Life on Mars Analysis
Life on Mars Analysis
Life on Mars is a BBC crime drama starring John Simm. It consists of main character, Sam Tyler being in a car accident and being transported 33 years into the past to the year 1973. It has the main stock characters that would typically be seen in a crime-drama. Sam is the main investigator. He is the point of interest throughout and the audience feels just as confused as he does. In the present, the sidekick character that we briefly see is a strong female character. This contrasts with the 1970s where there are hardly any females in the workplace and the ones that are there face sexism by male co-workers. In fact in the 70s setting the boss and the sidekick character are the same person with him helping Sam solve the case and interrogate suspects or witnesses.
Representation is used strongly throughout the episode, mainly with the roles of women in the workplace. This is seen through the character of Annie Cartwright. Even though she is clearly shown as intelligent due to her doing psychology in university, she is repeatedly dismissed by her colleagues. An example of this can be seen in the scene where Sam asks her to present a case in front of the workers and she is laughed at. She is also one of the only female character that we actually see on the police force. There also does not appear to be many ethnic minorities present summing up the all-white, all-male workplace that would typically have been seen in this time period.
The audience is inclined to sympathise with Sam through his journey. When he first arrives in 1973 there are many specific camera shots alluding to how confused he is. There is the slow 360 degree shot where we get a look at the new setting that we are in. There is also a POV shot where we look through a mirror through Sam's eyes and witness his reaction to his new clothes. The mise-en-scene for the episode also had to well crafted to show the differences between the past and the present. This can be seen all throughout the episode. Our first indication that he was in a different time period was Sam's clothes distinctively changing to 70s attire. The camera also focuses on a huge sign that advertises Manchester's highway that will soon be built. The target audience would most likely be aware that the highway would have had already been built for many years. Most of the obvious changes are there for audience purposes as they would have most likely lived through this time and remember elements of the time period.
Representation is used strongly throughout the episode, mainly with the roles of women in the workplace. This is seen through the character of Annie Cartwright. Even though she is clearly shown as intelligent due to her doing psychology in university, she is repeatedly dismissed by her colleagues. An example of this can be seen in the scene where Sam asks her to present a case in front of the workers and she is laughed at. She is also one of the only female character that we actually see on the police force. There also does not appear to be many ethnic minorities present summing up the all-white, all-male workplace that would typically have been seen in this time period.
The audience is inclined to sympathise with Sam through his journey. When he first arrives in 1973 there are many specific camera shots alluding to how confused he is. There is the slow 360 degree shot where we get a look at the new setting that we are in. There is also a POV shot where we look through a mirror through Sam's eyes and witness his reaction to his new clothes. The mise-en-scene for the episode also had to well crafted to show the differences between the past and the present. This can be seen all throughout the episode. Our first indication that he was in a different time period was Sam's clothes distinctively changing to 70s attire. The camera also focuses on a huge sign that advertises Manchester's highway that will soon be built. The target audience would most likely be aware that the highway would have had already been built for many years. Most of the obvious changes are there for audience purposes as they would have most likely lived through this time and remember elements of the time period.
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