Conventions-To show the stereotypical conventions of a Sci-Fi teen show it uses dull lighting to connotes coming danger in addition to appeal to the teenage audience it uses teen characters as the main characters of the show. This allows the audience to connect with the teen characters, in addition they are usually portrayed "good guys" as it's what most teenagers would what to be portrayed as. It shows that the tv shows is meant for teenagers as there is a lot of use technology such as phones, this sort of technology would not be such an essential aspect of the older generation's life as it is ours. Therefore you can notice in T.V shows meant for adults there is less use of technology as it doesn't appeal to them as much. When looking into the mise-en-scene you can notice what the characters are wearing. You can notice they wear common casual outfits such as jeans, hoodies, trainers and t-shirts. This again allows the younger audience to connect with the characters as they would dress in a similar manure. Following that majority of the tv show is based in a school environment which would be common for teenagers who still attend school, but not as exiting for adults. It would allow then to feel at ease and comfortable which will change when actions with aliens, monsters and other alien, Sci-Fi characteristics come to appear. Multi-Strand NarrativeIn the tv show "Class" you can notice it follows a multi-strand Narrative looking into the story of April (the girls), Corakinus (the monster), New Headteacher, The flower invasion and the other teen characters. In the specific episode we watched there was a blend of all four listed above but most of the time was focused on April and Corakinus and hoe their stories intertwine. At time bits of the flower story was blended into April's narrative. I think the new headteacher and the gay guy couple had been built in previously because you can hear conversations of what had happened previously and during the episode their stories fade out and it starts focusing more on April. This episode set the scene for what to come next which i think will be a mix of April and Ram's story in the other dimension is addition to the story of what will happen with the flowers on earth, another dimension. HybridityIn the episode of Class we watched you can notice a hybridity between romance, drama, action and mystery. You can notice the romance is scenes between April and Ram especially when they are in Aprils room. Drama is used during the scene commonly shown in school. There was a sense of action when April was fighting of Corakinus's heart and nearly killed her dad. The Mystery aspect comes in as the flower petals as no one really knows why they are there and what they mean. The writers did this to involve different audiences, this way they can be interested in different aspects of the show thus bringing in a wider variety of audience. IntertextualityThe tv show Class is inter-textured with the popular tv show Doctor Who. In the first episode of Class you can notice the appearance of the original doctor from Doctor Who. This makes sure the audience realize that Class is indeed a spin-off of Dr. Who and would connect the iconic brand of Dr. Who and its fans to Class. In addition the school used in the tv shows Class was called 'Coal High'. The school name 'Coal High' also appeared in the first episode of Dr. Who 'An Unearthy Child'. Doctor Fans would like this insider knowledge. It's important to connect Class with Doctor Who as it makes Class instantly more popular before anyone even watches it. Representations of charactersThe Cast of Class was not picked randomly, it was picked specifically to gain a larger variety of audience. It has been proven that we are more likely to watch something that has people who look live ourselves in them to watch. Therefore it makes sense the cast has a large diversity to acknowledge different people.
Firstly they have the sweet nice white gay guy- Charlie. This would attract the gay community. Then we have the Tanya who is a girl of colour and is rather intelligent. This would attract the coloured community as well as more shy quite girls. Ram a more athletic, 'bad boy' would attract a lot of male attention but also female as they would consider him good looking. April is a Caucasian girl, quite normal caring. She would attract the female audience as many would connect to her but also the male audience as they would find her attractive.
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NarrativeFlashbacks- Flashbacks are used to explain what the teachers are talking about in the first scene. The teachers are talking about the weird girl, the flashback allows the audience to experience what the teachers had previously experienced. It's effective in creating a non-linear narrative as it creates a jump back in rime, which means the plot is no longer chronological. The plot also uses a cliff-hanger to end the episode this encourages the audience to watch the next episode as the would be interested ion what happened. Iconography
Characters
SettingThe setting in a Tv show is important because it establishes the genre of the tv show and the vibe that it wants to portray. It's important that it establishes a familiar setting to the audience in this situation- school as well as very unfamiliar ones such as- another planet, science lab. It's always important to make the setting believable to the audience. An Unearthy Child uses 4 main settings: -The school setting which is familiar too the audience. As it is familiar it creates a sense of peace around the audience. They picked this setting because either young or old you would have all gone to a school setting which as well seem be quite similar. -The junk yard is another used setting in this episode. It was some what familiar as some of the audience may have been to a junk yard before but generally it is quite odd and weird setting. This takes the audience out of their comfort zone. -The next big setting was the interior of the T.A.R.D.I.S. It's a classic Sci-Fi mise-en-scene. This futuristic lab would be most likely very unusual for the audience but as the scene before was rather odd to this creates a smooth transition. -The last scene is the alien planet this would be absolutely unknown for the audience, assuming they are all human. This means the audience would be very uncomfortable and exited. The producers made sure it was clear that it was an alien planet by adding the shadow of an alien in the foreground. Representations of stereotypesAudience The typical audience of Doctor Who would be family's including children and adults. I believe this because the show was shown at 5:15 pm every Saturday which means is a child friendly time. It would usually be watched either before or after dinner. This means it should include something that would interest all of the members. Children were given Susan a teenager to connect with through out the show. The older audience were given the Doctor who would present more knowledge parts to make the show more appealing. They also provided Ian and Barbara as they would present a caring aspect which would comfort the audience and also appeal to the older audience. I believe the audience would be mostly high middle class and skilled working class. Although the more the 1960's went on the more available TV's became and more people could afford them, therefore more working class members were able to watch TV's. Because the most common audience was the middle class you can notice that the main characters in this episode are also middle class citizens to allow the audience to connect with them. There are not many D's and E's (working class, and those of a lowest level of subsistence) as many of these families could not afford TV's and therefore didn't have as much opportunities to watch shows such as Dr. Who. Blumter and Katz theory/ Uses and Gratifications Theory This episode, "An Unearthy Child", presents multiple aspects of the Uses and Gratification theory. For example is gives us Surveillance, educates and informs us information about the world, mostly science related.
It also acts as a diversion from the outside would. As it lets you indulge in this fantasy world and forget your personal problems. This also entertains us and can be used to pass time. It helps socially as can stand as a focal point for conversation between people. It also helps create a personal identity as the audience may connect with the characters to help them realize their issues and help them past them. Firstly let me simply explain what Todorov's theory was. Basically he believed that all story follow a basic plot. 1. There is a state of equilibrium (all is as it should be, although it may not be perfect) 2. Disequilibrium (there is a disruption of hat order by an event, this turns the situation) 3. There is then a recognition that the disorder has occurred (sad moment, realization) 4. New equilibrium (there is an attempt to repair the damage) 5. Restoration of NEW equilibrium (a return or restoration of a new equilibrium, all good again) this then repeats again and again in a cycle This is what Todorov believed, of course many story's had more complex plots, but the base structure was similar. To get more information on the theory itself go under a tab called Theory to Todorov, there more information will be available. Dr. Who - Todorov In the specific episode we watched in class, An Unearthly Child, which was the first episode of the first season there was not much of a full resolution a the end. I believe though that many episodes do end in a full resolution as Dr. Who is a family show. Children usually can't focus much and it would be hard for them to remember what happened in an episode one week prior. Therefore by leaving the episode with a happy ending it makes it more suitable for the children.
Although there was no full resolution the episode still followed Todorov's plot. 1. It started with an equilibrium, everyone was happily calm reading books in the living room. The oldest granddaughter was about to go a date, which is also quite ordinary. 2. Suddenly after the boyfriends accidentally turned the T.A.R.D.I.S they were sent to a unknown time in the world, which shows the disruption. 3. They accept the disorder when the doctor says the machine is broken, and they go explore the city. 4. Another disruption happened when the oldest granddaughter was captured (this is an example of a more complicated plot that the simple basic plot Todorov explained) 5. The granddaughter is found and they are all reunited again (this is the resolution, and the new equilibrium, in this episode. I would guess that the final resolution would occur in the next episode) Because it is a t.v series there isn't a huge resolution, I feel this is part of it's convention of this t.v series as it encourages to keep watching the next episode.
An Unearthy Child is the first episode of this ongoing tv show, which has became part of the British culture. The first thing you may notice about this episode is that is it indeed still played in black and white. The first colour episode actually only aired in 1970, this means the first 2 doctors spent their life on black and white television, nevertheless this tv show a was a big success. In the first seen there is loud non-diegetic background music that is usually associated with aliens. It starts with a scene in the living room which is panned out and across of all the family members: grandfather and two daughters, reading science based books. The non-diegetic sounds fades away focusing on the ticking sound of a clock. The shots in the first couple of minutes of the tv show are simple panning in and out of characters, which to us now seems rather sad but was indeed high technology back then. I know this because a lot of money was put into the show therefore high technology would be used. The acting you may notice is very over the top compared to modern tv. Although commonly in rom coms or sitcoms some actors still use this over the top-mess to achieve the humor effect. The difference is this was considered normal. Because in the first couple the oldest daughters girlfriend is shown quite a lot it leads you to believe that he may be the hero. I feel this is almost programmed in our brains, as usually the protagonist, hero is a fairly good looking young man. You can even notice this stereotype arise as throughout the season the Doctor seems to become more of a young attractive male, then like here where he is a old grandfather. The Donor in this case I believe is the T.A.R.D.I.S, the time travelling police box space ship, as it gives the Doctor the advantage over others and allows them to go on these adventures. The boyfriend, Ian, I believe is the Dispatcher, as he sends the doctor and the rest of the family on the mission by accidentally setting the T.A.R.D.I.S on. The Hero, which although I felt was not that obvious through the filming, I figured out through my prior knowledge. The fact that the grandfather is called “doctor” and the t.v show is called "Doctor Who". He is also the one who made T.A.R.D.I.S. In addition throughout the episode the idea that the doctor is the hero became more clear, as he was focused on more. Hero’s are not perfect and can commonly be problematic, in this case the doctor is the one who put everyone in danger and generally seems kind off lost at points. This is a convention of Sci-fi movies, as hero's in that genre tend to be odd. The Helper I believe is the youngest granddaughter as she seems to help the doctor through most of the episode. She also seems to know how the everything works and you may notice how she’s always standing right next to the doctor either by his left or right side.The little girl is also limited to the hero’s ability, as she is younger less wise, this is another characteristic of a helper. If two helpers are allowed I would say that the older granddaughter is one too, although in the beginning of the episode she was reluctant to help later on she becomes quite interested too. The filming does not change much through the episodes stays quite simple, sticking too far away shots, close up and panning in and out. They also include some establishing shots, such as when the just walk out of the T.A.R.D.I.S for the first time. The Villains in this episode are the robots, as they stop the Doctor from leaving and struggles against the hero. Because of their actions we tend to dislike them “hate them” even which is a common stereotype of villains. The episodes ends on somewhat of a cliff hangers. More than that it seems undone and cut off, something that would be less common to nowadays. Although this effect summons the audience to watch the next episode. Doctor Who is a British science-fiction television program made by the BBC since 1963. It’s set in modern time and it’s main protagonist is “The Doctor”, a time Lord who comes from the planet Gallifrey. He travels through time and space is his time travelling space ship called TARDIS (an acronym for Time and Relative Dimension In Space), with the help of his female assistant. The TARDIS is a blue British police box, this was a common sighting around British streets in 1963, which is the first year the tv show was aired. Every season the doctor changes to a new character accompanied by a new attractive female assistant. Well It has been until now, season 11, in which the first female doctor will be starred. This is a very important date in the history of the show as never before has this happened in the 55 years it has been airing, not counting their 3 years pauses in took. It connects to the modern issues of feminism which is grown quite popular. The show is played around 6-9 pm, on saturday evenings. This time is considered prime time which is the most expensive time and most used time of television. This is the reason I believe it is a family show. I think so because many families in Britain tend to watch tv together either before, whilst or after dinner especially on a saturday weekend evening. Furthermore the show is rated PG12, although some episodes have more gory aspects than others. The tv shows episodes are 25 minutes long unlike other more adult tv shows whose episodes can range to 40 min. I think this connects to the family aspect as children find it hard to focus for long periods of time. The Culture of Doctor Who has been spread so widely the work TARDIS has been added to the english dictionary. British life in the 1963'sLife in the 1960’s was a big change, this was the year when the US President John F Kennedy and the Russian President Nikita Khrushchev had saved the world at a near close to nuclear crisis- the cuban missile crisis. Life started looking up people started having more money to spend of entertainment, which gave these tv programmes bigger budgets to work with. In these short ten years, London had transformed from timid city, recovering from the second world war to one of the capitals of the world as some say. It was a city full of freedom of speech, people thought anything was possible. Many say The 1960’s was a big period for the younger generation. I mean it was called the "swinging sixties" for a reason. Teenagers were finally given a voice and a chance for them to do what they wanted. Music flourished and there was a big difference from what adults to what teens were listening too. Groups like the beatles emerged and took over, these groups made revolutionary changes to modern music. One reason the sixties got their nickname the “swinging sixties” as recreational drugs were popularised to have fun and became commonly used in the later part of the decade. Drugs seemed like a fun way to relax, many idols were doing it including the beatles mentioned above. There was also a big change in fashion. Teenagers got their own fashion sense, which was less modest. This also tracks back to it being the age of the younger generation. Mini skirts became popular, bright colours became popular. Also in contrast a more hippy movement started. The sixties was also a big year for women. They became more influential and more jobs became available for them. They were also all now legalised to use the contraceptive pill giving them a hope for a future beyond motherhood and marriage. Lastly it was also a huge year for technological advances.Tv’s suddenly turned from black and white to technicolor. People had more free time in which they can do activities such as watch tv or listen to music. Transistor radios became available for the general public. Even teenagers had their own one on which they could listen to music on the move. By the end of the decade, the unbelievable happened Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were the first men on the moon, this was a huge step for science. As you can imagine this sudden change to good gave everyone hope and allowed them to dream bigger. It allowed people liberty and to be themselves, these are things we take for granted nowadays. Blink once and you would miss it. Uses and Gratification Theory -information/ surveillance -diversion/ companionship -personal identity/ relationship -entertainment Question- How are stereotypes used in Television? -analyse how the stereotype is developed -compare your example to others in the genre -analyse why stereotypes are used Two Broke girls is a CBS sitcom launched on September 19, 2011 and had it's final episode aired on April 17,2017. The tv show is about these two girls from completed different worlds with different backgrounds, who work as waitresses at a diner and work together to achieve their dreams as you watch their relationship progress. This tv show has a vast majority of stereotypes and plays a lot on them. Above I have showed a small clip from and episodes that presents some of them. To begin with I think this tv show is made mostly for entertainment, but because it has this ability to lift your mood by their horribly funny jokes I believe it can also be used for diversion or companionship. As it would keep you company if your lonely and would set your mind of any problems your going through. The shots and camera in this tv show are quite simple and don't seem to do anything fancy as it is advertised as a more low costing comedy, with a somewhat old fashion feel to it. It reminds me of Friends with the laughing and clapping non-digetic sound and the simple shots, but with more modern humor. The shots include mostly mid shots of the actor/s that are speaking, but this is done as these are the stereotypical conventions of CBS sitcom tv shows. This particular tv shows plays a lot on stereotypes, almost characters has a stereotype being played around them. They do so as comedy tv shows commonly contain these factors. An example of this in this show is: Caroline who is portrayed as the naive, rich white girl. And her opposite Max: the street smart, rather rude and rough girl. You can see that contrast being played on often, you may notice Caroline has a clean blond cut and Max darker more untamed hair. This is also portrayed in their style as Max wears more darker colours and Caroline more light uptight outfits. In addition their makeup presents this too with Max and her dark eyeliner and Caroline lighter makeup. This all plays on the idea bad cop, good cop. I think this works well to entertain the audiences as every viewer will have a different opinion on the girls and would have their favorites, which gives a reason to continue watching. In this tv show I feel they use stereotypes frequently due to the fact that its is a common convention in their genre, which is made for pure humor without much deep meaning. I believe in this case stereotypes are used mostly for pleasure and entertainment, although the audience that may connect to the actress may find it the over-exaggeration quite captivating. These typical stereotypes are quite commonly used in sitcoms, for example in another modern abc sitcom "Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23" they use a similar stereotype. In this tv show the main protagonist is June Colburn, is also a cute, innocent blond girl. Does that remind you of anyone? Other than some differentiation made as June isn't rich and may have different hair styles her and Caroline play practically the same role. They are the sweet, innocent girl ruined by their rougher best friend and are opened to the harsh new world. Chloe, Max's doppelganger coincidentally had dark hair, a rough attitude, harsh life and other than being more of a party girl is very similar too The actress in "2 broke girls". In both these sitcoms these stereotypes bring entertainment and because they are used frequently have proven to work and has been popular with their audience. The typical audience for these sort of tv shows I believe is teenage girls, as the tv shows are more humor based which would affect the age- 12-20. And because it doesn't have as much action in it and it more focused on the girls I believe it would be commonly watched by females. Although males might be attracted to watch it due to the attractive female actress on the show. There are many characters in this tv show as showed above, The hero of the tv show although this is argued upon I believe is MAx. Caroline would then be the helper in the story, as she is Max's sidekick. The villian I feel is not obvious and is more like life problems in general. I feel because this is a comedy there are less obvious characters to prove the Propp Theory. The Helper can be considered Han Lee as he gives them money and a place to open their first cupcake shop. |
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