Hinterland Notes

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  • Hinterland
    • The equilibrium is Mathias arrives (new job in Aberystwyth)
      • The disruption is Mathias is called to investigate the disappearance of Helen Jenkins.
        • The recognition is the revelations at the children's home and Devils bridge.
          • The resoultion is the attempt to resolve the case.
            • The equilibrium at the end of the first episode is the confession of Jenny James
    • In Hinterland there are references to pop culture, for example a homage to "The Shining".
      • The homage has been encoded through the idea that evil and the dark is present without knowing it.
    • In terms of cultural codes, there are elements of subtle nuances which connot similarity to Nordic Noir equivalents such as "The Bridge" and "The Killing".
    • Other postmodern elements in Hinterland such as Irony whereby Hyqel, having been treated badly by Helen Jenkins, actually provides irony as he confesses she was a figure figure later when he is being questioned - it is later ironic that Helen Jenkins ends up dead and being part of hre own narrative and backstory.
    • The Sidney Vosper painting "Salem", affects genre through how the audience are positioned to believe the myth as a cultural code.
      • Anti-realism is protrayed by the creation of folklore and myths through this painting.
    • Based on our cultural perception of the police force, that is itself a constructred simulacrum rather t han experienced first hand.
      • The idea that the police force is itself a "simulacrum" is conveyed through the way it is presented to the audience.
    • Hinterland is hyper-reality
      • The "Hinterland" world is a hyper-realityy through the idea that it is rural Wales re-presented from a mediated perspective, which is linked to witchcraft, superstition and the supernatural.
    • The use of open frames to encode the isolated figure of Mathias in the opening sequence further exemplifies the theme of loneliness.
    • De-saturated colour palettes and hard focus/lighting helps to autheticate the Noiresque elements.
    • The use of tracking shots to capture Mathias running in rural landscape in the opening further exemplifies themes of freedom.
    • Produced in 2013 by Fiction Factory Films with financial support from the Welsh government.
      • Origianlly shown on S4C and BBC One Wales.
    • Sold to several different territories, some of which were pre-sold before Hinterland was even produced.
      • Features on several streaming sites, such as Netflex, Prime and Britbox.
    • A welsh version of the hugely popular Nordic Noir crime subgenre which reached popularity in the mid-00s specifically refers to Welsh mythology.
    • Hinterland won an award for Best Drama at the Celtic Media Awards 2014
    • The English language version, with some welsh dialogue was aired on BBC One Wales during January 2014 in 4 parts.
    • The BBC Four bilingual version was broadcast between April and May 2014.
    • Cultural Context - The new series follows a commitment made by BBC Cymru Wales Director Rhodri Talfan Davies at the Celtic Media Festival in April to better reflect Welsh language life and culture
    • The programme makers received £215,000 in repayable business funding from the Welsh Government.
    • Hinterland targets a welsh audience through language and culture.
    • Audiences may identify with Tom Mathias as he is displaced into a different world which seems strange to us and to him as well.
    • Pleasures:     Audiences will have expectations of the genre and will obtain pleasure in seeing expectations fulfilled (Neale)
    • Hinterland offers pleasure through escapism.
    • Moral messages contained reinforces dominant ideologies.
    • We solve the mystery alongside Tom Mathias and become part of the team. This fulfils the audience's need for belonging or social needs within Blumler & Katz' Uses & Gratifications model
    • Positioned with DCI Tom Mathias & the restricted narrative means that we only know what he knows. We therefore seek answers to narrative enigma codes (Barthes) as Mathias does - what is going on?
    • A feminist audience may oppose the representation of Owens/Rhys as lower within the hierarchy than the males and may question the patriarchal values which are evident within the force
    • An oppositional reading may struggle to find Mathias a sympathetic character. Audiences may view this flawed hero archetype with concern, or find it difficult to connect to him emotionally as so much about him remains unrevealed
    • Preferred reading of Hinterland - a quality Welsh crime drama, driven by enigmas and a classic investigative narrative - will be enjoyed by fans of Nordic noir in particular as it contains many of the elements of these
    • Tom Mathias is consistently represented as being masculine - an example of this is the low angle shot of Mathias when visiting the home of Catrin John
    • Mared Rhys is represented as independent and smart.
    • The attitude of Brian Prosser implies an "old boys network"
    • The sense of surveillance through Brian Prosser is evident and most notable in the scene where he looks through the cell window at Jenny near the end of the first episode
    • Male aggression and the patriarchal system portrayed through the representation of Catrin is exeplified in the scene where Jenny tells the investigators about the **** of Catrin, and the baby being killed by Jenny.
    • Gauntlett's theory of Identity can also be applied to Tom Mathias, through how audience can pick the representation of him as being mysterious, and mix this representation with the ideas of how Tom's past overshadows the present.
    • Catrin's initial representation as a caring mother and housewife is the binary opposite to Jenny.
      • The producers of Hinterland have decided to represent Catrin in this way as a way of providing audiences genre with a twist.
  • The audience is positioned with Tom Mathias and view the "hinterland" around Aberystwyth through his eyes
  • Audiences gain pleasure with enigma codes t hrough intellectual puzzles.

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