Peaky Blinders is a crime drama created by Steven Knight set in Birmingham in 1919, based around a group of former World War 1 soldiers who return home and form a criminal gang.
It uses many different methods and features in order to target and attract its desired audience, mixing niche and mainstream conventions in order to do so effectively.
To begin with, the series is aired on BBC Two, a channel renowned for its highly praised and prestigious "high brow" dramas, giving Peaky Blinders the desired reputation before it has even been aired. By successfully placing the series on this channel, it demonstrates and suggests to BBC Two's audience that this new drama is highly stylised and intellectually and culturally rich, appealing to their viewers.
Whilst being a low budget show, a large element of the text includes exquisite cinematography in order to attract the active audience desired. An example of this can clearly be seen in the fight scene close to the start of episode two, between the Shelby Brothers and the Gypsies they were doing business with. The scene has been edited to be shown in slow-motion, not just to allow the understand to the action, but also to exhibit the technique and stylistic elements of that scene, namely the cinematographic elements. The way the scene has been filmed not only shows definition but also gives an element of beauty to the fight scene.
