Capital: Case Study Blog Tasks

Reviews and features

Read the following review and feature on Capital:

Guardian review by Sam Wollaston
London Evening Standard: five things you need to know about Capital

1) What positive points does the review pick out about Capital? What criticisms are made - either of the TV drama or the original novel?

It is a perfect representation of London but it is complicated

2) What references can you find in the reviews and feature to the idea Capital is a 'state-of-the-nation' drama? How does it capture modern-day London?

It captures modern-day London by showing the lives of ordinary residents from all sorts of backgrounds

Trailer analysis

Watch the trailer for Capital:



1) How does the drama use camerawork to capture London life?

 Close-ups represent family life

2) How does the trailer use mise-en-scene to capture the family element of the drama?

A lot of the scenes are shot inside of a house

3) How does the trailer introduce narrative strands suggesting tension or enigma in the 40-second running time?

A woman is arguing

Representations: close-textual analysis

Capital offers a range of fascinating representations - from London and asylum seekers to capitalism and inequality. You need to be able to confidently discuss these issues in the context of 2015 London - with reference to key scenes from episode 1. Representations include: London, family, gender, ethnicity, religion, immigration, asylum, inequality, wealth, capitalism, aging and more.

These notes from a lesson analysing these clips will help with this element of the case study. You'll need your Greenford Google login to access the document.

1) Write an analysis of the representations in each of the key scenes from episode 1 we studied in the lesson:

Scene 1: opening sequence 00:30 – 4.49
Scene 2: work in the City 6.28 – 8.10
Scene 3: “Which of those isn’t absolutely essential?” 14.00 – 15.35
Scene 4: asylum 18.03 – 19.42 AND 31.10 – 32.40
Scene 5: “What use is 30 grand?” 36.40 – 39.00 
Scene 6: life at the corner shop 40.10 – 42.55

You can choose which aspects to focus on for each scene: e.g. London, family, gender, ethnicity, religion, immigration, asylum, inequality, wealth, aging etc. Feel free to use bullet points for each scene.

2) How does Capital use stereotypes? Do the characters and issues represented in Capital reinforce or subvert the stereotypes we typically see in the media?

South Asian working at a corner shop - reinforces stereotypes

White men working in the banking industry - reinforces stereotypes

Industries and production context

Capital was produced by independent production company Kudos for the BBC. Look at the Kudos website and also read the Kudos Wikipedia page.

1) Who is the parent company for Kudos?

Endemol Shine UK

2) What was the breakthrough show for Kudos in 2002?

Spooks

3) Watch the showreel on the Kudos website. What other TV dramas have Kudos produced? What awards have they won?

Utopia & The Tunnel

4) What audience pleasures does the showreel suggest Kudos productions offer? 

Personal identity - viewers can relate to the characters

Marketing and promotion

Read the BBC Press Pack for Capital.

1) How does the programme information on page 3 make Capital sound interesting to audiences?

It gives a short synopsis of the show by first introducing the main characters and then describing what their lives are like

2) Why does the programme information mention the other shows that the director and producer have worked on?

To show that the director and producer have made other great shows so therefore Capital will also be a great show

3) Who commissioned Capital for BBC?

Charlotte Moore, Controller of BBC One and Ben Stephenson, Controller of BBC Drama.

4) Read the interview with Toby Jones. What does he say about the character of Roger?

Roger isn’t an evil banker, he’s a slightly complacent banker. He’s become used to a certain way of life and has a self-imposed pressure to live that way. He spends a lot of money on things that other people don’t spend money on – for example, fixtures and fittings - but that is normal to him and his wife. He is not totally in charge of his life or his work.

5) Read the interview with Adeel Akhtar (page 10). What does he suggest Capital says about the fictional Pepys Road and the sense of community (or lack of it) in London?

We’re living in a strange time now. I think we’re at a crossroads and a lot of things are slowly happening, socially, economically and culturally. Pepys Road is a manifestation of this. It’s an example of what is happening on a lot of roads in London and Britain. 

6) Read the interview with Shabana Azmi (page 12). What does she say about Asian representations in Britain? 

If you look at the subject of Capital, and the number of communities that are being represented, there’s the awareness that the world is shrinking, and becoming a global village. We are absorbing cultures, and understanding them, or at least trying to understand them within their own paradigms. 

7) Read the interview with Peter Bowker (who adapted Capital - page 14). What are his favourite scenes in the drama and why?

I have a few favourite moments in the book which I wanted to make sure stayed as favourites in the adaptation. Christmas morning where Roger has been abandoned and left to look after his two 15 children is one that Euros (Director) has done brilliantly. Roger realises that his life is changing but it’s done with such comedy! It is one of those glorious Basil Fawlty moments where the farce is working at one level and the emotional farce is working at another. I also love the Kamals’ chaotic family meals. They are quintessentially archetypal family scenes that everybody lives through, but played with great comedic panache. And when Bogdan the Polish builder talks to Matya the Hungarian nanny about the affluent Londoners they are working for, it’s fascinating. Capital has a wonderful scale but is all about the minute observations of human nature. 

8) Read the interview with Derek Wax, the Executive Producer for Kudos (page 16). Why did he produce Capital and what does it say about the way we live now?

The novel really spoke to me as it has a sweeping Dickensian ambition to it, all living in one street. I loved the sense of this big, expansive panorama of life as well as the small details of human behaviour. The whole of London is seen through the microcosm of one street. And the characters are so complex, real and believable. Sometimes big ‘state of the nation’ novels use characters to illustrate political points, but Capital is far more subtle and nuanced. John gets inside their heads and allows us to engage with their thoughts and feelings, observes them with insight, humour and humanity, and allows the story to breathe

It definitely speaks to me about where London and the country are now. The obsession with property, and the fact that London house prices have risen extraordinarily, has only intensified the sense of a society of haves and have-nots. Your home becomes the thing by which you are defined at some level, and in Capital, we go from Bogdan's bedsit to Petunia's home untouched for 60 years, to Roger and Arabella with their multiple homes and constant refurbishment, which is fascinating way of entering the psychology of these characters. Everyone’s connection to money is explored but then the novel expands to ask what life’s real value is, and it does this with a very deft, light touch. I’d say the novel is profound but never overtly polemical.

DVD packaging

Look at the DVD packaging for Capital. There are many marketing techniques employed here.

1) How does the packaging use other critically acclaimed TV dramas to promote Capital?

They use them as references to show how the makers of this film have already made great films

2) What does the use of design and images suggest to the audience about the drama?

The close-ups of their faces resemble mugshots which indicates a genre of crime

3) How are review quotes used on the cover and what do they suggest to the audience about sub-genre, narrative and audience pleasures?

They are used to show the positive things that other people think about the show. The phrase "insightful and moving" suggests that this show provides relatability to the audience (personal identity)

4) What representation of London does the DVD packaging offer?

The silhouette of London gives it a more sinister representation of London, suggests that something shady is happening