TV exam question

“Realism is a vital component of television drama”. To what extent does an analysis of your television close-study products support this view? [25 marks]

Realism is a very important component in a television drama as it allows people to relate to the show, allowing them to create personal relationships with characters who may have potentially gone through similar experiences in life creating a connection with the viewer. The setting may also be something realistic which can keep the audience at bay as well.

In Deutschland 83 clearly, the show takes place during the end of the cold war. This is very significant as the audience of this show gains a vast amount of knowledge and insight, this is called surveillance. Furthermore, this reveals how realism is a vital aspect as the audience can learn something useful from this TV. In addition, Deutschland 83 provides an escape for the viewer as the show takes you to a completely different era as opposed to watching a regular modern tv show where we know everything about the setting. There is a great use of bricolage in the show such as when Ronald Reagan's speech is played on tv whilst the characters are watching it, this adds an immense sense of realism as real-life events are brought into the show making it seem like the audience is really taken back to that era.

In Capital, another very realistic show takes the modern day approach as in this state of the nation drama we can easily sympathize with characters as we see what it's like living in modern day Britain through the diversity of characters ranging from different ethnicities to different classes. In this show the audience will build relationships with the different Families portrayed in the show with the Kamals and Rodgers family, the two families seem to be portrayed as typical British integrated families which the audience can greatly relate to. In addition, another very realistic thing about this show is the constant reminder of the housing prices going up which is as close as you can get to realistic further supporting the importance of realism. There is A very good shot of Rodger in the London underground trains where it is shown to be crowded is an excellent portrayal of what London is like. Different aspects of life in London are portrayed by the tragic storyline of Quentina who is an asylum seeker, we see how she finds herself in a battle with immigration, which is something many people in London today may face. Quentina wounds up being a sympathetic character as she tackles the tougher aspects of life in London. Personal identity is formed here with Quentina.

To conclude my take on realism, both Deutschland 83 and capital offer very realistic showings through mainly setting, characters and historical contexts such as the cold war and Londons economical crisis in 2008, the characters are also very important in a show like capital as personal identity is formed with many characters. And the settings were also vital because of how real they were.