Thursday 31 January 2019
Friday 25 January 2019
Monday 21 January 2019
LFTVD Narrative Structures
TV Drama, Language
Narrative Structure
Linear - Basic structure with a clear beginning, middle and an end.
Follows a Chronological Timeframe
Action A leads to Action B, leads to Action C.
Fragmented - Also a non-linear, disrupted and disjointed storyline.
Joyce, Hopper, Friends and Scientists, we have many different stories.
No clear beginning, middle, or end.
Stranger Things launches straight into some action!
Events shown outside the order of natural occurrence.
Parallel Stories
Seem to work more closely to replicate the thoughts of the human mind.
Restricted - We experience the events through one person only. This is going to be the main character. We find things out at the same time as the movie does.
Omnipresent Narrative - We see all of the viewpoints of the characters.
Dramatic Irony - When we know what is going to happen before anyone else.
Closed Ending - Story is bought to a conclusion
Open endings - The story is left open, and will complete over a number of episodes, or the whole season. Open endings encourage the audience to carry on watching.
STRANGER THINGS IS A FRAGMENTED REALITY
Enigma Codes
Where does Eleven come from?
Her tattoo (011)
Social Worker
Failed experiment
What is causing all of these power outages?
Do Steve and Nancy ACTUALLY get it on?
- The events in ST fall in a fragmented stage.
- The individual stories are a good way to introduce the characters in their own background. This is fast, and gives LOTS OF INFO IN A SHORT TIME.
TODOROV: THE EQUILIBRIUM THEORY
Traditional narratives follow your standard 3 part structure.
All of the characters experience some disruption.
- Begin equilibrium (we’re in a lesson)
- Disruption (the fire alarm goes off)
- Recognition of Disruption (we leave)
- Quest to restore equilibrium
- New equilibrium (back inside, resume lesson)
STRAUSS - BINARY OPPOSITION
Classical ‘battles’ and mixing groups on traditional stories.
- Day vs Night
- Man vs Women
- Strange vs Not Strange
Representations in Stranger Things
Representations in Stranger Things aren’t simple. They’re always going to be going beyond the typical binary situation.
Stranger Things is novelistic. It always goes on over a length of time.
- We might see flashbacks
- Systemic Change
REPRESENTATIONS IN STRANGER THINGS
- Teenagers
Rebellious, Somewhat classical, stereotypical. Bullying the weak and nerdy (the whole AV Club thing)
- Family Life
Extremely maternal, fathers distant. Siblings argue, absolutely no moment of happy family apart from the tent flashback.
- Mothers
Classical damsel in distress.
- Absent Fathers
- Police
- Government
Introduction to TV Drama
TV Drama now competes with film – Long form?
Can we build 3-dimensional characters. (anti-heroes) - strong independent females
LFTVD Has high production values. I.E. One episode can be around $1-3 Million
Viewing Methods
- Terrestrial – BBC 1,2 / ITV / C4 / C5
- Streaming NETFLIX HAS NOT MADE A PROFIT, LONG TERM BUSINESS GOAL
- Sky Digital / Virgin Media / HBO etc.
State of the Nation
- Terrorism
- Greed
- Politics / Corruption
- Crime
- What's going on?
- Cultural Zeitgeist
Memes
- Funny user-generated content
Memes and Accessories for Stranger Things
Ingredients and Conventions of Long Form TV Drama
- Various Locations Featured
- Stock Characters – Persistently following, we're going to spend lots of time with them
- Multiple narratives – Many different sides to the story at the same time
- 1-hour long
- Released whole thing at a time (Binge watching)
- Very dramatic cliff-hanger endings
- High Production Values
Investigative Drama. Crime?
Stephen King, John Carpenter, Steven Spielberg
Thursday 17 January 2019
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