THE JINX: THE LIFE AND DEATHS OF ROBERT DURST - Episode 1 Chapter 1 - 2015

Aug 22, 2026

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Eduqas AS/A Level Media Studies set product factsheet for The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst (Episode 1 Chapter 1, 2015) within Section A: Television. It positions the programme in documentary genre conventions, explaining how genre codes shape production, distribution, marketing and audience expectations. The factsheet outlines documentary as mediated non-fiction, drawing on Grierson’s concept of creative treatment of actuality. It details The Jinx’s narrative strategies, including flashbacks, voice-over, interviews and an episodic serialized structure.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryExam

FormatPDF

Pages12

Reading Time30 min

AccessFree to download

Product Context

Broadcast, production and authorship

Part 1: Starting Points – Media Language

Genre and audience expectations

Documentary conventions and mediation

Narrative structure and storytelling devices

AS/A Level Media Studies-Set Product Fact Sheet THE JINX: THE LIFE AND DEATHS OF ROBERT DURST (Episode 1 Chapter 1, 2015) AS/A Level Media Studies-Set Product Fact Sheet THE JINX: THE LIFE AND DEATHS OF ROBERT DURST (Episode 1 Chapter 1, 2015) Section A: Television (AS) Television in the Global Age (A Level) Focus Areas: Media Language Representation Media Industries Audiences Media contexts PRODUCT CONTEXT • This product is one of the documentary options studied for Section A: Television, at AS and alongside the documentary No Burqas Behind Bars, at A Level. The set product is the first chapter of the series: A Body in the Bay (2015) . • The Jinx is a true crime documentary series broadcast on the HBO network. The production companies were HBO Documentaries, Blumhouse Productions and Hit the Ground Running Films. It was distributed by HBO and Sky. • The series was first broadcast on HBO on February 8th 2015 and was made up of 6 ‘chapters’. • The Jinx was written by Andrew Jarecki, Marc Smerling and Zachary Stuart-Pontie and directed by Andrew Jarecki, who also directed Capturing the Friedmans which focused on the true crime investigation of Arnold and Jesse Friedman, and All Good Things (2010), a mystery/crime film inspired by the life of Robert Durst. After the film’s release Durst agreed to work with Jarecki and this resulted in the production of The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst. PART 1: STARTING POINTS – Media Language The codes and conventions of media forms and products, including the processes through which media language develops as a genre. • In its simplest terms a genre is a type of media product, but it is more complex than that; genre provides a way for producers to communicate messages to audiences. Audiences need to be able to recognise genres and the codes and conventions which are established over time and they have expectations that need to be fulfilled. • Genre has an influence on the production and distribution of television programmes and affects the way in which they are marketed and scheduled. Establishing the genre is key to the effective marketing of the product. • The documentary genre has a well-established cultural history and has a recognisable repertoire of elements. These conventions have evolved overtime and developed to reflect social and cultural change, and the needs and expectations of audiences. Technological advances in filming equipment have also allowed documentaries tobe more ambitious in their production strategies. • Documentary is a non-fiction genre depicting real life events, but programmes in this genre, although purporting to present the truth, are not‘windows on the world’ as the events are constructed and mediated. The documentary filmmaker Grierson referred to this as the’creative treatment of actuality’. ( [https://documentarydiscussions.blog/attempting](https://documentarydiscussions.blog/attempting)[-to-define-documentary-film/](-to-define-documentary-film/)) • As in fictional genres, the documentary maker uses a process of selection to re-present the world and has an influence upon the way in which the events are portrayed. • However, all programmes within this genre share similarities which place them in the documentary genre including: • A narrative with a central focus which may change depending on the form. For example, the documentary may have an investigative focus, or detail a ‘day in the life’ of a person or institution. As documentaries are non-fiction texts, they can be said to have a structure, rather than a narrative or story. However, with a true crime product like The Jinx, where facts are presented in a dramatic way, a narrative is constructed to hold the attention of the audience. o Documentaries may use a range of different structures. The programme may conform to Todorov’s theory where the structure is linear from the initial disruption through to aresolution, or non-linear where time and spac

FAQs

What is The Jinx and how is it positioned within television study?

The Jinx is a true crime documentary series broadcast on HBO. It is studied here as a set product for Section A: Television, focusing on how media language and documentary conventions work.

How does the factsheet describe the documentary genre?

The factsheet describes documentary as a non-fiction genre that depicts real events but is still constructed and mediated. It references Grierson’s idea of the “creative treatment of actuality” to explain this.

Which narrative and structural conventions are highlighted in Episode 1?

The factsheet highlights an episodic, serialized structure with chapters, a narrative built to hold audience attention, flashbacks using old footage and newspapers, plus voice-over and interviews as key narrative devices.

Aug 22, 2026

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