Trapped, Nordic noir and the Icelandic industry

Overview

Recall questions on Trapped: its isolated Icelandic town, the torso in the harbour, the blizzard as a narrative device, Andri Ólafsson and Hinrika, Nordic noir conventions and landscape, the harbour investment storyline, its pacing, its importance to Icelandic television, BBC Four and dubbing.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1. 1

   Where does Trapped take place?

   Model answer

   A small, isolated port town in the east of Iceland, in the depths of winter.

2. 2

   What discovery begins the investigation in the first episode of Trapped?

   Model answer

   A mutilated human torso is pulled out of the harbour just as a passenger ferry from Denmark docks.

3. 3

   Explain how the blizzard functions as a narrative device in Trapped.

   Model answer

   It closes the roads and prevents outside police arriving, so the killer must be among the people already in the town and the story becomes a locked-room mystery.

4. 4

   Who leads the investigation in Trapped, and how is he characterised?

   Model answer

   Andri Ólafsson, the local police chief, a physically imposing but hesitant man whose authority is undercut by his failed marriage and his past.

5. 5

   List four conventions of Nordic noir present in Trapped.

   Model answer

   A bleak northern landscape, a desaturated colour palette, a slow and sombre pace, and a flawed detective uncovering the secrets of a small community.

6. 6

   How does Trapped use landscape?

   Model answer

   Wide shots of mountain, fjord and snow dwarf the characters, so the environment acts on the plot rather than serving as scenery.

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