Legitimating Quality: A Study of Multiculturalism, Exclusion, and the Integration of Quality TV within the Dutch Mediascape

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A Study of Multiculturalism, Exclusion, and the Integration of !

Quality TV within the Dutch Mediascape!

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"You’re from Bulgaria? Right? Do you know how to plaster?” Quote from Machteld, in: Hollands Hoop, episode four, "Dutch Passion."!

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Author: Josephina Bos!

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MA Thesis!

Media Studies: Television and Cross Media Culture! University of Amsterdam!

Faculty of Humanities! June 29th, 2015!

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Supervisor: Prof. Christoph Lindner! Second Reader: Dr. Sudeep Dasgupta!

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INTRODUCTION! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 1!

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1. QUALITY TV: DEBATES AND CHARACTERISTICS! ! ! ! ! ! 2!

1.1 Quality Television’s Style and Narrative Complexity 3

1.1.1 Realism in Quality TV 5

1.2 Quality Television and its Transnational Nature! ! ! ! ! ! 6

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2. DUTCH PUBLIC BROADCASTING! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 7!

! 2.1 Multiculturalism, Integration and the Mainstreaming of ! ! ! ! !

Public Service Broadcasting! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 8!

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3. THE DUTCH STYLE 11

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4. THE INTEGRATION OF QUALITY TELEVISION! ! ! ! ! ! 13!

! 4.1 The 'Quality' of Dutch Television Series! ! ! ! ! ! ! 14!

! 4.2 The Exclusiveness of Dutch Quality Television! ! ! ! ! ! 24!

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INTRODUCTION

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For many years now, quality television has been a phenomenon that has gained critical attention from both television industry and academia. It is still, up to this day, a debated concept that lacks a clear definition and is often being condemned for its evaluative nature. It is therefore my goal to present my definition of what quality TV as a concept entails, using the Dutch mediascape as a case study to illustrate how quality television, although a debated and controversial term, does in fact carry academic relevance because of its evaluative and transnational nature. It is first and foremost a concept that is culturally determined, and is able to reveal deeply rooted ideologies on high and low culture, class, and race.

When we look at the Dutch mediascape, questions of quality have always been a hot topic. Central within these discussions is the notion that the ideals of Dutch public service broadcasting are representative of Dutch culture as well as its public, first through a model of pillarization, and nowadays by a fragmented, multicultural society where a longing is expressed to bring the nation together. Considering the fact that quality TV is both a set of stylistic and narrative characteristics that allow for a reinterpretation on a transnational level, the Dutch media landscape lends itself as a great case study since Dutch public broadcasting is still very much determined by socio-cultural relations and discourse. Especially in a time where Dutch society is in danger of becoming more culturally fragmented, it will be very interesting to see how quality TV, as a potentially discriminating concept, is shaped by the Dutch media industry.

First, I will start off with a literature review of quality television, its characteristics and the ways in which it is considered to be a problematic concept. I will in turn explain why, although quality TV has often been condemned for its subjective nature, it in fact does carry academic value because of its evaluative qualities. I will elucidate this through a discussion of how quality TV’s stylistic and narrative characteristics can be reinterpreted and revalued by different nations, making it a transnational concept. Furthermore, I will give an overview of what the Dutch style entails, in order to make clear how this is representative of what is considered to be quality within the Dutch mediascape. This in turn is able to reveal deeply rooted ideologies as mentioned above.

Secondly, research on the Dutch mediascape and more specifically the public broadcasting networks will be done. Here, the socio-cultural conditions of both past and present that have shaped these

organizations will be discussed. Focus will be put on the politics of representation, and the ways in which the Dutch government uses public broadcasting services to strengthen policies of integration. The ways in which both are represented in governmental media regulations is related to questions of class and high and low culture, and ultimately to minority cultures. This in turn will be linked to the evaluative nature of quality television.

In the final chapter, I will discuss how a close textual analysis of the series A’dam en E.V.A. (NTR/ VARA) and Hollands Hoop (VARA) is able to reveal, first of all, how the stylistic and narrative

characteristics of quality television are re-appropriated according to a Dutch cultural context, and second, how this reinterpretation is in line with the socio-cultural dimensions of Dutch society, and more specifically, the politics of its representation. I will argue that television programming in the Netherlands is, maybe even more so than in other western countries, linked to a particular societal group, and that the concept still very much represents elitist ideals. Through my analysis of the concept of quality TV, it will become clear that the Dutch media landscape is still a very traditional one. One that discriminates between different societal 


groups, reestablishes stereotypical audiences by means of governmental media policy, and still is representative of traditional ideas on television as being undemocratic.

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1. QUALITY TV: DEBATES AND CHARACTERISTICS

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The study of quality TV has been a controversial one. Not only is there still no consensus on what the concept entails, quality TV’s evaluative nature has also been disputed. Nevertheless, there are some commonalities to be found between the debates on the phenomenon, especially with regard to both its stylistic characteristics, as well as its classificatory implications.

First of all, it seems to be the general notion that quality TV is in essence an American concept. Robert Thompson exemplifies this through his historical illustration of the American television landscape. In

Television’s Second Golden Age: From Hill Street Blues to ER he explains how quality TV made its first

appearance in the U.S. in the 1980’s (12) with programs like. St. Elsewhere, Cagney & Lacey, Moonlighting,

L.A. Law, thirtysomething, China Beach, etc. (30-31). It was also the American production company MTM

Enterprises that has greatly influenced the rise of quality TV. Because the program writers of MTM were granted a huge amount of artistic freedom, they tended to appoint a self-reflexive quality to their programs, and in doing so, they created their own 'quality style' that would eventually become the norm for new television productions (48-51). Furthermore, in "Quality TV Drama: Estimations and Influences Through Time and Space,” Robin Nelson compares American television to British TV and concludes that “British television could once boast the best writers, actors and directors in the world… but no longer. The greatest shows on earth now come from the United States" (qtd. in Nelson 42).

Second, scholars have in general been preoccupied with quality TV’s stylistic conventions. Not only is it tricky to try to appoint specific televisual characteristics to a notion that is based on evaluative judgment, also the general overemphasis on style has unfortunately undermined quality TV’s evaluative and cultural essence. What is therefore crucial to the construction of my argument, is the idea that quality television is not only determined by its stylistic traits, but also by the different ways it affects the audiences through its appeal to one’s cultural heritage, so that the viewer is able to relate to the content:

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Textual complexity of a well-crafted show is less some superficial aestheticism than recognition that these productions are 'broadly meaningful' because they broach cultural questions around the politics of representation (qtd. in Dasgupta 41).

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The past emphasis on style, combined with (sub)conscious evaluative judgment, has often resulted in turning analyses of quality TV into an act of classification. The latter has also been critiqued by Dasgupta as he states that scholars, when criticizing the notion of quality TV, tend to reduce the concept to rigid distinctions between high and low (43) and that this reflects a patronizing attitude towards the people (50). In the spirit of this thesis, I have to add to this statement that it is not my intention to classify Dutch television

programming, nor do I want to make judgments regarding its audience. I merely want to exemplify how quality TV is a cultural concept that is able to reflect ideas on dominant and minority cultures, as being 


expressed by both the Dutch government and the Dutch public broadcasting industry, rather than being merely a set of televisual tools.

To be able to research how quality television as a set of stylistic and narrative tools, is open to cultural reinterpretations on a transnational level, and is in turn able to reveal and open up a debate on discourses on quality and high and low culture, I must first define what the characteristics of quality television as a genre are.

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1.1 Quality Television’s Style and Narrative Complexity

Looking at the quality style as introduced by MTM Enterprises, which is now re-appropriated and further developed under the label of quality TV, it has to be noted that it is quite a difficult task to define its

characteristics. As Thompson has noted, ‘I know it when I see it,’ exemplifying in only one simple quote the problematic subjective nature of quality television, noting how it, first and foremost, can be described as a feeling (qtd. in Bianculi 37). I do agree with his statement that quality TV should be seen as a supergenre, as the concept is too abstract and open for interpretation to speak of a fixed set of stylistic and narrative tools. Quality television should therefore be seen as an all-encompassing set of ideas, a success formula even, of which Thompson gives a list of twelve distinguishable characteristics.

First of all, a quality television series has to be innovative, for instance by taking a traditional genre or situation and transforming this into something that is new and groundbreaking. This often goes hand in hand with the idea that quality television series have to address controversial themes, in order to be able to mirror the good and bad of everyday life. In the U.S. we can trace this back to topics like abortion,

homosexuality, racism and religion (Television’s Second Golden Age 5). Jane Feuer agrees, as she has stated that a quality series explores serious themes, moving past the superficialities of human life, therefore rewarding the audience’s effort to actively engage with a text in their search for a symbolic and emotional connection with it (26). Timothy Legatt, contributor to Ishikawa’s Quality Assessment of Television, adds to this by stating how saying something important about life creates a greater sense of realism, and in doing so the quality series is able to appeal to the audience more and teach them something about the world (qtd. in Legatt 151).

The seriousness of themes and topics is regularly mentioned in the interviews Legatt held with several renowned writers and producers. Quoting from an interview with producer and director Udi Eichler:

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The word that somehow touches base with all the other questions has to do essentially, in contents terms, with seriousness … And for me what I would call seriousness is, in some very old-fashioned way, preoccupied with trying to get at the truth of something … my axiomatic assumption is that art is part of a search for truth (qtd. in Legatt 152).

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This is also confirmed by Franky Ribbens, writer of the series Hollands Hoop. In an interview I conducted with him he stated that: “It always has to be about something bigger, without putting too much emphasis on this. It needs to ooze both entertainment value as well as social relevance. If a series is well made, it says something important, that is with regard to bigger topics such as human behavior for instance.”


I would say that this seriousness adds a sense of rawness to the quality series. This, in combination with quality TV’s potential to legitimate the artfulness of television, the quality series is closely related to art film, sometimes taking it as far as adapting the indie and cult genre, as we can see in older series like Hill

Street Blues, in newer ones like Orange is the New Black, Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, in renowned

European series such as the Danish Forbrydelsen and, as we shall see, also in Dutch television series. This feeling of rawness is often enhanced through stylistic techniques that are often related to cinematography: handheld cameras, grayish filters (sometimes even no filter is used), awkward camera angles, framing and compositions, as well as a very pronounced use of lighting to create stark contrasts, a natural feel, or an over-glamorized one to create a sense of uncanniness as we often see within the cult genre.

Furthermore, with regard to quality TV’s narrative structure, Thompson states that a quality script needs to have a memory, and should therefore be modeled to the concept of the serial. Here, the script has to take the form of a literary work, which means that the story lines of each episode should not only connect to the previous or the next one, but should connect each episode of the entire series to each other ("Preface" 14-15). The story has to be self-reflexive but also intertextual, referring to for instance, other series and even other media. This intertextuality can be shaped in the form of critique, so that the quality series is able to distance itself and showcase its superiority in comparison to other types of programming (Television’s

Second Golden Age 14). Quality storytelling needs to have dimension and depth, and should ooze

intelligence. Although the story has to be intricate, it should also be straight to the point and shouldn’t leave questions unanswered (Albers 124).

Second, the quality series usually has a big ensemble cast. Although there’s often one, and sometimes a couple main characters, each character has to be focused on for a descent amount of time, making it possible for the audience to get to know them, which adds to the complex narrative structure of the series (Television’s Second Golden Age 14). These characters should be unique and interesting, they have to respond appropriately to the situations depicted (Albers 125), they have to be able to carry a strong dialogue and should be eloquent, that is with regard to the main language, but also to dialects and even slang (De Bruijn 25).

From a more industrial point of view, Robert Albers quotes Nossiter to explain how ratings as a marker for quality are implemented in different ways according to different national contexts. According to Nossiter, commercial imperatives are dominant in the U.S., making audience size a determining factor within assessments of quality of American television programming (qtd. in Albers 103). In comparison, in the U.K. "audience size is an inevitable by-product of quality, which is itself the goal" (qtd. in Albers 104).

Finally, according to Thompson, a quality television series has to strive to be as realistic as possible (Television’s Second Golden Age 15). According to Albers, a high production budget is necessary to enhance a sense of realism. He suggests that it makes the programs more believable, enabling the audience to engage with the text more, creating the opportunity for immersion within the diegesis. He also notes that high production value adds a certain 'glitz' to the American quality style that is internationally very appealing (122). Legatt discusses on the other hand how in the U.K., and I would like to suggest this is also the case with Dutch television series, a high budget does not necessarily connote quality, but rather, that a glitz look is more likely used to conceal the low quality of a series. When a high budget is made available to the

production team, it should instead be used to give the program an as natural look as possible (149).

1.1.1 Realism in Quality TV

Although realism is as a debated term as quality TV itself is, it has to be noted that it is an essential part of the latter concept, especially within the Dutch context. As we shall see later on, the demand for a truthful depiction of everyday life, is part of the Dutch style and therefore also of Dutch quality TV.

There have been numerous scholars who have tried to name and define different forms of realism. In television studies, there are a few notions of realism on which it seems academics have agreed upon, most notably it is the concepts of empirical realism, classic realism, emotional realism and social realism that are frequently mentioned within academic literature.

As explained by John Storey, empirical realism is linked to a television text that "adequately reflects that which exists outside itself". Second, a show is classic realistic if it can successfully conceal its

constructedness (115). This, I would say, is never applicable to quality television, as these series tend to make the audience aware of its style through awkward framing, blurring, pronounced lighting and obvious camera movements. It is almost as if the quality series wants to flaunt its artfulness in this way. With regard to emotional realism, Ien Ang was the first to implement this term, explaining in Watching Dallas how this form of realism does not rely on a truthful depiction of the world outside the medium, but instead is able to connect to the audience through emotional appeal. These emotions as experienced by the characters are realistic, and as experienced by the audience they are very much real. Social realism, which at first sight appears to be similar to empirical realism, engages with the audience on a more discursive level, as it connects to a perceived similarity between a fictional portrayal and one’s own environment and personal experience (Buselle and Greenberg 253).

With regard to quality television I want to limit my discussion on realism to the fact that I do agree with Thompson, but it must be noted that it is hard to pinpoint a quality television series down to this

criterion, since all the series make use of this characteristic in so many different ways. In my past research on quality series I have filtered out many different ways in which the different series are realistic. For Orange is

the New Black for instance, realism is achieved through the use of hand held camera’s and natural lighting,

implementing a documentary style which could be linked to empirical realism. Furthermore, when I compared the Danish series Forbrydelsen to its American remake The Killing, it was interesting to see how both series apply different standards when it comes to realism. In Forbrydelsen it was again empirical realism, in combination with social realism that were used as stylistic and narrative tools in order to connect to the audience. A lack of make-up, the use of hand held cameras, natural lighting and extreme close ups to expose facial expressions were a few of the tactics used to create a sense of realism, while in comparison, in

The Killing the Hollywood glam took over, making the series look less realistic than its original, at least to

my European eye.

To this idea of realism being a crucial factor within the classification of a television series as being quality TV, I would like to add that more recently, a few series have been produced that seem to aim for not only a quality status, but a cult status as well. In the case of Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, it appears that the extreme style (colored filters, weird framing, the prominent soundtrack, etc.) in combination with the, in some senses, over the top storyline, are actually applied to move away from a realistic style. Although I do would like to suggest that both series are able to connect with the audience through emotional realism, as the viewer becomes deeply involved in the life and minds of both main characters. House of Cards also 


challenges the academic insistence on the link between realism and quality TV, as the character of Frank Underwood directly addresses the audience by looking and talking into the camera. Even so, I still would state that the viewer is being made a part of the narrative, creating a feeling of involvement in the diegeses through direct address and interpellation.

It is clear that the idea of realism, as a characteristic of quality TV, is as open to interpretation and possibly as culturally determined as the concept of quality television itself is. To get into a broader

discussion of the merits of realism in quality TV series would be an entire research project on its own. For now, I just want to note that I do agree with the idea that realism is a characteristic of quality TV, but for the sake of the upcoming analysis of Hollands Hoop, I will only discuss realism in accordance to the Dutch socio-cultural context, as these conditions form the basis for quality television’s transnational nature, which is what makes it a workable concept.

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1.2 Quality Television and its Transnational Nature !

It is my position that quality TV should be approached as a transnational concept, rather than an American one. When comparing quality TV as a set of televisual traits to the concept of the format, it becomes clear that the dualist identity of the transnational adaptation, which is reflected within the interactive process between globalization and individualization, illustrates how on the one hand the international television industry functions, and how on the other, on a smaller scale, a format can be reshaped according to national preferences.

A genre, as a set of stylistic and narrative tools, is just as much as a format, a concept that can travel the world. On the one hand a format, is created within a particular cultural and television industrial context, on the other it is a set of ideas that can be re-appropriated according to national audiences (“Reasserting the national” 41). According to Albert Moran, it is because of this dualist identity that the format is transnational by nature. It is a concept that embodies the characteristics of globalization, as it is representative of a

transformed and international media landscape, while at the same time, globalization has also enhanced the need of nations to hold on to and strengthen their own cultural identities (TV Formats Worldwide 149-150). I would like to suggest that quality television, as a genre, as a set of ideas, but even more so because of its evaluative nature, can be seen as the apotheosis of transnationalism. Even though scholars have insisted on the concept’s American heritage, we can’t deny the fact that it’s dubious nature opens up a discussion of quality television as being open to socio-cultural and political contexts on a transnational level, since, needless to say, questions of quality are not only limited to the American television industry.

Finally, what is crucial to the construction of my argument, is the idea that quality television is not only determined by its stylistic conventions, but also through the ways in which it is representative of a nation’s socio-cultural conditions:

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Textual complexity of a well-crafted show is less some superficial aestheticism than ecognition that these productions are 'broadly meaningful' because they broach cultural questions around the politics of representation (qtd. in Dasgupta 41).

In the next chapters I will describe, through an illustration of the Dutch media landscape, the workings of the politics of representation within Dutch public broadcasting and the ways in which this is translated into the Dutch transnational adaptation of quality television as a televisual concept. The placement of quality TV within a Dutch media industrial and cultural context does not only enable me to speak of Dutch quality television as being a stylistic concept in its own right, but furthermore, my discussion will clarify how quality TV truly is broadly meaningful, as the analysis will bring many discourses to light regarding Dutch socio-cultural relations.

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2. DUTCH PUBLIC BROADCASTING!

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The ways in which television has been introduced in the Netherlands has led to the forming of a national public service broadcasting system that is very unique from those of other countries. Based on a system of pillarization, the Netherlands was (and in some ways still is, as we shall see later on) a fragmented country, where the public was divided into four pillars: catholic, protestant, socialist and liberal. Linked to a tradition of pluralism, these pillars were even institutionalized in public life as there were separate schools, leisure clubs, newspapers, radio channels and other civic organizations dedicated to each pillar (Engelbert and Awad 263).

For television, this meant that the different radio channels were extended to the television screen. The main public broadcasters were and still are: NCRV, KRO, VARA, AVRO, VPRO and TROS. The first one, NCRV, is directed to a Roman Catholic audience with program content that is focused on spirituality and human relations. KRO in turn, also has a Christian audience base, which is more closely linked to the Reform movement and the Presbyterian churches. VARA, as a socialist movement, is linked to political progressiveness and a wide general public. The association identifies itself as being commercially and morally independent with a philosophy that is based on tolerance and mutual respect. The association therefore shares a lot of similarities with AVRO, as they apply the same philosophy, but AVRO is more closely linked to the tradition of pluralism and liberalism as they stand for "social tolerance, based on freedom of speech and personal responsibility in line with classical liberal ideology" (Daalmijer 34). VPRO is a Protestant based broadcaster that directs itself to smaller, high educated and culturally literate audiences. The association is therefore considered to be progressive when it comes to drama or information based programming. Finally there is TROS, which is the youngest of the lot. Starting out as a pirate radio station, TROS presents itself as being an association for the people, representing mostly an 'ordinary audience' that is "liberal, nonreligious and nonpolitical" (Daalmijer 34-35).

Next to these associations, there are also NOS and NTR. Both are linked to the government, as their tasks and obligations are fixed within the media act. NOS provides all collective programming, most notably news and sports coverage, as well as other major events. NTR is a fusion of the associations NPS, Teleac and RVU, to which the task has been assigned to provide cultural programming directed to minority audiences in the Netherlands (Daalmijer 35).

Apart from the fact that these public service broadcasters had to support the different pillars of society, they also were, and nowadays still are, burdened with the task to conserve the Dutch cultural heritage, and to provide the people with information as well as to educate them. This was fixed within the 


Media Law of 1983 as the program package had to consist out of at least 20% culture, 25% information, and 5% education (Sterk 52). According to Jo Bardoel, this policy answers to a need of the audience to stay up to date and to be informed on what goes on in the world. Therefore, he states that even a bigger portion, one third in fact, of the total amount of broadcasting time is dedicated to the dissemination of information (86). As television, and especially public service broadcasting, is made available and accessible to the entire population, the medium is able to reach out to every part of society. It is because of this that especially people with a lower social status depend on television to stay informed. At the same time they are most notably the ones who use the medium to educate themselves. Bardoel even goes as far as calling television 'second-chance-education' (87).

The different broadcasting associations, even though they still stand, were forced to adjust to both a changing media- as well as a socio-cultural environment. This started out with the mid-20th century

depillarization of society. Paradoxically, it was because of television and its different public service

broadcasters that this process took place. As a result, the public was more than ever before exposed to other pillars and therefore other perspectives and ideologies. "Together with other social processes of

emancipation, secularization, individualization, democratization, public broadcasting eroded the very same pillars on which it had been built" (Engelbert and Awad 263).

Parallel to this process of depillarization, there was the rise of illegal commercial broadcasting companies. These so called 'pirate' broadcasters operated from ships on the North Sea. Through these associations, of which Veronica was the most influential, the Dutch public was further confronted with different world views. Together with the introduction of commercial television channels in the late 1980s, it became more and more apparent that the Dutch public broadcasting system had become outdated (Konig and Bardoel 597).

However, what affected the change in media policy with regard to public broadcasting the most wasn’t so much the transformation of the Dutch television landscape, nor the demise of the pillars. It was most of all a result of a changing population. As immigrants from all over the world, and most notably from Morocco, Turkey, Indonesia, China, Suriname and the Dutch Antilles settled in the Netherlands, the Dutch government had to adapt to society’s transformation into a multicultural entity.

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2.1 Multiculturalism, Integration and the Mainstreaming of Public Service Broadcasting

After a period of depillarization, Dutch society has moved into the direction of a new extreme. Nationalism has made a comeback in the Netherlands, which is surprising, since "the Dutch have typically refrained from a hegemonic public morality to which everyone subscribes and submits" (Van Reekum 585). Apart from events such as king’s day, war remembrance day, and major sporting events, the Dutch rarely express emotions of nationalism. A feeling of patriotism and Dutchness have never prevailed as phenomena that could be associated with the Dutch public. Nevertheless, we can’t deny the fact that there is a set of discourses out there that come together in a Dutch identity the population of the Netherlands, and more importantly Dutch politics, is more than willing to identify itself with:

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When it does come to politics and public debate, both academic and popular discourses typify the Dutch by their open-mindedness, progressive attitudes on issues of sex, gender, marriage and death, tolerance of different life styles, international orientation, peaceful and 


cooperative relations with other nations, egalitarianism, individualistic and pragmatic dispositions, but certainly not by their over-investment in the glory of the nation (qtd. in Van Reekum 586).

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Although the Dutch do not consciously over-invest in a glorification of a national identity, it is this discourse, together with the qualities as listed above, which bring the people of the Netherlands together under one label of Dutchness to which everyone, despite of one’s cultural heritage, has to adapt to.

This is quite oppositional to the discourse of multiculturalism that prevailed in the 1980s. With the immigrant population expanding rapidly, the terms autochthones and allochtones were introduced to

describe the new composition of Dutch society. The notions stand for a division of the Dutch population with respectively, on the one side, the people who are not just themselves born in the Netherlands, but whose parents are as well, and on the other, the people who are either first and second generation immigrants, or who’s request for naturalization is pending. Despite of the fact that the introduction of these terms is quite evidently an act of othering, at that time, multiculturalism in the Netherlands was described as "a model of inclusion of immigrants with retention of [their] own culture." I can also trace this back to a change in public service programming, where programs produced for specific minority groups in specific languages, were replaced with cross-cultural programming aimed at all minority audiences at once (Awad and Roth 401). In the 1980s for instance, programs like Paspoort would provide minorities with news from the motherland, as well as a chance to (re)connect with one’s cultural heritage. The idea was that this public service policy would empower immigrants, making it in fact easier for them to integrate as their concerns were considered to be equally important to those of the autochthone population, or at least this was the way it was presented (Awad and Roth 406-407). According to Awad and Roth, these programs were later on "accused of

'ghettoizing minority' audiences and offering an alibi for mainstream television to ignore the importance of cultural diversity" (407). This triggered the government into implementing a new policy within public service broadcasting, as minority programming was now considered to be a task for radio and local television stations as these media lend themselves better to audience segmentation (407).

This discursive shift, is explained and ratified through the fact that Dutch politics is marked by a tendency to strive for consensus. This is a remnant of the pillarization period where political governance was based on consensus building among a variety of social groups (Van Reekum 586). So far, this is where the paradox lies: even though the Dutch take pride in the fact that they are progressive and open-minded, at the same time Dutch politics tends to move away from a multiculturalist society, towards one that is in fact more assimilationist; although the government keeps insisting that public order should not be maintained through the imposition of definite norms and values, but should be attained "through the careful balancing of group claims" (Van Reekum 586), this is an illusion of democratization, and a paradox if you will, as it is through this idea of consensus that Dutchness is nevertheless forced upon minority cultures.

Based on the idea that television can bring people together under the umbrella of a shared cultural identity (De Leeuw 6), Dutch public service broadcasting gradually moved away from first, programs that were directed at specific minority groups, to cross-cultural programming that would accommodate to a diverse, national audience, and now to, as I would like to suggest, programs that are only directed to the general population. Here, under the label of equality and integration, autochthones and minority groups are brought together under the utopian stigma of Dutchness, where cultural diversity is considered to be an 


interesting topic that showcases Dutch open-mindedness, rather than seen as a standard public service broadcasting has conform to.

According to Engelbert and Awad, this change of mind has been captured within the Media Act of 2008, in which it is stated that cultural diversity has to be secured, making it possible for all groups of Dutch society to identify themselves with, and participate in, the Dutch media environment (262). They call this a process of mainstreaming, where minority and general audiences are brought together, in order to improve "the inclusion of immigrants in mainstream services in order to move away from the ethno-specific provision popularly associated with a policy of multiculturalism" (qtd. in Awad and Roth 405). Using the label of

pluriformity, a term that describes the level of representation of various mentalities, as a ratification of this

newly introduced media legislation, the Dutch government is able to implement a discourse that constructs an exclusionary version of cultural diversity (Engelbert and Awad 263).

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Within this logic, signifiers like 'diversity' and 'difference' can - or, according to this rationality, actually should - be taken out of the realm of emancipatory or affirmative action towards ethnic minorities. After all, the latter have 'proven' their counter-productiveness in fostering social cohesion and national unity (qtd. in Engelbert and Awad 265).

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This is where the second paradox lies. It is through this idea of pluralism that Dutch nationalism, as a construct that should incorporate different discourses that belong to different publics, in fact enhances fragmentation. Pluralism differentiates between the autochthones who belong and who are interpellated by the idea of Dutchness, and the foreign newcomers who always have to prove that they belong (Van Reekum 591). Rogier van Reekum concludes that this is never-ending, as the allochtonous people of the Netherlands will always be reminded of the fact that they are not from here. Citizenship, as both a legal matter and an ideology is therefore a status minorities shall never attain. It is this notion that not only differentiates the Dutch from their cultural others (595), but also encourages minority communities to isolate themselves, potentially taking it as far as completely rejection Dutch culture and society. As Van Reekum again notes, "we could conclude that 'recognition of public difference' was and is a central notion through which distinctiveness of Dutchness is publicly imagined and enacted" (597). In turn, Dutchness as a national identity therefore delimits the space that is public service broadcasting.

As for the latter, in order to bring people together within one television audience, one set of

discourses is used which everyone should be able to relate to. In conclusion, I would like to state that this set of ideas belongs to the dominant culture, which is not only linked to the autochthone people of the

Netherlands, but which is in essence a white oriented one. Although Dutchness as a set of norms and values is in fact very much accepted, it is still a very patronizing concept. The idea of the Dutch as being so open-minded and accepting, is a discourse that oozes a bit of arrogance. It connotes an image where the

autochthone accepts the immigrant into the country, allowing them to adopt the Dutch lifestyle. I would like to say that this is a very elitist stance.

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3. THE DUTCH STYLE

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Since the introduction of television in the Netherlands, Dutch TV producers have considered their profession to be a craft (Akkermans 134). Building further on older arts like theatre, literature and film, television was by many seen as an art form, although for a long time, this idea was only shared within Hilversum’s television community. According to Van Vilsteren and Doeswijk, from the early days on, the best television style comes from the Netherlands as well as the United Kingdom, due to a public service media system that was able to rely on heavy support from the government (9). This high production quality was first of all linked to mise-en-scene, and had to do with the fact that television 'designers', as they call it, came from the art world, and were influenced by older arts like calligraphy and woodwork (12-13). As a mediascape marked by artistic freedom (19), and room for experimentation (14), Dutch television production has always been known to be groundbreaking (20). With the rise of commercial broadcasters, increased competition and a need for better equipment, the craft of television design was handed over to private production companies. This brought the Dutch TV style to an even higher level of quality, giving it a certain prestige, and therefore making it more attractive on an international level. This in turn made Dutch television production eligible for critical acclaim and awards (22).

With regard to the stylistic qualities of television production, according to Akkermans, the Dutch are known for implementing a lot of establishing shots, which often function as an illustration of what is said by the characters (135). These images should therefore make it easier for the audience to connect with the series (136). This emphasis on establishing shots originates from the single play which was, and still is, a great inspiration for Dutch TV, as the Netherlands has always also had a rich theatre culture (137). But television is off course not limited by a stage, which makes it possible for producers to direct the viewer’s gaze to specific parts of the screen (138). According to Peter Cowie, it is through techniques of cinematography, that emphasis is put on emotions, where the Dutch hold the "ability to express human feelings in sound and imagery that soar above the worthy norm" (84). This focus on human expressions is linked to a need to showcase the un-glamorousness of human life, which is considered to be quite controversial, as Holland is overall a morally conscious country (even though our reputation might suggest otherwise). Distortions of the human mind, together with the relationship between the sexes are topics that are often touched upon within Dutch media (50).

Second, Cowie implicitly links the Dutch style to the concept of realism, as he uses the term

naturalism to describe how every detail of the (natural) surroundings of the scene are paid attention to, using

the works of Dutch filmmaker Herman van der Horst as an example: "every sigh of wind, every curlew’s call, every wave’s roar, is an eloquent proclamation in his work" (52). This naturalist quality is therefore not only based on the image, but is also strengthened by the soundtrack. Furthermore, the concept is linked to a well-established Documentary Tradition as in Cowie’s book Dutch Cinema, an entire chapter is dedicated to this. I would like to suggest that these characteristics can be linked to the concepts of both empirical- and social realism, where emphasis is put on the fact that a series both has to depict correctly that which exists outside the screen, but also has to relate to the viewer’s personal experience. I might therefore conclude that this is a Dutch model of realism as it is both linked to human emotions, affect and the ways in which the audience perceives their surroundings.


Furthermore, the Dutch prefer not to overdramatize style, which in this sense means that television producers rarely apply elements of melodrama. This is linked to a characteristic of Dutchness, which is 'nuchterheid', a term used to describe how the people of the Netherlands consider themselves to be very 'down to earth'. Dramatization, is only implemented through simplicity. The less the Dutch are confronted with excessive style, the more they can relate to a series (Cowie 10). This does not mean that the stories that are depicted can’t be tragic, the drama comes from the narrative, not the style. Referring to Dutch film maker Nikolai van der Heyde, Cowie notes that it is because of the simple narrative and style of his films that they ooze a sense of melancholy and truthfulness (85). Especially melancholy, to me, is always very much linked to uncanniness, as it always gives me a feeling of unease. Uncanniness in turn, is also a characteristic of Dutch film according to Cowie, which he links more to the horror genre, as he says that filmmakers frequently add a disturbing, fearful and uncanny atmosphere to their films (49) which is implemented through luminous and sinister cinematography (100).

Finally, the themes depicted in both Dutch television and film are often considered to be

controversial (Akkermans 147). Institutions are often critiqued, and considering the fact that the Dutch take pride in their freedom of speech, often taking this to a level of being brutally honest, one could say that satire is no longer considered to be a genre in the Netherlands, but rather a must.

So far, looking at the attributes of quality television, I can conclude that there are many similarities between the latter and the Dutch style. First of all through the ways TV makers talk about the medium, and second, because some formal elements of the Dutch style are either directly related to questions of quality according to a national context, or can be seen as a Dutch re-interpretation of quality TV’s specific characteristics. The establishing shots for instance, are often very beautiful. They usually depict Dutch scenery, or typical expressions of Dutchness (as we shall see later on), and not to undermine the artfulness of TV as a medium, I must say that these shots also remind me of paintings of Dutch masters or pictures of famous photographers. Also, the uncanniness of the Dutch style can be linked to the ways in which quality television often appeals to the cult genre, as cult often implements the same atmosphere. Finally, with regard to realism in Dutch television, it is clear how this is linked to quality TV, but as noted above, a new

combination of realism models is applied within Dutch television productions.

In the final chapter, I will illustrate how this re-interpretation of quality TV is embodied within Dutch public service broadcasting, and more specifically within the series Hollands Hoop and A’dam en

E.V.A.. Within the historical and legislative context of the Dutch mediascape, the analysis will reveal a

variety of socio-cultural discourses regarding ethnic minorities that are in some ways in line with a pluralist media policy, but which in essence exude exclusiveness as they are in favor of a white, autochthone majority. The next chapter will therefore exemplify how quality TV is meaningful by nature, as it will confirm that the concept does carry academic relevance because of its interconnectedness with acts of evaluation and

classification.

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4. THE INTEGRATION OF QUALITY TELEVISION!

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To investigate how both the Dutch style and a pluralist media policy come together in a nationalized

interpretation of quality television, I’ve chosen the series Hollands Hoop and A’dam en E.V.A. as my objects of study. As both are linked to the public broadcasting service VARA, they are supposed to represent socialist ideologies and a certain progressiveness to which a wide general public should be able to relate. Based on discourses of tolerance and mutual respect, one might conclude that VARA could be the quintessential example of a pluralist model of representation. As A’dam en E.V.A. is also produced under the label of the NTR, this series should turn out to be the embodiment of Dutch media policy as linked to ideas on Dutchness and the integration of minority cultures.

Hollands Hoop, a series of which the first season finished airing in 2015, is situated in the Dutch

countryside. It depicts the story of Fokke and his family and how a chain of very unlucky incidents has led them to move to his late father’s farm, with the latter turning out to be a hotbed of criminal activity, as well as a critical junction between politics and industrialization on the one side, and the people trying to hold on to traditional norms and values linked to a glorification of the countryside on the other.

Fokke as the main protagonist is representative of a regularly implemented character type within quality series, namely that of the middle aged failure who looks back on his life with regret, and who turns to desperate measures to reestablish his manhood. We can trace this back to series like Fargo and Breaking

Bad, the latter being a clear source of inspiration for Hollands Hoop, as both series depict how the main

character turns to the production of illegal substances, as well as its distribution, to give new meaning to their lives. Along the way Fokke’s son Pepijn becomes directly involved in the criminal activities, while his wife Machteld and his daughters Lara and Filippa are indirectly being victimized by Fokke’s actions. The marijuana plantation and the criminals involved form the basis of the plot line, invoking many suspenseful moments and therefore making Hollands Hoop both a drama series as well as a thriller.

Fig. 1: Fokke’s resemblance to Breaking Bad’s Walter White is often striking. Hollands Hoop, episode 4, “Dutch Passion.”

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Furthermore, the series is a reflection of how the nuclear family struggles to stick together while having to adjust to the new conditions of modern day society, that is with regard to gender but also to a changed relationship between parents and their children. Here, emphasis is put on communication and emotionality (or a lack thereof), and how this affects family ties. It is this focus on human behavior that is quite central to the storyline, as dialogue is made inferior to both the depiction of emotions as well as to the psychology 


behind the characters’ actions. Fokke being a psychiatrist in a mental detention center opens up many opportunities for an exploration of the human mind, while at the same time his academic background also functions as a narrative tool to introduce certain plot twists. The second major theme, that of Dutchness, is reflected through a glorification of the countryside and the traditional norms and values linked to it.

Emphasis is put on the typical Dutch poldermodel, which in the case of the series not only refers to politics, but also to how people interact with one another, as well as to the Dutch landscape as being known for its flatness, windmills, cloudy skies, and dikes.

The series A’dam en E.V.A. is in many ways quite the opposite of Hollands Hoop. With Amsterdam being the main shooting location as well as, one might say, the main character, it is this setting that

introduces a different dimension to the depiction of Dutchness and to both human relations and behavior. The series shortened title refers to the two protagonists Adam and Eva, as the show depicts the story of how they, starting out as neighbors, evolve into lovers, showcasing the ups and downs of their relationship and the psychological obstructions they run into along the way. As a witty twist, the title is also an abbreviation for

Amsterdam En Vele Anderen, of which the translation would be 'Amsterdam And Many Others', referring to

the many different characters the show depicts, introducing new ones in each episode. The series in short portrays the everyday life of the 'normal' Dutchmen in the big city. On the one hand it’s a glorification of Amsterdam, on the other it’s a critique of how hectic urban life is and how much pressure the city puts on its inhabitants and their relationships. Here, Dutchness is established through multiculturalism and open

mindedness, again emphasizing how modern society has affected the relationship between peoples with different ethnic backgrounds, as well as between men and women. The series is a pure drama, with a hint of irony and satire that will put a smile on the viewer’s face from time to time. The stories depicted are overall incredibly raw and sad, and with happy endings not guaranteed, I would say that the series’ aim is to deliver a realistic portrayal of how tough life can be.

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4.1 The 'Quality' of Dutch Television Series!

The concept of quality television has been appropriated and re-appropriated in both series in somewhat different ways. Although there are many similarities to be found, especially when it comes to certain characteristics that can be linked to a general Dutch style I can trace back to both television and cinema, the ways in which series differ signify how Hollands Hoop is more closely linked to the 'original' American concept of quality TV, and how A’dam en E.V.A. is much more representative of the Dutch style. Still, I would like to state that both series do incorporate the Dutch cultural context in such a way that it makes it possible to speak of a nationalized interpretation of the 'supergenre'.

Innovation, as being a marker of quality television, is a characteristic that can be traced back to both series. When it comes to Hollands Hoop, I would say that the glitz American quality television brings along, which is often linked to a high budget, is being copied within the style of the series. Hollands Hoop looks expensive, as it is clear that high end technology has been used. The quality of the cameras, lighting, decor, soundtrack and even the opening sequence are striking, with the latter being quite un-Dutch as it has been fully produced with a computer animation program (although the Dutch are quite skilled in graphic design, as has been noted above, this was always limited to decor, props and inserts) and presents close ups of props and other symbols that become meaningful when put together in a montage that represents the context of the 


series. This is similar to the opening sequences of shows like Mad Men, Dexter and Penny Dreadful which apply the same techniques.

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Fig. 2-7: Opening sequence of Hollands Hoop.

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Weirdly enough, this glitz and high end look is not commonly used in the Netherlands, making Hollands

Hoop innovative within the cultural context of the Dutch media landscape. On the other hand, A’dam en Eva

has more of an art film feel to it, combining a documentary style with stylistic excessiveness, especially when it comes to cinematography. With this I refer to the often wild camera movements, extreme close ups, the use of strange camera angles and of objects that disturb the image, as well as the ways in which actors are placed within the screen. I would say that this is innovative on a more transnational level as the series moves away from traditional notions of quality, but is in fact representative of the Dutch approach, where a messy, striking style is used to cover up a lack of budget. In the previously mentioned interview I conducted with writer Franky Ribbens he confirms this, as he states that “budget is a determining factor. A lack of money forces makers to be more creative. Weird camera angles, special effects and a lot of music are techniques implemented to add an illusion of production value to the series.”


Fig. 8-9: Extreme close-up of Eva. Low angle close up of Adam. A’dam en E.V.A., episode 4. “Openbare werken.”

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Within a Dutch context, A’dam en E.V.A.’s style should therefore not be considered to be groundbreaking. Nevertheless, I do would like to state that the series is very much in sync with what is considered to be the Dutch style. Based on artistic freedom and experimentation, it is clear how this tradition has inspired the makers of A’dam en E.V.A. Every shot has an awkward feel to it, with strange angles, chaotic camera

movements, extreme close ups and extensive use of McGuffins, the audience is constantly made aware of the series style, forcing them into a position where they can actively appreciate the artfulness of the

cinematography and mise-en-scene. Paradoxically maybe, this does not hinder the process of emersion, as the excessiveness of the cinematography magnifies the expressions of the characters, helping the audience to in fact, engage even more with the action and emotions depicted. Furthermore, these stylistic techniques are often used to add dimension to many montage sequences of the city. Also, in the case of some of the scenes with dialogue, both a long take and a long distance shot are combined to film the characters sitting side by side, and with traffic disturbing the image, the audience is made aware of the surroundings of the action depicted, and of how they must never lose sight of the fact that the series is situated in Amsterdam.

Fig. 10: Tonnie taking a break with his colleagues. A’dam en E.V.A., episode 1, “De Eerste Maandag.”

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Linked to quality TV’s demand for innovation and groundbreaking-ness, both series incorporate an interplay between on the one hand the exposition of the banalities of everyday life, while at the same time the

narratives move past this, as they on the other hand also dig deep into life’s struggles, expressing a longing to say something profound and meaningful about the merits of being human. As for the first, I can trace this back to particular moments in both series. In Hollands Hoop for instance, we witness how Dimitri goes into 


the men’s room, sits on the toilet, and wipes himself. Or as in A’dam en E.V.A. where we accompany Eva to her gynecologist after she had unsafe sex with a married man. We see her lying in the chair with her legs up, in the most vulnerable and confronting position woman could be in, in a very bright lit hospital room, to find out she is unwantedly pregnant.

Fig. 11: Dimitri on the toilet. Hollands Hoop. Episode 5. Fig. 12: Eva is pregnant. A’dam en “Vladimir Poetin.” E.V.A,.episode 4, “Openbare Werken.”

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Both situations are confronting, putting the characters in embarrassing positions that are usually considered to be somewhat of a taboo. They are scenes that people usually don’t wish to see. This de-glamorization of life is a narrative attribute which in the Dutch mediascape is very much limited to drama series. The idea is that, to be able to give a realistic portrayal of everyday life, one must depict all aspects of it. This breaks away drastically from Dutch norms and values as they are somewhat conservative in this sense, making these Dutch drama series quite controversial and groundbreaking.

Second, as already mentioned above, both series dive deep into the human mind, which can also be linked to quality television’s insistence on incorporating unique, interesting and intricate characters. The narratives depict how people respond to extreme situations they are put in and how this affects their mental wellness, while at the same time it puts pressure on their relationships. In Hollands Hoop we see how Fokke transforms from a loser to a drug lord, a psychological process that makes him more relatable to his son, which improves their bond. At the same time his renewed confidence brings him closer to Machteld, while this also makes her feel insecure about their relationship, with a fear that Fokke might be exploring his revived manhood with other women as well. Furthermore, the extraordinary relationship between Fokke and his mental health patient Dimitri opens up the space for an intense exploration of an unhealthy mind, forcing Fokke to use his psychiatric background to be able to control Dimitri, while at the same time his twisted actions showcase what a dark human psyche is capable of.

A’dam en E.V.A., as a depiction of life in the big city, uses Amsterdam as a context to which the

troubles of life are being linked, while at the same time the urban environment opens up opportunities to enhance particular states of mind through mise-en-scene and cinematography. First, looking at the main characters, Adam is a sweet young man from Zeeland, a rural province in the south of the Netherlands which is known for its peacefulness, and is therefore a popular holiday destination for local tourists to explore the Dutch countryside. His background means that, as a new citizen of Amsterdam, he has quite a naive and innocent appearance. The series shows, although it does praise his attitude, how he is not tough enough for the big city, as the fiery Eva often steamrolls right over him, and how the many impressions and temptations 


the city has to offer cause him to break down, bringing him into a state of psychosis that even causes him to get admitted into a mental hospital. Eva on the other hand is from Amsterdam, and the adventurousness and unpredictability the city oozes has clearly settled in her personality. She is passionate, yet very unstable, with no clear idea of what she wants to do with her life. She is quite selfish, which might come from the idea that people in the big city are more individualistically oriented. With her emotions flying all over the place, she often makes the wrong decisions, and in doing so she drags the people in her circle down with her.

Each episode deals with different characters, themes, and plots, where the audience is being

introduced to people from every class as well as from many different ethnic backgrounds. Every story that is told is a sad one, and with every plot line being linked to each other, the series showcases how Amsterdam is in fact a small city after all. Where all the people are interconnected and how, like a butterfly effect, no action is without consequence. Most of these stories, again, deal with relationships, those being between friends, lovers, family members, and between the autochthone and allochtone people of Amsterdam, as I shall discuss later on. These relationships are troubled, either because of miscommunication, or as a result of how people are nowadays moving away from traditional norms and values. Promiscuity, adultery, divorce, substance abuse, as well as a lack of tolerance towards people with different lifestyles, are some of the themes that are linked to this, and which form the main motives for the different dramatic stories depicted. One of the plot lines that got to me the most was the one about the young and homeless Gijsbrecht. He re-appears in several episodes, with shots of him wandering around the city, turning to theft and drug abuse to get through life. His story is quite unclear for a long time, as the audience has to wait until the final episodes to find out who he really is: Eva’s brother. Growing up in a dysfunctional family, with parents ending up being divorced, and who care about prestige more than they do about their children, Gijsbrecht becomes a lost soul, a very tragic figure, who’s death at the end of the season leaves the viewer baffled, as the series clearly does not care about happy endings, and shows how life can also be just devastating. His story, as do many others, get under the viewer’s skin. In combination with the softer undertones of Adam and Eva’s love story, as well as those brought along by charming and funny characters like Eva’s friend Harm-Jan, the audience is able to relate to the series, as it represents an interplay between the ups and downs of life. The excessive drama that oozes from the narrative weirdly keeps the viewer longing for more, as the stories, although very sad, distract them from their own troubles. It is a form of malicious delight that shows how intricate the psychological game is the series plays within the diegesis, as well as with the audience.

The ways in which both series depict the rawness of life, is quite clearly linked to another

characteristic of quality television, namely that of realism. For Hollands Hoop as well as A’dam en E.V.A., I would like to state that they incorporate aspects of both empirical and social realism, although they often do so in different ways. One similarity though, is that in both series, hardly any make-up is used, or at least not more than most Dutch woman would wear. During emotional scenes, in combination with grim lighting and close ups, the emphasis is often put on the face, with every line and imperfection being shown, this enhances the expressions of the actors and the atmosphere of the scene. To be blunt, the lack of make-up makes the actors look less appealing as well, which undermines the glamorousness of their fame, making them more relatable to the audience.

As for cinematography and its relation to realism, Hollands Hoop often makes use of hand held cameras, creating an illusion of 'being there'. With the camera often positioned behind people or objects such as walls or chairs, it feels as if you’re spying on the characters. 


Fig. 13: Hollands Hoop, episode 4, “Dutch Passion.” Fig. 14: Hollands Hoop, episode 5, “Vladimir Poetin.”

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In A’dam en E.V.A. however, the documentary style is linked to a fly on the wall approach,giving the audience not so much a sense of taking part in the diegesis, but more one of being an indirect witness of real life events, which is similar to conventions of reality TV. Furthermore, with regard to sound, both series are very much in sync with what is regarded to be an essential part of the Dutch style, namely to be extremely detailed. From the sound of the wind blowing through the corn fields, of the birds singing, of the old floors of the farm squeaking when being walked on in Hollands Hoop, to the sound of the trams and the ringing of bike bells, the noise the garbage truck makes when passing by and the zooming of machines in the hospital room in A’dam en E.V.A.. Especially for the latter series, this can create a messy experience, as the center of Amsterdam is quite a loud place, but even more realistic does it become because of this. Also, certain lighting techniques are applied to enhance this feeling. A’dam en E.V.A. seems to hardly make any use of studio lighting, and this can of course be linked to the documentary style. The makers make use of natural lighting in often innovative ways; playing with light and dark to direct the gaze to certain parts of the image, and with dreary weather (which is quite common in the Netherlands) creating grim lighting during indoor scenes, therefore adding an extra somber atmosphere to the drama’s depicted.

Fig. 15: A typical awkward shot in A’dam en E.V.A., episode 4, “Openbare Werken.”

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A different recurring cinematographic element is the use of establishing shots which is, again, something the Dutch style is known for. Especially in the case of Hollands Hoop, I would say that these shots are very artful, as they remind me of the works of old Dutch painters.

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Fig. 16: ‘Hollands Hoop,’ the farm. Hollands Hoop, episode 4, “Dutch Passion.”

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The composition is extremely well thought, with the makers presenting the audience with long distance shots that encompass all the Dutch rural landscape is known for: dikes, windmills, cloudy skies, and farming land. There’s always a twist that is put to these images, a certain irony and sometimes even a critical note. Like with the scene where Dimitri’s hostage is finally able to escape from the trunk of his car and she’s being rescued by a bus driver who, in an absurd yet beautiful long distance shot, climbs on top of a bus stop to try to get a signal for his mobile phone. In another establishing shot from episode three, the audience is

presented with an incredible view of an evening sky, where a typical Dutch landscape is filmed and where an ironic contradiction is created between the old-fashioned and modern windmills, creating an interplay between modernization and traditional discourse which makes for a somewhat ironic and striking picture.

Fig. 17-18: Bus driver trying to find a phone signal. Car chase between Fokke and Dimitri. Hollands Hoop, episode 3, “Mijn Vrouw, Mijn Land.”

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In A’dam en E.V.A. the establishing shots are, quite unsurprisingly, made of the city and more specifically the city center. What is quite beautifully done with these shots is that they often zoom in on one scene, for example of Adam and Eva talking, after which the camera zooms out into and establishing shot of the city, panning into a different direction to again zoom in on a different scene of Loezelot sitting in a restaurant having a chat with her agent.

Fig. 19-24: Zoom out from Adam en Timo, pan and zoom in on Loezelot. A’dam en E.V.A., episode 2, “Koninginnenkoorts.”

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Furthermore, I would like to suggest that the long takes of dialogues as mentioned before, where the camera is positioned at a long distance from the action, with many elements disturbing the image to create a picture that not only depicts the dialogue, but also the 'natural' environment of where the scene is taking place, is a form of an establishing shot as well. It establishes a complete picture; a context and atmosphere that makes it easier for the viewer to relate.

Fig. 25: A conversation between friends. Striking image in A’dam en E.V.A., episode 7, “Paradise Lost.”

With regard to another aspect of the Dutch style, namely that of melancholy, this is reflected in Hollands

Hoop through the use of mainly cinematographic tools. Here, lens filters are used to create stark contrasts

between tragic scenes with a grayish green look, and moments of happiness where orange filters are used to create a warm atmosphere. Furthermore, melancholy is very much linked to a rekindling of traditional ideas of Dutchness. We already saw this in the establishing shots, but we can also trace this back to the narrative as emphasis is repeatedly put on the contradistinction between the past and the present, the city versus the countryside, and on the changed dynamic between male/female relationships.

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As for A’dam en E.V.A. I would say that melancholy is more of an abstract theme, as it refers to the

atmosphere of the series rather than being a narrative characteristic. Through the seriousness of the subject matters, the confronting realism of the cinematography, the soundtrack which contains many songs with a sad undertone, and the occasional moments of comedic relieve, the series evokes a roller coaster ride of emotional responses; an addictive and almost mentally draining viewing experience that, in an almost self-chastising manner, leaves the audience longing for more.

These feelings of unease, which on the one side are based on biases between mainly the old and the new, and on the other on affective response, are also very much linked to uncanniness. In Hollands Hoop, this atmosphere is further established through a link with both the horror and thriller genres. From the storyline of Fokke and Pepijn getting into the drug industry, therefore creating many suspenseful and startling moments, to the extremely disturbing and often disgusting scenes with the mentally ill Dimitri, combined with a cinematography which in these instances, makes use of hand held camera’s and jump cuts, and complemented by a thrilling soundtrack, the series connects to a characteristic of the Dutch style that also appeals to quality TV’s demand for rawness. During these moments, Hollands Hoop moves away from the polished style that is more closely linked to American quality television, as instead, it reconnects with the Dutch cultural context.

Uncanniness in A’dam en E.V.A. on the other hand, is more closely linked to the characters and their individual stories. It is evoked in more subtle ways, as we gradually get to know the characters throughout the episode, and with hints being dropped occasionally, a form of suspense is built up with a startling climax at the end of each episode. One disturbing example is the story of the tawdry Vlaskip family. The depiction of their plot line starts with messy close ups of a dim lit, littered room, with a young and somewhat creepy looking girl sitting on the couch holding stuffed animal, while a baby is crying in the background. Step-by-step we find out she is the mentally impaired and discarded black sheep of the family, as well as the mother of the baby. Left behind when the parents and their 'healthy' children go on a holiday, she finds a way to catch up with them. In a dramatic final scene where she walks up to her parents, who are startled by the fact she found her way back to them, they ask her where she left the baby to which she responds: "It didn’t work anymore. I put it away. At the side of the tracks, just like we did with the cat and the guinea pig.” !1

Fig. 28-30: Shelley. A’dam en E.V.A., episode 5, “De Harmonie.”

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With regard to how the two series lay claim to the label of quality television, I’ll end this discussion with the characteristic of narrative complexity. Both series make use of a large ensemble cast, although A’dam en 


Translated quote from Shelley in A’dam en E.V.A., episode five, "De Harmonie." 1