TV – Capital
Context
The first episode was broadcast on BBC 1 on 24 th of November 2015
The story centres on a fictional Pepys road in South London and the
lives of people with connections to it
Once an ordinary residential area, the value of each house in the
street is approaching £2 million
Its residents range from those who were born there to those who
have recently moved in
They all begin to receive post cards that say,
“WE WANT WHAT YOU HAVE” then they react differently
Novel adaptation
Capital is adapted from 2012 book by John Lanchester
The book was set in 2007-8 either side of the financial crisis but the TV drama updates it to 2015 and
changes location (Clapham to Balham)
London 2009 - 2015
Following the global financial crash in 2007-8, London was not expected to quickly recover
economically
However, house prices soared with some properties almost doubling in price in five years.
By September 2015, the average London house price was £531,000
Traditionally working-class neighbourhoods in London suddenly had houses worth £1m+
The top of the packaging includes the previous dramas that the makers had produced
- they are obviously popular and have been successful previously, hence why the
audience will be more inclined to watch
The design is similar to ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’ hinting that it revolves around the same
kind of dramatic, money orientated lives as the movie
The skyline image connotes the flashy, expensive area of London
- the irony is that it costs a lot but the street they live on is average and middle class
, How does the episode signify culture?
House prices
- Reoccurring problem
Islamophobia
- “If a white person called the police, you’d be there in seconds. But because we called,
you take ages to come.” – corner shop family
Ahmed and Petunia
- Talk about immigrants
- Ahmed helps her by taking her home, carrying her shopping and lets her stay in the
shop
- She’s controversial and contradictive about immigrants
- She says she doesn’t know the difference between Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims and
her husband does not accept them
Rodger and Arabella promote capitalism
- Issues with the Spanish nanny and Eastern European builders
- They exploit them for cheap labour, surprising coming from a family who are wealthy
and can afford builders
British people always say sorry
- They’re scared and do not want to upset people, part of their culture to apologise
Bankers
- Immoral
Quentina
- Ticket inspector and illegal immigrant
- If she goes back, she will get killed/raped
- The difference between wealthy and poor
- Illegal immigrants are treated badly by the wealthy people e.g. Rodger
Context
The first episode was broadcast on BBC 1 on 24 th of November 2015
The story centres on a fictional Pepys road in South London and the
lives of people with connections to it
Once an ordinary residential area, the value of each house in the
street is approaching £2 million
Its residents range from those who were born there to those who
have recently moved in
They all begin to receive post cards that say,
“WE WANT WHAT YOU HAVE” then they react differently
Novel adaptation
Capital is adapted from 2012 book by John Lanchester
The book was set in 2007-8 either side of the financial crisis but the TV drama updates it to 2015 and
changes location (Clapham to Balham)
London 2009 - 2015
Following the global financial crash in 2007-8, London was not expected to quickly recover
economically
However, house prices soared with some properties almost doubling in price in five years.
By September 2015, the average London house price was £531,000
Traditionally working-class neighbourhoods in London suddenly had houses worth £1m+
The top of the packaging includes the previous dramas that the makers had produced
- they are obviously popular and have been successful previously, hence why the
audience will be more inclined to watch
The design is similar to ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’ hinting that it revolves around the same
kind of dramatic, money orientated lives as the movie
The skyline image connotes the flashy, expensive area of London
- the irony is that it costs a lot but the street they live on is average and middle class
, How does the episode signify culture?
House prices
- Reoccurring problem
Islamophobia
- “If a white person called the police, you’d be there in seconds. But because we called,
you take ages to come.” – corner shop family
Ahmed and Petunia
- Talk about immigrants
- Ahmed helps her by taking her home, carrying her shopping and lets her stay in the
shop
- She’s controversial and contradictive about immigrants
- She says she doesn’t know the difference between Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims and
her husband does not accept them
Rodger and Arabella promote capitalism
- Issues with the Spanish nanny and Eastern European builders
- They exploit them for cheap labour, surprising coming from a family who are wealthy
and can afford builders
British people always say sorry
- They’re scared and do not want to upset people, part of their culture to apologise
Bankers
- Immoral
Quentina
- Ticket inspector and illegal immigrant
- If she goes back, she will get killed/raped
- The difference between wealthy and poor
- Illegal immigrants are treated badly by the wealthy people e.g. Rodger
