Fourteenth International Conference on The Image

Abstract

Most of the time, the aesthetics of medical drama television series are compatible with the hospital environment where the stories take place. The series usually show aseptic images, both in terms of cinematography, as well as production design, and character characterization. Although the environments portrayed are often hospital emergency rooms, it is clear that, in North American medical series, there is a tendency for “classic” cinematography, for presenting meticulously clean settings and characterizing characters in such a way as to lose any sign of “imperfection”. The acclaimed Brazilian medical drama Under Pressure, released in 2017, with general direction by Andrucha Waddington, goes against this trend of almost-advertising-like images. The series, aired and produced by TV Globo in a co-production with Conspiração Filmes, follows the daily lives of public hospital employees in Rio de Janeiro. Creative cinematography shows the tension of hospital work, production design highlights the precariousness of the place, and costuming, hair, and makeup evidence the stress of the characters. This research seeks to qualitatively analyze the images of Under Pressure’s first season and verify how the series’ aesthetics stand out among so many similar contemporary medical dramas. Therefore, authors such as Giuliana Bruno, C. S. Tashiro, Jacques Aumont, and Martine Joly are used as a basis for the study. By presenting images with an aesthetic rawness that are similar to the reality of Brazilian public hospitals, Under Pressure reveals itself as a commendable medical drama that exposes the systemic corruption in Brazilian institutions.