1. Postmodern Media Case study 1: The British police drama Life on Mars / Ashes to Ashes

2. Postmodern Media Key terms – intertextuality / bricolage Police dramas – what do you expect to see?

3. Police drama clips For each clip, consider the following points and make notes: What settings does the action take place in? How does this programme represent the police? How does this programme represent criminals

4. Police drama clips What common patterns can you detect?

5. Police drama – conventional narrative structure Vogler’s hero’s journey (edited version) Call to Adventure - The hero is presented with a problem, challenge or adventure to undertake – police are presented with a crime Tests, Allies, Enemies - The hero faces tests, meets allies, confronts enemies & learn the rules of the Special World - here the Special World is the world structured by the crime

6. Approach - The hero has hit setbacks during tests & may need to reorganize his helpers or rekindle morale with mentor's rally cry. Stakes heightened. – through the episode the police will make progress with the case and they will suffers setbacks Return with Elixir - The hero returns from the journey with the “elixir”, so everyone in the world can use to heal physical or emotional wounds. By the end, the crime is solved brining emotional closure for the audience and maybe for the characters

7. Life on Mars

8. Life on Mars How is Life on Mars similar to other police dramas? In what ways is Life on Mars different?

9. Ashes to Ashes Using the handout on The Mighty Booshfor reference, work out in what ways Ashes to Ashes can be said to be an example of postmodern media