T.V. Drama Research

Section A

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.

Narrative/plotThe 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.

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.

CharactersThe 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.

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.

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.

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.

SettingsMost 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