Whitechapel

Whitechapel was first shown in the UK in the Winter of 2009 and is made up of three episodes at an average of forty-five minutes each. Written by Ben Court and Caroline Ip for the BBC, and Directed by S.J. Clarkson.

The overarching storyline of Whitechapel is that there is a Jack the Ripper copy-cat killer on the loose in London’s Whitechapel and he is recreating each of the infamous murders in the best way he can with the materials and potential victims at his disposal, the copy-cat killer is also trying to improve on the originals Rippers perceived failures. The copycat killer is a character who reoccurs in each part of the series as the innocent and respectable Dr David Cohan (played by Paul Hickley); Cohan is pursued by a new detective Inspector (D.I.) Joseph Chandler and veteran copper, Detective Sargent (D.S.) Ray Miles, reluctantly obtains help from renowned ‘Ripperologist’ Edward Buchan when trying to uncover the copy-cats identity, motives and what to expect next. This essay will try to critically evaluate if the narrative throughout the television series ‘WHITECHAPEL’ generates the reinstatement of normalcy and ordinariness through the containment of crime.

Crime drama is usually considered nothing more than frivolous television fodder for evening audiences to play detective; weighing up the evidence presented to them and making judgment calls on the suspects and characters that surround the investigation. The typical crime drama viewer is stereotyped as being an armchair sleuth captivated by puzzles, intrigue, and bloody violence, although this cliché is maybe somewhat correct in the assumption that fans of crime drama enjoy solving mysteries, and like to be shocked by the depth of depravity a human could commit – they also expect a moral and just conclusion to the narrative. Richard Sparks (2000, as cited in Work, 2017) describes crime dramas as the wider discussion on the understanding of crime and punishment and how criminality and its preparators are brought to justice in contemporary society. Majid Yar states that criminology has overlooked crime drama and film as a valid source of sociological analysis as it claims it only has a tenuous relationship with real crime and society, Yar argues that the overlap between reality and fantasy has become blurred in ‘hyperreality’ (Baudrillard): “we now live in a mediated world where fictional representation mirrors factual reporting and looks like a fictional movie” (Yar, 2010: 69). She maintains that fictional representations of crime are just as important in forming ‘social sensibilities’ (ibid) about criminality as media and cultural studies have shown that reported ‘factuality’ (ibid) is a construction built upon media genres to appear authentic; she states that the public experiences crime through film and television and this is how they come to learn how to distinguish it, assess it, and respond to it (ibid). Crime drama provides not only these wider cultural constructions of crime and punishment but also constructs our understanding of social order and morality by presenting us with both hegemonic and anti-hegemonic discourses of law and order. As John Sumser states: “what holds society together is a shared view of the way the world works” (1996: 1). The containment or control of deviant behaviour is the typical objective of crime drama and it's constructed in many ways, although there are exceptions to this rule in postmodern writing which frames the villain as an anti-hero within the narrative – giving them either a neutral or chaotic character type. Sumser also argues that those shared meanings and perceptions of how society works that are perpetuated through crime drama also make it possible for crime scriptwriters to create a forty-five to one-hour-long crime mystery and have it conclude with a resolution; the ‘constant reshuffling of stock characters’ (ibid) within well-known circumstances and familiar incentives create a recognisable and believable reality for the audience which mirrors back their experiences of true crime reporting, as Yar suggests.

Traditionally, television crime drama was watched on terrestrial channels such as BBC, ITV, or Channel 4, but the public has more choice of channels on cable television, such as SKY+; or on internet subscription streaming sites such as Netflix, BBC iPlayer, or Amazon Prime Video, the audience is now able to pick and choose when and where to watch. This movement away from the traditional television schedule has meant that viewing figures have become disjointed because more individuals are choosing to buy the box set of their show or record it to watch at a later date to better fit in with their lifestyle and thus fragmenting the audience. This change in viewing habits also means that an individual is more likely to fully immerse themselves in the narrative through ‘binge-watching’ (the act of marathon-watching a television show until completion), this act has meant that creators of drama have had to change their approach to programme narrative as audiences expect a longer storyline without speedy resolutions with the criminal being apprehended within an hour. This structure was commonly found in cable television as the viewer was expected to follow the narrative to season completion but writers for network television have had to adapt their structures to compete with internet streaming new audience viewing patterns and changing tastes in narratives (Work, 2017). Rick Kushman (2006, as cited in Pearson, 2007: 40) reasoned that serial crime dramas allow the writers to create better and more complex story arcs within the show which will hopefully give the show critical acclaim but, the downfall of this is that it may lose viewers; with the conflict being ‘between art and commerce’ (Pearson, 2007: 40) Anthony E. Zuiker, showrunner for ‘CSI: VAGAS’ was quoted in Pearson (2007: 40) as saying “We simply did not want to handcuff the viewers to their television sets week to week” when commenting on the stand-alone episodic structure of CSI.

The narrative form of Whitechapel is a serial with one over-arching storyline of the copycat killer which acts as the narrative frame which supports the subplot of the relationship and conflict between Chandler and Miles. Whitechapel does not have any other crime resolution within each episode and ends on a cliff-hanger which means the viewer does have to continue to tune in or stream the next episode to see the conclusion, however, there are only three episodes in season one which allows for this narrative structure to be used as the viewer will not become bored and will continue to watch each week.

The police procedural is a type of sub-genre of crime drama and fiction which tries to show precise representations of the realities and processes of police work through investigating several crimes in an alone storyline and is usually regarded as the opposite of the traditional ‘cop show’ which overlooks police procedures. One difference between the traditional cop show and police procedurals is that in a procedural the identity of the criminal is typically known to the audience and the narrative focuses on the pursuit and apprehension of them, whereas the ‘cop show’ usually has the criminals’ identity hidden until the conclusion, once the mystery or puzzle has been solved. Police procedurals can also be identified by the emphasis put on forensics, science, interrogations, and evidence within the narrative as it suggests that if science and police work together appropriately they are an infallible team which will discover the truth; they also overlook the personal lives of the characters involved and mainly focuses on their working life within the precinct. David Simon, creator of the television show ‘THE WIRE’ described the format and appeal of police procedurals as “winners and losers, stock scenarios, compelling characters, and recognisable villains and heroes. Moreover, the moral imperatives that television usually has injected into these melodramas – respect the law, good conquers evil, the system works…” (as cited in Ramshaw, 2012: 364). Kimberlianne Podlas (2012: 88) states that the police procedurals communicate and educate audiences about litigation, and legal procedures, and support positive representations of the justice system.

Whitechapel is a police procedural as it has a low emphasis on the Chandlers and Miles's private lives and only expands on that narrative if it enters the investigation, for example, a parcel containing part of a victim's kidney is sent to the home address of D.S. Miles where his young son handles it; in this scene, we are witness to Miles being emotionally compromised by feelings of guilt and failure, he exclaims “it was my job to keep this stuff out of the house!” (2009: part 3).

This alludes to the police force not only striving for the containment of crime within society but also attempting to contain or compartmentalise their private life and family from the consequences of their career. The relationship and conflict between Chandler and Miles are essential to the containment of the copycat killer as the constant battle between them in ‘Part 1’ drives the investigation as they are both jostling for power and respect within their department. Chandler is a young D.I. sent to Whitechapel to complete an easy domestic case which would allow him to ‘fast-tracked’ into a senior position, D.S. Miles in contrast is a seasoned ‘copper’ who has worked his way up from the bottom and has earned the respect of his peers; he resents Chandler and refers to him as a ‘paper policeman’. Each of their disagreements on how to conduct the investigation results either in establishing a lead or eliminating a suspect; Miles in ‘part 1’ constantly undermines Chandler's requests and Jack the Ripper theories which ultimately leads to another woman being murdered and the killer getting away during a stakeout. It can be argued that throughout Whitechapel there is no real containment of crime as there is no weekly sub-plot of an unrelated crime which is resolved, however, there is an instance in ‘part 2’ when one of D.S. Miles’ detectives leak sensitive information about the Jack the Ripper copycat to the press in the hopes that it would lead to Chandlers' dismissal. Miles takes it upon himself to track the leak and have him reprimanded. As this episode has an isolated crime to be resolved, which is attached to the overarching narrative the writers can utilise the narrative of the ‘bad apple’ within the department. Anita Lam writes (2012: 74): “Police misconduct can be easily resolved… ‘bad apples’ can simply be punished or removed from a police unit at the end of an episode”. The criminal element within this narrative is contained but unconventionally; escape. The copycat killer is tracked down in ‘part 3’ to his home where he attacks Chandler and flees the scene; while inspecting his home they find various aliases the killer has been using and are unable to positively identify his real name but uncover who his next victim is. Chandler and Miles again trace the killer to the location of his last crime and disturb him in the act, in the end, the copycat gets away as Chandler decides to stay with a wounded Miles rather than give chase. Chandler in the conclusion is chastised by his superior because a murderer is still on the loose; Chandler retorts that they will not kill again as he has failed to finish his work and there would not be another exact day and date combination for a very long time and the killer may commit suicide to remain a spectre, just as The Ripper.

Film and television dramas have based a lot of their murderers and narratives on infamous historical characters and events, for example, the numerous retellings of the 1888 serial killings committed by the elusive Jack the Ripper (Yar, 2010). Whitechapel is no different from this trope as the ripper is much of a character within the narrative as the copycat killer and D.I. Chandler. Jack the Ripper reportedly murdered five women by stab wounds to their throats and abdomen; the ripper would mutilate his victim’s genitalia, acting out of ‘gyno-phobic rage’. The rippers' obsession with female reproductive organs was shocking to the public and to law enforcement which led to a variety of bizarre speculations and conspiracy theories on the motivations and identity of the ripper (Curtis, 2001). Jack the Ripper was never caught or identified so the narratives surrounding him in the press and the rumours spread about him by the general populous were never challenged or disproved; so, Jack became a myth, just as well known as the bogeyman. The serial killer in modern drama relies on the blurring between fact and fiction in the same way that the myth of the ripper did. The Jack the Ripper story in the press was popular at the time with gothic horror novels such as Bram Stoker's Dracula’, Mary Shelley’s ‘Frankenstein’, and Robert Louis Stevenson’s ‘Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde’. Lisa Downing (2013: 73) states that the boom in gothic horror and detective fiction and “the explosion of the pulp press” and “sexual and criminological science” sparked the cultural imagination of a nation which led to the ripper being so largely publicised, which in turn allowed him to become the typical serial sex killer archetype.

During ‘part 2’ D.S. Miles comments “He ain’t human. He can’t be” when referring to the copycat, by he could just as well be talking about the original ripper as the mutilations are identical. Miles’ outburst also suggests that the killer is inhuman- a monster or beast – in a bid to both distance himself from the reality of the evil act and to better understand the motivations behind the crime. Buchan asks Chandler what the copycat was like, as it would be the closest thing to meeting the actual ripper, to which Chandler replies “He was just a man”. Chandler's reply removes the mythos and legend of the ripper from the copycat killer and leaves him as ‘just a man’ who like any criminal, evilness can be contained. The ripper was never stopped and brought to justice but in this narrative, the copycat has been through untraditional means, even without having his identity to isolate him. Chandler in ‘part 2’ remarks “no one catches the ripper, history says so” while he is still disoriented by the weight of the folklore attached to the case before coming to terms that he is not trying to find the real Ripper but instead chasing a real person who has chosen which of the ripper theories is correct.

In summary, the containment of crime relies on the narrative form of the crime drama; police procedurals typically have a resolution at the end of each week if it has a stand-alone, episodic structure, whereas, a serial will have a resolution at the end of the season when the overarching plotline concludes. Whitechapel is a serial but only has three episodes which allows it to have the benefits of both the serial and the episodic narrative forms. Police procedurals must show the containment of crime as they provide the audiences with information on how the legal and policy world operates and help perpetuate the narrative of good and evil, ideology, and morality. Whitechapel also shows the containment of crime through unconventional means as the criminal does manage to escape but due to the mythology attached to Jack the Ripper, Chandler and his superior can reason that the copycat will not resurface and possibly commit suicide and no legitimate forms of punishment are applied. In contrast, the use of Jack the Ripper suggests that the killer will never be contained as the copycat is not his person and he can not own his acts completely as the Ripper was never confined and will continue to live in the psyche of the public. In conclusion, police procedurals do contain criminality and restore normality as it is one of its functions, but it can be argued that Whitechapel bucks the trend of this structure as there is no clear resolution to the crimes committed and the idea of containments and normality wholly relies on the Jack the Ripper legend.

References:

CURTIS, L.P., 2001. Jack the Ripper and the London press. New Haven: Yale Univ. Press.

DOWNING, L., 2013. The Subject of Murder. US: University Of Chicago Press.

LAM, A., 2012. A productions study of the making of a police drama. Oxford: Hart Publishing LTD.

PEARSON, R., 2007. Anatomising Gilbert Grissom. London: I.B. TAURUS.

PODLAS, K., 2012. The impact of TV depictions of law and justice. Oxford: Hart Publishing LTD.

RAMSHAW, S., 2012. Legality and the Irish American Cop in 'The Wire'. Oxford: Hart Publishing LTD.

SUMSER, J., 1996. Morality and social order in television crime drama. North Carolina: McFarland & Company.

WORK, H., 2017, Approaching Television Crime Drama, CRM402, University of Abertay Dundee, delivered November 2017

YAR, M., 2010. Screening crime: cultural criminology goes to the movies. New York: Routledge.