1. How to analyse TV drama - Understanding the key features:
Format:
It’s to do with episodes and series. Series basically means seasons.
- Series: Limited number of episodes
- Serial: Infinite number of episodes, soaps follow this technique, as it’s a continuous
number of episodes
- One off drama
Genre:
Genre is a type/category of media products.
- Codes: Symbols, the “small stuff” clues both visual and aural
- Conventions: the rules the “bigger stuff”
- TV drama genres and sub-genres
TV drama genres:
Crime drama, period/historicdrama, supernatural/horror, soap, superhero,
hospital/medical drama.
Representation:
How something is shown. It might be something to do with character, stereotypes, and
the portrayal of characters, groups, ideas and events.
- People
- Places
- Events
- Messages and values
Narrative:
Narrative is the structure of a programme.
- Structure: Linear/non-linear; parallel storylines; circular; role of characters
- Parallel (Cut between different stories.
- Linear (Goes in order, beginning, middle and end)
- Non-linear (it has no beginning, middle, end)
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- Style: style of narration, mode of address 1st/3rd person.
2. - Mode of address (how the narrator talks to us, formal, informal)
- Theme: justice, redemption, romance / love, good vs evil.
Daredevil:
- Sub-genre : superhero
- Narrative problem: blinding as a child
- Superpowers, in every other sense.
- Psychology of the character: father/son.
- Theme: good vs evil.
Representation:
- Place: New York, streets
- Mask for superhero’s
