - holds a high, well paying role in MI5, wearing formal outfits, strict, unsympathetic

Patriotism:

Wide variety of Ethnicities represented in Killing Eve - Black, White, Asian, Polish etc - Patriotic to Britain as a multiculturalist country.

Russian characters portrayed as the villains and as assassins - historical contexts of the cold war - patriotism towards Britain helping to win in the cold war.

MI5 - British government security agency - patriotic to england

Ethnicity:

Wide range of Ethnicities: multiculturalism

Konstantin & Villanelle: representation of Russia - demonised Russia - assassination, poisoning. Konstantin represents older Russian men, Villanelle represents middle aged/younger Russian women

Dom & Niko: Polish. Dom is representative of younger polish teens - understands slang, translations for Eve. Niko is representative of older Polish men - understands less of younger polish slang - translations for eve.

Eve: Asian, represents middle aged/younger Asian women,

Elena: Black, represents younger black women

Bill, Frank - White, representative of older white men

Masculinity:

Niko: submissive to Eve, less masculine.

Dom: Younger Polish Teen

Bill: Kind, Caring - less stereotypically masculine, older male, Eve's Boss - traditional masculine

Frank: Cold, Uncaring, Unsympathetic, Bill's Boss, traditionally masculine.

Konstantin: Older, Cold, Gruff, Villanelle's Boss - traditional masculine

Villanelle & Eve: take on traditionally masculine roles - Assassin & Spy. 

Eve as a determined leader - typically associated with men.

Final Question:

What are the main representations in killing Eve?

The main representations in killing eve are gender and ethnicity. We can see this through the different characters in the TV Drama, and the use of Media Language. We can see the range of representations through Eve, Villanelle, Frank and Niko.

Eve is a determined, strong leader who's main focus is doing her job. We can see this in the hospital scene, where Kasha is murdered by Villanelle. Through the use of dialogue, it is conveyed that Eve is focused on getting information, as she speaks a mix of English and polish to try and get Kasha to tell her more information as she is dying. This use of sound is chosen to display her determination, which is a trait traditionally associated with men, whilst women were expected to be kind, calm and caring. Furthermore, Eve works for MI5,  a job which involves detective work, which is commonly associated with men. This shows us that Eve is subverting stereotypes, and so creating a broader range of  gender representations. Here, we can apply Butlers theory of performativity. Through eves gender being performed in a way that subverts stereotypes, she is preventing the idea of 'Gender Trouble'. 

We can also see the diverse ethnic representations through Eve. Sandra Oh is an Asian/American actor. This was done to show the multiculturalism of the UK. Also, because Sandra Oh is an established actor, people will be more likely to watch the TV Drama. Here, We can apply Hesmondhalgh's theory of cultural industries. BBC America are reducing risk through using an established actor.

Villanelle is a strong & athletic but feminine person. We can see this in the Tuscany scene, where she breaks into a mafia bosses home. Towards the beginning of this scene, we see her climb up the side of the building. Once she is inside the building, she changes into a light blue dress with Lace. The Action of Villanelle climbing shows that she is an athletic character - which is a trait commonly associated with men. This is paired with the Camerawork of a low angle shot. This creates the connotations the Villanelle is powerful and athletic. However, The Mise-En-Scene of the dress creates the connotations that she is feminine and cares about how she looks. This mix of character traits creates a broader representation of Gender representations.

We can also see the diverse Ethnic representations. Villanelle is a Russian antagonist who is an assassin. This is inspired by the historical cold war contexts of Russia being the enemy. This is a negative & stereotypical representation of Russians.

Niko is Eve's Husband, who seems to act quite submissively to her. We see this in the Polish club scene where Eve asks Dom and Niko to translate Kasha's interview. Niko does as Eve says without question, which is a traditional ideology associated with femininity. This shows that Niko is subverting traditional male stereotypes. 

We can also see the diverse ethnic representations. Niko is A Polish man living in England. He represents the older polish generation, as Dom speaks slang polish while Niko doesn't. This is done to show the multiculturalism of the UK.

Frank is the head of MI5, and is a strict, aggressive boss. We can see this in the 'Firing scene', where Bill and Eve are fired for speaking back to Frank and going against what they were meant to do in their jobs. Through the use of sound, Frank expresses his anger towards Bill & Eve through yelling at them. The idea of men yelling is a stereotype brought from traditional ideologies. In addition, his role as the head of MI5 is a role that would commonly be expected of a man. Through this, we can see that Frank is heavily reinforcing representations of men.

LUPIN:

Narrative: 

Following Assane Diop. Assane is seeking revenge after his father was falsely accused of stealing the Marie Antionette neckless. Working as a cleaner at the Louvre. Assane is not close with his son, paying child support to his ex-wife. Goes to the gang: Kevin, Rudy, Vincent, for money - they are loan sharks. Assane Convinces gang to help steal the neckless in order to pay off his debt. Plans out the heist. Assane is bidding at the auctions whilst the gang attempt to sneak in - Gang are failing to chloroform guards. Assane steals the neckless by placing it in the bin and Switches it with a fake one, The gang take the fake one. The gang crash their car and are arrested. When Assane is back as a cleaner he takes the bin with the neckless in and places the neckless at the bottom of a bin bag to steal it. It is revealed that Assane was pretending to be lower class and actually lives a quite lavish life in the center of Paris.

Narrative in the flashbacks: young Assane & his Father: Babakar. Babakar is a chauffer and works for the Pelligrini family. He is allowed to take a book for Assane and chooses Gentleman Burglar. Babakar is then accused of stealing the Marie Antionette neckless. Babakar 'commits suicide' in prison. Assane meets Juliette Pellegrini.

Characters:.

Assane - Black, Higher class pretending to be lower class

Babakar - Black, Lower Class, Immigrant from Senegal, works as a chauffer, Falsely accused of being a criminal.

Juliette - White, French, Racist towards Assane, Sexualised

Mr & Mrs Pellegrini - White, French, Racist towards Babakar & Assane

The Gang: Kevin, Rudy, Vincent - White, Unintelligent, Lower class, Loan Sharks.

Events:

Meeting the Gang - See the Banlieu's, Physically less colour - no greenery, large towering & dirty buildings. High Camera Angle - see the extent of the poverty. Gang are aggressive, playing video games, unintelligent loan sharks - stereotypes of the lower class.

Babakar accused of stealing neckless - Racism in French society. Police refusing to let Babakar tell his side of the story, immediately believes Mr Pellegrini.

Auction Scene - Racism in french society - "I didn't expect someone like you" + "young". "young" as a cover up - seemed slightly panicked when saying it. Auction goers wearing suits - stereotypical of higher class. Cleaners physically lower than the buyers - cleaners underground & unable to be seen by the higher class - treatment of lower class in society = invisible, not wanted to be seen.

Context:

[Historical] [Political] [Social] [Cultural] [Economic]

Banlieues - poorer area of large cities in France. 80% of Paris lives in them

Immigration Laws - Right wing, French, Political parties passed anti-immigration laws.

Majority White population in France

Gender

Female:

Majority of Female characters are not named & receive very little screen time

Assane's Ex Wife - White, Unnamed, getting child support from him - requires his assistance. Portrays women as needing support and helpless.

Worker who give's Assane the job as cleaner - Black, Unnamed, receives very little screen time. Assane manipulates her by discussing shared experience of being from Senegal.

Juliette Pellegrini - Sexualised for the Male Gaze. Kisses Assane - wearing bathing suit, looks attractive. Cares about her appearance - stereotypes of women.

Various representations of men throughout the episode.

Babakar - Gentlemanly, kind

Assane - Cunning, intelligent

The Gang - brawny, unintelligent, aggressive

Mr Pellegrini - Racist, Aggressive, controlling.

Social Class

Lower class:

Physically positioned lower than the higher class. Cleaners underground vs bidders above ground in the louvre. Represented as unimportant

The gang represented as unintelligent - heist scene: failed to make working chloroform, their part of the plan doesn't work, Rudy gets a too small & loud get away car - Vincent can barely fit in it, crashes car into the louvre skylight and lands in front of Police. Represented as comedic.

Higher class:

Physically positioned higher than the lower class.

Wearing suits - associated with being rich & upper class. Bidding at auctions - consumerism - associations with the upper class.

Assane - revealed to be upper class at the end. Lives in a nice house in inner Paris. Has many suits.

Ethnicity

Assane: Black & French

Babakar: Black Immigrant from Senegal

Assane's Son: Mixed Race

Woman who got Assane his job - Black & from Senegal. Her ethnicity is used to manipulate her.

Assane & Babakar both experience racism in France

Mrs Pellegrini locking the car door.

Mr pelligrini immediately accuses Babakar of stealing the neckless. police do not allow Babakar to share his side of the story, mrs Pellegrini does not stand up for him.

“Someone Like you” - Auction - unsure if it is because of racism or because he is “young”

Juliette & the swimming scene “is it true that blacks can’t swim”

Pelligrini's: White, French

Majority of characters are White and French.