3. In this
question you will be rewarded for drawing together elements from your
full course of study, including different areas of the theoretical
framework and media contexts.
How far does the extract try to create a sense that it is portraying 'real life'?
In your answer you should:
analyse aspects of the extract giving detailed examples
judge how far these aspects create a sense of watching 'real life'
In the extract, the use of naturalistic locations create a sense of watching real life. For example, the criminal incident takes place in a shopping precinct. Many, if not all, of the audience will know what these are and have visited one before. This creates a sense of familiarity and realism for the viewers. Another example is the convectional costumes, e.g the police uniform, the criminals clothing (all black, balaclava) creates a sense of realism for the viewers as all of the viewers recognize the police uniform and together with the naturalistic locations create a very realistic scene/atmosphere so the audience do not have to suspend disbelief.
In the extract, camera work and continuity editing can be used cover up artificiality in the scenes. For example, shot reverse shot makes the scene seem more realistic so people do not consider any situations that might not seem fully realistic.
The use of general conversations including the police drama and stereotypes live up to audience expectations and creates a realistic affect as the concepts seem familiar. For example, the young rookie and the old hand show a sense of realism as the idea of an older police teaching a younger policeman is realistic and audiences can associate with these realistic stereotypes.There is always also a team of officers, including different ethnicity's which fits the audiences expectations and doesn't undermine a
sense of reality. Also, all off the criminals fit into the audiences idea of a stereotypical villain. This makes it so the sense of realism is not lost and the idea of a police chase is familiar.
Seb Hardy
(Draft 1)
