Life on mars

 Genre

A hybrid genre text. Crime and sci-fi. Typical crime genre conventions are seen in the protagonist being really good at his job of being a detective. The typical crime setting with the police station and crime scenes. Protagonists partner having the complete opposite personality but is great at their job. Has elements of the sci-fi genre when the protagonist gets hit by a car and travels back in time to the 1970s. There is however conversation wether he actually time traveled or he's in a coma and this is all made up. This show subverts the crime genre as the protagonist gets hurt at the start of the show when in a lot of crime dramas the protagonist seems almost unstoppable, might get a scratch or a bruise but that's it. This perfectly demonstrated Neale's genre theory that genres all include similar features, however each have features that are different.

Narrative

An enigma code refers to any element of a text that is not fully explained, becoming a mystery to the audience. In life on mars first episode we are constantly questioning whether the protagonist is in a coma and everything he is experiencing is in his head, or whether he actually managed to travel back in time and everything is real. Even towards of the episode we still have no idea which one is the true. 

Life on mars also has a restricted narrative, meaning that we as the viewer only know what the character knows (maybe less). This in turn helps to create greater curiosity in the viewer and can lead to surprise.

Representations

There is a big contrast between modern day and the 1970s in life on mars. Firstly we start with the protagonist in a police station with men and women, additionally there is people from different nationalities. However, in the 1970s we see that the police force is all white men. Another difference is the technology. 1970s police station uses paper for their work unlike the modern day police station with computers. The work environment in the 1970s is also extremely misogynistic as women aren't taken seriously in a place of power and are constantly criticised and shamed throughout the episode. Especially, Annie Cartwright, whom of which has a psychology degree and makes that clear to everyone, but is still criticised and sexualised when she shows off her skills from her degree to help solve the case. Women aren't taken seriously.

Another representation is racial stereotypes. The Bartender, Nelson, Puts on a strong Caribbean accent because that's what people would expect from a black man with dreadlocks so he conforms to the stereotypes. Nelson represents the wind rush generation. But in one scene when he talks to the protagonist we see that he actually has a British accent.