The Missing Series 2 (Narrative) - A2

 Which narrative techniques are used to engage the audience in the opening episode of The Missing? 

 

The Missing Series 2 is a crime drama television series that offer codes and conventions to enhance audience engagement. The first episode shows Alice Webster stumbling through the streets of Eckhausen in Germany, which is the same town where she was kidnapped 11 years ago.  As her family are thrown into turmoil, the police and detective then start an investigation on the disappearance of Alice and another missing girl, Sophie Giroux. 

The niche audiences are possibly both males and females from the middle class and lower middle class in Europe. Due to the strong language and mature content, the product is aimed at adults, ranging from 18 to 40 years old. They could be people who have small children as the series is about an abduction of a young girl and her parents trying to look for her, which particularly excite or frighten them. 

The equilibrium is a family going on a holiday together and the disruption is that their child suddenly goes missing.  The audience will then go on a quest along with the hero of the series to find out what exactly happened to her. Based on Propp’s character types, the hero would be the detective, Julien Baptise, who tries to solve the case of both Alice and Sophie, who are considered the damsel in distress. The helpers would be the police or sergeants, along with Alice’s parents, while the villain would be the kidnapper. These characters will help develop the narrative by creating or resolving problems so that the audience could understand the plot. The new equilibrium is not yet established since it is only the opening episode, but it could be that the family will finally discover what happened to their child. 

According to Roland Barthes, there are five types of narrative codes or techniques that could be used in the process of textual analysis. The Missing has used these narrative techniques to engage audiences in the first episode of the series. 

Hermeneutic/Enigma codes (HER) 

Barthes said writers might use “snares” and “partial answers” before the audience learns the truth and reach a satisfying conclusion to the narrative. These enticing clues and entertaining traps delay the resolution and keep them engaged in the text. Murder mystery and detective dramas often use enigma codes to slowly reveal the narrative, with key information needed to solve the case saved until near the end of the program to create a thrilling conclusion.  

In the beginning, the audience might be wondering about what happened to Alice Webster, how she escaped and who the kidnapper is. Later on, detective Julien Baptiste is shown to be in Iraq trying to find a former soldier named Daniel Reed, who is believed to have some important information related to the abduction. This may also raise a question: “Who is this man and what’s he got to do with Alice being kidnapped?” Other details such as Sophie Giroux, Alice’s death, Sam’s scars and affair with Sergeant Eve Stone, Gemma looking at photos of a roller coaster ride, Daniel cleaning blood on the floor, Matthew’s promise with his sister, Baptise’s brain tumour and the woman who was screamed at by Matthew in the supermarket car park and stared at by Daniel during his father’s funeral would create enigma as well. Most importantly, people would be interested in Baptise’s suspicion of the girl’s real identity at the end of the episode. 

Proairetic/Action codes (ACT) 

Action codes are actions in the narrative that tip off the viewer about what to expect as the narrative progresses. It relies on the idea of cause and effect which create a pleasing sort of tension by making the audience wonder how the event will be resolved. The audience would become invested in finding out what actions the characters will take in order to solve the case and continue watching the other episodes. 

The first action code is Alice’s family going to the hospital to see their long-lost daughter/sister after Gemma is informed by Sergeant Eve Stone. However, the crucial proairetic code in this particular episode is detective Baptiste and police officers investigating the case, as it is the main action that drives the narrative forward, both in the past and present. Smaller units of this action would be Baptiste wanting to meet Alice Webster (past), flying to Iraq and asking for help driving him to Azwai to track Daniel Reed down (present), and the German sergeants and police officer asking Alice a series of questions (past). Additionally, Gemma seems to still be in touch with Baptiste after Alice’s death, indicating that she wants to be part of the investigation and is suspecting something. Another action code would be Alice’s family bringing her back to their house after 11 years. 

Semantic codes (SEM) 

Barthes argued some codes had “flickers of meaning” in the text. Rather than simply working on a denotational level, these signs carried connotations beyond their basic definition and gave the reader a little more insight to the characters, setting and plot. Hence, The Missing provides various semantic codes to move the narrative forward in its first episode. 

Sam is shown to be having a conversation with the head doctor about getting back to the regiment and his daughter Alice, though he doesn’t want to talk about her and is eager to come back to his army unit. He also taps his fingers repeatedly throughout the scene, connoting his anxiety and impatience. During his visit to the hospital, Sam goes into the bathroom and hits the wall after knowing that Alice was raped by the kidnapper. His action connotes frustration and embarrassment since his daughter was sexually harassed and he couldn’t do anything about it. Even though he is a soldier, he couldn’t handle the fact that he’s powerless over this situation.  

When Daniel goes into his father’s house, an over-the-shoulder shot is used to give the audience a sense of participation and a feeling of disbelief when he sees the bloodstain on the floor. A high angle and a loose close up of Daniel cleaning the blood aggressively and panting heavily, connoting his anger and confusion.  

When Eve Stone opens the fridge, a photo of a fetus fells down as a close-up shot is used showing her picking it up and observing it with a sad and sorrowful look, connoting that something had happened to her child since she was shown to be pregnant in the past. At first, she plans to throw the image away but hesitates and decides to keep it inside a drawer instead. This action connotes that although the photo reminds her of bad memories, she chooses to embrace them. 

During the family visit to the graveyard, Gemma walks further away from her husband and son to talk to Baptiste on the phone about the investigation, even after Alice’s death. The connotation of this detail is her suspicion of Alice and fear of being called paranoid by her family.  

Symbolic codes (SYM) 

Barthes suggested symbolic codes are a “battle” between contrasting signs. For example, the words “hot” and “cold” could be two totally different semantic codes. However, when they are placed together in a story, the binary opposites help emphasize the difference between whatever characters or settings are being represented. The Missing includes several binary oppositions to create an interesting and diverse story for the audience to decode and enjoy. 

Good versus Evil  

The detective, Julien Baptise, puts all his time and effort to find information about the abduction and tries his best to help Alice. He also made a promise to another missing girl’s parents to find their daughter, and Alice seems to have some important details about her. Whereas the kidnapper has done terrible things to the girl and left her traumatized. The kidnapper is believed to be responsible for both abductions. 

Physical versus Mental  

Sam Webster is a grown man who works for the army, which indicates that he is probably a physically strong person. However, after hearing about what happened to Alice, he storms out of the room, locks himself in the toilet and bangs his hand on the wall. This behaviour connotes that he’s not mentally strong and prepared enough to handle the situation. 

Acceptance versus Rejection   

Sam accepts the girl who came back as his daughter since he wishes it to be true so badly and thus believes it like what he wants it to be. Whereas Baptiste and Gemma have their suspicions of her and dig in deeper into the issue, especially Baptiste as he confidently rejects her identity as Alice Webster. 

Stability versus Chaos 

The family has always wanted their daughter/sister to come back after being kidnapped 11 years ago. When she returns, they are supposed to be happy that they found her and become a completed, stable family. Instead, the family seems to be falling apart and having lots of issues after Alice came home. 

Hot versus Cold  

The difference in weather between two-time zone and locations emphasizes the atmosphere of the events. During the time Alice reappears and the family tries to help her get better, the weather is cold and snowy, which enhances the sadness and despair. Whereas when Baptise flies to Iraq and searches for more information, the weather is hot and humid, which enhances the situation’s intensity, determination and impatience since he doesn’t have much time left. 

Freedom 

The idea of freedom is repeated twice in the first episode by Gemma and Baptiste. 

“None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free.” 

“Finally, she is free. Free as a bird, you know?” 

“I never understood that saying. People think birds are these free creatures flying around without a care in the world, and yet, they build their nests high up in the trees to protect themselves from predators. Nobody is free in this world.” 

“That girl who came back, after all those years kept in a basement, she wasn’t free when she left that place. She was still a prisoner.” 

Referential/Cultural codes (REF) 

Many stories allude to concepts and ideas that exist outside the text. In order for these signifiers to be decoded fully by the audience, that information needs to be part of our framework of knowledge. These cultural codes including historical, social, psychological or literary references, would create a sense of familiarity or nostalgia and make the audience relate to the media product. 

The Missing is a crime drama television series, a popular genre that has its own conventions and is a cultural code. The audience would have shared knowledge and understanding of how a crime drama series will progress. For instance, they would expect it to have loads of dramatic tension, suspense and plot twists, dark and subdued atmosphere, and the involvement of detectives or police officers. Additionally, the series is pretty similar to the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, a missing case that attracted sustained international interest and saturation coverage in the UK. A young girl was kidnapped during her family holiday in Portugal, a foreign country. The case was extremely popular and was the most heavily reported missing-person case, which indicates that people from the UK and European countries would definitely know about this incident. The Missing Series 2 could be using this real-life missing case as a reference.