Representation in Television Drama

To investigate representation in television drama I watched the first five minutes from the pilot episode of 'The Following' (2013). The first five minutes introduces 3 main characters as well as numerous sub-characters, one of whom is essential to the plot of the pilot episode.

Who/what is represented?

 

Joe Carroll

Serial Killer and former English Literature professor who escapes from Virginia State Penitentiary in the opening minutes of the pilot dressed as a prison guard. Portrayed by James Purefoy.

 

 

Ryan Hardy

Former FBI agent responsible for the capture and imprisonment of Joe Carroll. He gained fame from the Carroll case and ha since become an alcoholic who lives lone in a studio apartment in Brooklyn. Portrayed by Kevin Bacon.

 Jacob Wells

One of Carroll's 'followers' who has been posing as Sarah's neighbour. Portrayed by Nico Tortorella.

 

 

Sarah Fuller 

Carroll's last victim. She survived the attack and is now working as a doctor. Portrayed by Maggie Grace.

 

The FBI

 

Prison Guard System

 

How are they represented?

 

 

Joe Carroll

Joe Carroll is the main focus of the first minute and a half of the pilot. He appears dressed in a Prison Guard's uniform and is referred to as 'Pete' throughout the sequence which demonstrates the other Guard's ignorance towards his true identity. The shores are mainly close-ups focussing on his face or specifics of his uniform such as keys and an entrance card. The use of such shots make the audience familiar with this so far unknown face and connote the idiocy of the guards who fail to notice his true identity; implying Carroll to be both very intelligent and manipulative as he is able to simply walk out of a heavily guarded prison.
Furthermore, the shots focussed on Carroll are short in length and make the period of time it takes Carroll to make his calm escape barely worth documenting. Overall this represents Carroll as a man in control. His movements, disguise and lack of speech reflect the focus of his character; everything is clean cut and methodical implying he knows exactly what he is doing and what will come next. This resonates throughout the remainder of the series as he never ceases to be less than one step ahead of those chasing him.
Lastly, the use of costume and colour makes him blend into the background, suggesting Carroll to be nothing special to the audience (who still don't know his name) despite the fact he has taken central focus within the Drama's opening. It is through the casting of sinister looking, Shakespearean actor James Purefoy, the darkness cast over Carroll's face by his black cap and the bloody makeup of the Guard's corpse-filled observation room that represents Carroll as a cold, psychopathic murderer.

 

Ryan Hardy

The same methods are employed to represent Hardy as the exact opposite of Carroll. Here, the shots are extended and are mostly long shots with a few close-ups. These represent Hardy as a far slower individual who is not so much as in control as stumbling through life. The long shots connote his loneliness and, unlike Carroll, his lack of control over himself, instead it is suggested that hardy's environment and past are controlling him. The close ups, similar to Carroll, reflect key elements of his character but instead of being his physical identity and images of power (like the guard costume), the focus' of Hardy's character are bottles of vodka, the book he wrote about Carroll and his pacemaker which all represent him as a deeply flawed and obsessive individual who has fallen from grace.
Hardy's moves are slow, his pyjamas (then suit) are crumpled and nondescript which present him as not-caring of his appearance as well as a mess. A prominent action is his placement of a disguised bottle of vodka and his tie in his bag. These simultaneous actions suggest to the audience that he is as addicted to his old job as he is to the alcohol. His later removal of the tie before the vodka further suggests that his work with the FBI is more addictive than the alcohol his consumes now, implying that he is in remission from his main obsession and that I why he is in his current dishevelled state. This is further presented in the use of lighting. Despite there being bright light outside, the lighting within Hardy's apartment is low key and only changes to high key when put in the company of current FBI agents investigating the prison Carroll has just broken free from; suggesting that Hardy has just escaped his own personal prison and is now exposed to reek his own form of havoc- as is implied by the vastly negative reactions of the officers and agents meeting him again.
Finally, the casting of Kevin Bacon is essential to the representation of Ryan Hardy. Bacon is a vastly popular dramatic actor who, until the series, had seemed to have vanished from the face of the earth. By casting such a well known yet absent actor, the creators of 'The Following' have built the same persona for Hardy which suggests to the audience that they are meeting an 'old-great' who is going to become very memorable indeed.

With both characters, the shot is focussed in the foreground with little recognition of deep space. This represents the male leads as arrogant but also that they are in a completely different league than the people around them in their respective fields and therefore require respect and attention.

Jacob Wells

Jacob only appears in the first few minutes for a matter of seconds. Within that time he pushes his way past FBI agents to support his friend and neighbour, Sarah Fuller, in the aftermath of Joe Carroll's escape. These actions along with the plain, comfortable clothing and soft sunny lighting represent Jacob as someone trustworthy and friendly. However, this is turned on its head later in the episode when he is properly introduced as Jacob, rather than his alias, and it becomes known he is loyal to Joe rather then his victim, Sarah.

Sarah Fuller

Sarah is put under the watch and protection of the FBI following Carroll's escape. Soft, high key lighting is employed to reflect how she is both exposed yet safe and protected. This representation is turned around within the episode when she is kidnapped by her friendly neighbours under the watch of the FBI.
Secondly, Sarah is portrayed as someone who is mentally conflicted. A flashback to her testimony of Carroll's attack brings her paranoia and suicidal episode into the present. Combined with her costume of scrubs and her generally clean and kept appearance and home, the audience comes to believe that Sarah had almost moved on and was doing well, but is now being thrown backwards. As a result, Sarah is represented as mildly depressed but also very strong.

The FBI and Prison Guards

The FBI and Guard's are presented in the same ways as Joe and Ryan, to mostly the same effects. The FBI are represented the same way as Joe. The editing is fast and there are lots of close ups focussing on faces and elements of their uniform; representing their work focus and control. Furthermore, the lighting I harsh and high key ( a slight differentiation from Joe) which represents the organisation as a group highly exposed and in the public eye. This further represents Hardy as a maverick within the organisation as he brings the darker edge that Joe possesses that the FBI just can't afford to have.
In contrast, the prison guards are portrayed more like Hardy, slightly behind the times and in the dark which is presented through lower key lighting and the use of long, extended shots. Furthermore, their costume is no where near as neat as the FBI's or even Joe's, suggesting a lack of passion form their jobs. Most prominent is the choice of actors and their positioning within the scene. Most of the prison guards are overweight and, as is scene in the crime scene, they are obviously slow which I seen in how the majority of the dead men are still sitting at their consoles or facing away from he door on the floor- as if Joe just crept up behind them. The overall representation of the guards as lazy individuals bored and uncaring of their jobs gives the audience the feeling that the prison system and other officials almost made it easy for Carroll to escape; the is also suggested in the length of time I takes the two surviving guards to notice something has gone very, very wrong. On the other hand, this representation could have ben employed to demonstrate how, to Carroll, everyone is lazy and being kept in the dark by their superiors. Therefore the weak representation of the guards may inform the audience that Carroll is by no means a man to be messed with.