The Returned C2

Question 1

Who was the series produced by?

Answer 1

The series was produced by Haut Et Court with Canal+

Question 2

When and where was it aired?

Answer 2

• Canal+ on 26th November 2012 (France)
• Channel 4 on 9th June 2013 (UK)
• SundanceTV (USA)

Question 3

What is Channel 4?

Answer 3

Channel 4 is a commercially funded but non-profit channel that has a PSB remit to produce informative, educational, diverse, alternative, TV with new talent - which explains why they bought the rights to a foreign drama

Question 4

What is Canal+?

Answer 4

Canal+ is a French premium television channel launched in 1984. It is owned by the Canal+ Group, which in turn is owned by Vivendi. Although Vivendi is a conglomerate it has niche programming which means it has to get funding. Vivendi is both horizontally and Vertically integrated.

Question 5

How was the series funded?

Answer 5

The funding for the series came partly from Vivendi as well as two small French charities which fund films and dramas that show regional France which meant it had to be shot rurally and show French culture.

Question 6

What is SundanceTV?

Answer 6

SundanceTV is an American pay television channel owned by AMC networks which focused on alternative and independent films and programming

Question 7

What affected the distribution?

Answer 7

Channel 4’s website and All4 allow online streaming globally but the series was only available for a short time reflecting its nche nature. It was also later adapted for an American audience in 2015. The subtitled format makes it difficult to distribute it globally.

Question 8

Who was the show created by?

Answer 8

Fabrice Gobert

Question 9

What was the series based on?

Answer 9

The 2004 French film They Came Back (Les Revenants), directed by Robin Campillo.

Question 10

How was the series marketed?

Answer 10

• Through the Mogwai soundtrack being released alongside the series.
• The official website allowed a 360-degree tour of the town
• multiple posters such as Camille, Victor and Adele who appeal to different audiences
• The UK trailer also has no dialogue which would not put off an audience who don’t like subtitles
• Online Channel4 promoted its foreignness by telling the audience there would be a French introduction and adverts
• Social media such as Twitter and Facebook
• Merchandise made eg) T-shirts and a book of the series
• Promoted it had won the Peabody award

Question 11

How was synergy used?

Answer 11

Through the Scottish post-rock band Mogwai’s soundtrack being released alongside the series which would attract a similar niche audience.

Question 12

What did the writers and directors intend the show to be an allegory for?

Answer 12

The refugee system in France

Question 13

Who regulates British TV?

Answer 13

OFCOM regulates British TV and has to ensure that the series meets Channel 4’s remit.

Question 14

How might regulation differ between countries?

Answer 14

Countries like France have slightly different laws so the sex scene between Lena and Fredric would seem less taboo in France. However, this makes it more difficult to distribute it globally.

Question 15

What social/cultural context has influenced the series?

Answer 15

• Reflects rising popularity of foreign language dramas being exported such as The Killing
• Reflects rising issues of refugees held in camps in France whilst being presented as dangerous by the media
• Reflects the current divided society with fears one side will ‘overthrow’ the other eg) refugees or terrorists
• Typical modern family issues presented eg) divorce, bereavement
• Gender presented stereotypically but this may be due to the rural setting
• Religious climate present - France predominately Christian

Question 16

How can Todorov’s narrative theory be applied to The Returned?

Answer 16

• The first disruptor is the butterfly and this suggests the crash won’t be straightforward
• Repeated disruptors when the dead start returning home
• No equilibrium at the end of the episode
• Non-linear structure eg) flashbacks, and each episode told from a different character’s perspective - both challenge Todorov

Question 17

How can Neale’s genre theory be applied to The Returned?

Answer 17

• The zombie genre has become more popular due to series like The Walking Dead
• Contains some elements of the supernatural such as dark lighting, eerie locations, dead animals in caves, and people returning from the dead
• Also borrows from other genres such as family drama and supernatural
• Subverts some conventions of the zombie genre, for instance, they don’t eat brains and are conscious

Question 18

How can Levi-Strauss’ theory be applied to The Returned?

Answer 18

Binary oppositions:

• man and woman
• dead and living
• accepted and rejected
• past and present
• secular and religious
• immoral and moral

Could reflect how immigrants are treated in society

Question 19

How can Hall’s theory of representation be applied to The Returned?

Answer 19

• Stereotypes used in The Returned: rebellious teenager (Lena), domestic mother (Claire), creepy child (Victor), dominant attractive male (Simon), and romantic depressed woman (Adele)
• Some characters subvert stereotypes such as Lena, Camille, and Julie who are strong female characters

Question 20

How can hook’s theory be applied to The Returned?

Answer 20

There are no ethnic minorities in The Returned but this may be to the rural French settings. However, it is later revealed that Julie and Laure are lesbians.

Question 21

How can Van Zoonen’s theory be applied to The Returned?

Answer 21

• Some sexualisation of women eg) Lena and Lucy
• Also, women are shown in domestic roles eg) Julie and Claire
• However, Julie subverts the sexualisation of women as she is a young woman shown in comfy clothes

Question 22

How can Livingstone and Lunt’s theory be applied to The Returned?

Answer 22

Technology has made The Returned harder to regulate as TV is now on demand which makes the watershed redundant. All4 has little regulation and can be accessed by everyone.

Question 23

How can Hesmondhalgh’s theory be applied to The Returned?

Answer 23

Producers have tried to minimise risk and maximise audience through:
- Basing it on an already existing film
- Turning it into a franchise with a second and third season and the US remake
- Turning it into a book adaptation
- ‘Hiding’ the foreign language in the trailers
- Marketing it as a supernatural drama which is popular
- Companies like Canal+ are vertically integrated
HOWEVER still risk through no stars, foreign language and unique filming style

Question 24

What award did the series win?

Answer 24

In 2013, the first season won an International Emmy for Best Drama Series.

Question 25

What style is the series influenced by?

Answer 25

French poetic realist tradition - Shots are simply constructed with an other-worldly feel created by the lighting and camera techniques. - Characters were often disillusioned and looking for one last chance of happiness. - They were fatalistic in tone and had a sense of impending doom.

Question 26

How can the Returned be seen to include Biblical allegory?

Answer 26

Through the apocalyptic nature of the dead rising; the biblical names such as Simon, Pierre, and Thomas; the flood; and Pierre as the leader with the others as his disciples.

Question 27

How can Freud's theory of the Uncanny be applied to The Returned?

Answer 27

Freud’s essay, Das Umheimliche (1919) examines the uncanny within the Gothic and supernatural. In psychoanalytic terms, we bury the thing we fear and dread the most. When characters in Les Revenants experience the uncanny they are confronted with that which they most revile, the familiar thing they try to keep secret, and the thing of which they are most ashamed. An encounter with the uncanny often occurs in the home itself. This is the place where we should feel safe, and yet it is the very place where our repressed fears are most easily projected. The theme of the double is linked closely to the uncanny. The double may be constructed through the use of mirrors, matching pairs and twinned experience.

Question 28

Who are the main characters in The Returned?

Answer 28

``` Claire Seguret Camille Seguret Lena Seguret Jerome Seguret Pierre ``` Julie Victor Laure Simon Adele Thomas Toni Serge Lucy Mr Costa Madama Costa

Question 29

Who is the target audience for The Returned?

Answer 29

``` Psychographic: - fans of zombie supernatural texts - mainstream - fans of foreign dramas - niche - fans of French poetic realism - niche - inherited fan base from SundanceTV Demographic: - 15-50 - unisex audience as they can identify with characters - ABC1 audience as a highbrow TV series ```

Question 30

What was The Returned influenced by?

Answer 30

David Lynch's Twin Peaks