TV Exam Question

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

Realism is a vital component of television drama, having a realistic narrative and characters can influence the audience to form more substantial personal relationships with the characters and in turn, could lead to a more successful run from the television drama. For Example, In Deutschland '83, although some aspects of the narrative and scenery are explicitly fictional and dramatised for viewers entertainment, the realistic characters and bricolage of archive footage and fictional characters, makes the tv show much more enticing. The idea of 'based on a true story' is attractive to audiences, who enjoy the entertainment value of dramas but the realism of surveillance - it is human nature to be curious and by having a realistic take on an unrealistic situation, it allows the audience to feel like they are looking into someone's life, which is an audience pleasure. The Supermarket scene, in Deutschland '83, is an obvious example of this with the pastiche to pop art shown through the unrealistically full shelves and high contrast, bright setting juxtaposing the realistic anxiety and turmoil felt by Martin/Moritz as he is faced with a new world without his consent. 

For Capital, the realism aspect was by far the most significant, as a 'state of the nation' drama, Capital was created, in order to reflect London during the economic crisis and in this case realism and accuracy is key. The use of animations of housing prices rising between scenes throughout the pilot episode, communicated a sense of realism as if we were watching the rise in 'real time', this would allow Londoners to see themselves reflected in the show, and create a sense of personal identity that may have been forgone if it was an unrealistic, melodramatic depiction of a very recent and memorable event in London's history. Realism, in this case, would be the most politically correct and profitable approach to a series, whereas in other cases such as Downton Abbey or Mad Men, realism is only slightly significant and the hard-hitting narratives and dramatic perspective on a piece of history are appreciated a lot more. Deutschland '83 uses a mix of realism and recognisable fiction to adhere to a respectful depiction of an important part of Germany's history but also be profitable for a western audience, with scenes that are clearly for the viewer's visceral pleasure. Therefore, you could argue that the aesthetics and overall production of a television drama is far more significant than a realistic representation as it offers creative differentiation and is arguably more profitable for a younger demographic and that a blurring of realism can promote 'historical deafness' [Jameson] in the younger generations, who rely on the media for both surveillance and diversion purposes.

In conclusion, I believe that through Capital [2015] and Deutschland 83 [2015], you can argue that realism is a vital component to a television drama however it is not the most vital component. Although, realistic depictions offer social, historical and cultural context and invoke audience pleasures, an enticing narrative arc and playing with the existing conventions of a drama and taking a politically subversive or post-modern stance with your creative liberation is much more vital in a contemporary climate, as the density of content provided leads to the likeliness of hegemonic monopolies throughout the media and with shows like Capital and Deutschland 83 by presenting Marxist or Postmodern content on a mainstream scale, it improves diversity within dramas and is vital to the suistainability of tv dramas.