LES REVENANTS

• 'French supernatural drama series' - hybrid genre
• hybrid genre - reaches a wider audience 
• 26th November 2012 on Canal+
• United Kingdom 9 June 2013 on channel 4
• 2 series, 8 episodes each
• based on french film, They Came Back
• created by Fabrice Gobert

there are lots of different story arcs in the first episode, the series is based on hermeneutic codes

SUPERNATURAL -  unconventional narrative, child comes out from nowhere (intertextuality of The Omen)

AVANT-GARDE (experimental) - non-linear narrative

FRENCH - the mise en scene of the actors

CULT TV - a tv show that has a passionate audience, invites the audience to do things with it, cult tv shows need to create their own world



EXAM STRUCTURE

INTRO - DAC
DEFINITION - key terminology
ARGUMENT - point of view, stick to it
CONTEXT - context of media products

PARAGRAPHS - PEA
POINT
EVIDENCE 
ARGUAMENT

KEY TERMS
HEGEMONIC 
STEREOTYPE
IDEOLOGY
POLYSEMY
INTERTEXTUALITY
NEGOTIATION

"In the 21st century, it is essential for tv shows to offer multiple meanings" - evaluate the claim with reference to Les Revenants....

• (opening scenes)
• establishing shot of french alps and bus - isolated and exotic setting (for secondary British audience), emphasizes importance of polysemy as it means different things to difference nationalities
• slow zoom from exterior to interior , the point of focus is butterflies pinned to board
• mise en scene on butterfly escaping - coming back to life, freedom
• desaturated colour grading and lowkey lighting when Camille returns  - mysterious (hermeneutic code), forces audience top negotiate their own perspective on narrative, not sure how much time has passed, etc 
• soundtrack when zooming in on butterflies crescendos (gets louder) - key moment, has a deeper meaning(symbolic code) 
• Camille has more screen time on bus and consistently framed in montage of closeup shots - positions the audience with her, her age allows teenage audience to engage in the narrative
• sudden and mysterious cut to black after the bus accident - symbolises primary theme of death, symbolises audience's own confusion
• unconventional to supernatural genre - lacks genre paradigms, very unconventional zombie 

REPRESENTATIONS  - allows audience to relate with characters, audience learns about the world, not real, construction of reality (they construct reality!)

ideologies are always presented through representation 

TEENAGE GIRL
SMARTLY DRESSED - ATYPICAL, CARDIGAN IS STEREOTYPICALLY ASSOCIATED WITH OLDER PEOPLE (COMPLEX REPRESENTATION REFLECTED IN COMPLEX NARRATIVE)
MINIMAL MAKEUP FITS WITH FRENCH 'NATURAL' BEAUTY STANDARDS
GINGER HAIR IS UNCONVENTIONAL WHICH HELPS HER STAND OUT 

 MOTHER - STEREOTYPICAL ASPIRATIONAL MIDDLE CLASS MOTHER
MINIMALISTIC HAIR AND JUMPER
TIRED EYES AND PALE FACE IS STEREOTYPICALLY ATTRACTIVE IN FRANCE
APPEALS TO HETEROSEXUAL MALE AUDIENCE - SAME AGE

YOUNG MALE
 DARK, STRONG FEATURES, BUSHY EYEBROWS -STEREOTYPICALLY ATTRACTIVE
CAST NEEDS TO BE ATTRACTIVE TO FRENCH AUDIENCE BECAUSE THAT IS THE TARGET AUDIENCE
LEATHER LOOKING JACKET REPRESENTS REBELLION

30 YEAR OLD WOMAN (APPROX)
HAIR IS TIED UP AND MESSY - NOT INVESTED INTO HER APPEARANCE

JOHN BERGER - 
'MEN ACT, WOMEN APPEAR'

REPRESENT RURAL FRENCH LIFE - ATYPICAL FRENCH SETTING FOR INTERNATIONAL AUDIENCE
ALL WHITE CAST IN IMAGE - WHITE MIDDLE CLASS TARGET AUDIENCE
ALLEGORICAL THEMES - DEATH AND HOW PEOPLE DEAL WITH IT

Glasgow Megasnake - Mogwai

• Mogwai did soundtrack for les revenants
• instrumental rock band - this track sounds more like metal
• distorted guitars 
• songs tend to be very long
• Mogwai lack a 'front man' 
• boring appearance - t-shirts and jeans, look like normal men
• own their own record label - 'Rock Action'

why pick Mogwai for soundtrack?

• widens audience - pre-existing Mogwai fans
• synergy - 2 media products coming together and working well together
• allows Mogwai to target international audience 
• are both moody and creepy - share the same ideology
• gives Mogwai subcultural capital 

how does the trailer target its audience? (International audience)

• english text - everyone can understand
• quoting British newspapers such as Sunday Times - audience know and trust these newspapers
• fast-paced editing and montage - makes the show look more exciting and action-packed than it is, sells to action fans
• encourages audience to take an active reading - invites its target audiences to have a negotiated reading 

Fans of Les Revenants have the option to buy the book, 'The Lake Pub' t-shirt, and the soundtrack on vinyl/cd 

CANAL+

IDEOLOGY - premium channel, quality shows

FUNDING - 'Creative Europe' funding, paid for by grants, some funds from Alps tourism board

SCHEDULING - season 2 was shown at 8:50pm, 9pm in UK and USA

OWNERSHIP - Vivendi SA, french mass media conglomerate, headquarters in Paris 

NOTABLE RELEASES - the tunnel, spiral, le grand journal, all created for a domestic audience

CONGLOMERATION - media, music (Universal music), tv, films, videogames

IMPORTS - tellytubbies, vampire diaries, game of thrones