The Man in the High Castle is an alternate history TV drama set in 1962 where the Axis powers won WWII. The plot follows characters in a dystopian USA divided between Nazi and Japanese rule who discover propaganda films of an unknown origin. Main iconography includes Nazi and Japanese flags and symbols. The drama features a large cast of characters including Joe, a Nazi double agent, and Obergruppenfuhrer Smith, a Nazi commander. Main themes explored are morality, treachery, and living under fascist rule. The show uses period film techniques to set the tone and establish its alternate history setting across locations in the USA and Europe.

1. T.V. Drama Research
Section A

2. T.V. Drama definition
A fictional program that stars a cast of
recognizable and relatable characters that
experience multiple plots and themes. The
drama is normally fictitious but has realistic
themes for the audience to get engaged and
relate with the characters.

3. Narrative/plot
The Man in the High Castle is an
alternate history dystopia in which
the Axis Powers won WW2 and have
divided the USA into two states with
the Nazi and Japanese sharing the
continent. With both sides on the
brink of war with Each other and the
discovery of strange propaganda
films sets a cast of characters on the
path to finding out what these films
mean and to cease hostilities
between the Nazis and the Japanese.
It is loosely based on the 1962 book
of the same name.

4. Iconography
As the show is dystopic in nature with the Nazis
and Japanese winning WW2, some of the main
iconography would be flags such as the Nazi
swastika and the flag of the Former Japanese
Empire. Both of these appear in the intro and
there is even an alternate history USA flag with a
Swastika where the stars should be. Berlin is also
shown near the end of series one as the capital of
the German empire which further reinforces the
world that has been created by the creators of
the show.

5. Characters
The drama features a large cast of characters that all follow different paths
but are intertwined in the same narrative. Joe is a Nazi double agent who
ends up falling in love with Juliana who is working for the resistance. Frank is
Juliana’s boyfriend, his family is killed by the Japanese when Juliana joined
the resistance after her sister was killed. Obergruppenfuhrer Smith is a Nazi
commander and main character who is caught between following his own
orders to recover the films and to foil a plot to assassinate Hitler himself.

6. Themes/issues
Some of the main themes and issues that are
explored in the show are themes of death, morality
and treachery. All the characters follow plots of
their own that have them assassinating political
leaders, spying on their own friends and family and
killing people who are technically innocent but it’s a
grey area because they support the Nazis. It’s very
interesting as it shamelessly exploits such a taboo
subject by having lots of Nazi iconography which is
quite unconventional.

7. Technical aspects
The show uses a lot of establishing shots to show off
the heavily stylized world that has been created by the
developers. There is frequent use of film grain to make
it seem like it has been filmed in an older time with
inferior equipment, lens flares are also used to great
effect to make the images seem more impressive.

8. Mise en Scene
Considering the genre and subgenre it is fair to
assume that some of the main mise en scene will
be weapons and army uniforms. Taking into account
the time period there are lots of things that make
sense to be there, for example the films are on film
reels that must be watched on an old camera. Even
though it is implied that the Axis have better
technology this isn’t seen as much as the weapons
and technology available are in accordance with
early to mid 60’s technology.

9. Settings
Most of series on is set on the American west coast and central
America, however it does change settings to the east coast and
to central Europe near the end of the first series. These settings
help to contextualize exactly what has happened in this alternate
history, we see cities such as New York, San Francisco and
Germania (Berlin), each of the cities has been changed by the
iconography and the