Stranger Things
Todorov's theory of narralology:
Todorov suggested that conventional narratives are structured in 5 stages:
1. equilibrium
2. disruption of the equilibrium
3. recognition of the disruption
4. attempt to repair the damage
5. new equilibrium (however will never return to being exactly the same as the original equilibrium)
This type of narrative structure is very familiar to us and can be applied to many 'mainstream' film/TV narratives
Plot: sequence of events, what the reader observes.
Story: All events of the narrative both explicit and implicit (what the reader understands)
Narrative: plot+story (chain of events in a cause and effect relationship in time and space. The manner in which the story is revealed)
Genre and Narratives
what you expect to see in...
horror: violence, terror, unknown, darkness, antagonist, abandoned buildings, scares, tension, bitter sweet ending, religious iconography.
science fiction: futuristic, supernatural, space, technology, post-apocalyptic, scientists, electronic music, special effects.
Genre: A type or category of a media product, an unwritten agreement between producers and audiences.
Neale - repetition and difference
'Genre is a repetition with underlying pattern of variations. This difference is absolutely essential to the economy of genre.'
He stated that film/TV and its genre is defined by two things:
1. how much it conforms to its genre's individual conventions and stereotypes. A film must match the conventions to be classed as a part of that genre.
2. how much a film subverts the genre's conventions and stereotypes. The film must subvert conventions enough to be considered unique and not just a clone of an existing film.
1. What are the formal codes and conventions of Long-Form TV Drama?
Long form TV drama's are series of episodes which firm a cohesive season of media
Some conventions include: one or two central characters, story contained in a season as opposed one episode, one main plot with sub plots and something that will need to be resolved.
2. How similar or different are the formal conventions used in Stranger Things?
stranger things uses some conventions of long form tv dramas, a story is contained within the series rather than individual episodes, there is one main plot with sub plots and an issue that will need to be resolves. However, there is more than one or two central characters as there is all the boys as well as Hopper, Joyce, Nancy and others.
3. How does this help to develop the genre and the way in which audiences respond (positively or negatively) to long form TV dramas? The genres of the set texts for example, Stranger Things as a Science Fiction/Horror hybrid genre drama or Deutschland 83 as a Spy Thriller genre drama.
If the audiences respond positively then it will develop the genre further as many more companies will use the same conventions of that drama to make another show. The conventions of long form tv dramas may therefore change. Additionally, there is a mix of the genres in Stranger Things, sci-fi and horror hybrid genre. Which could arguably subvert the genres conventions as it is unique to itself
4. What codes and conventions are used to help audiences recognise their genre? Make reference to specific examples.
The genre of horror includes darkness, the unknown and antagonists which are all included in Stranger Things. During the first scene when the scientist is looking down the corridor from the lift, it appears to be fully dark, which also emphasises the unknown, another convention of horror. There is a clear antagonistic characters in Stranger Things, firstly, the black unknown creature that takes Will, as well as the scientists who are trying to steal back eleven. Genre conventions of sci-fi includes; scientists and illuminating colours. These are included in Stranger Things as the scientists are shown in the very first scene. And the illuminating colours are shows on the Stranger Things title. In contrast, sci-fi genres tend to be futuristic whereas Stranger Things is set in the 80s.
5. How may these two set products contribute to changes or developments within the genre in their current form?
6. What similarities and/or differences are there between the genres in Stranger Things? How do these help to popularise the form?
The TV drama Stranger Things subverts the normal convetions of its drama and therefore is one of the reasons why it has become so successful as is not a clone of an existing film.
1. How is the episode, and the way the events unfold within it, structured?
There are many narrative strands within the main story of Stranger Things. Each of the significant characters are introduced for a section during the episode where their own narrative is shown, alongside the main narrative of the drama, Will's disappearance.
2. How does the episode begin and finish?
The episode begins with the boys playing dungeons and dragons in Mike's basement, the equilibrium of the story where nothing seems to be wrong with their lives. Arguably a new equilibrium is shown towards the end of the episode where Eleven is introduced to the boys, opening up a new story and offers a cliff hanger to the audience.
3. What are the story beats* between the beginning and end of the episode?
*Story beats are the points of action upon which you hang your basic story. When you connect the actual individual action points, they build up to story, like a puzzle. These are the story moments that are the X happens, and then Y happens… and then Z happens… and on.
Representation/Semiotics
How are individuals and social groups represented?
In Stranger Things, each character is a representation of their ages in the 80s, with the exception of the supernatural characters like Eleven and the Alien. The boys, Dustin, Mike, Will and Lucas are represented as a typical geeky boy group who are fanatic about games such as; dungeons and dragons which they play in one of the first scenes. These characters link to Todorov's theory of narratology as each character has an initially different equilibrium which leads to a different disruption. Nancy is also a typical representation of a teenager who follows rules but in films and shows it is common to be led astray by a 'bad boy' like Steve Harrington. Nancy has a different equilibrium to the other characters, however her disruption begins when Will goes missing. Joyce is a single mother who takes care of her two sons but struggles where money is concerned, Jonathon helps out with money, and both have the same disruption of Will's disappearance. The social groups shown in the program are a typical representation of what it was like in the 80s.
How are the main characters represented through the use of media language? What social groups can they be seen to fall into?
The characters are represented through the choice of mise-en-scene in the show. The boys wear clothes that you would expect the more fanatic kids would wear at school, as well as riding bikes to school and enjoying games such as; dungeons and dragons. Nancy wears respectable clothes that is a stereotypical representation of her who works hard at school and follows rules.
Which individuals or social groups are mis-represented in the drama?
It could arguably be seen that Hopper is misrepresented at first as he may come across as lazy and careless. Whereas we later find out that it is because he has lost his family and in fact cares a great deal about Will Byers disappearance. Another misrepresentation may be the boys at the beginning, they seem to be very vulnerable and shown to be bullied, when in fact they are more brave than the parents as they are prepared to put their lives at risk to get a clue of where Will may be.
What stereotypes are used?
Mike's family is very stereotyped for an American family, his mother looks after the children, cooks and cleans, whilst the father has little involvement with the bringing up of the children but is shown to be more invested in the television and possibly their work.
Are the stereotypes we see used in a positive or negative way?
Most of the stereotypes shown are positive, however it could be negative that women are not seen to be working as much, which is typical of that time but could still be seen as sexist. The boys are a positive stereotype, as well as Joyce Byers as they are seen as victims and the good characters from the show, unlike the scientists.
What is realism and how is it different to reality? As nouns, the difference between realism and reality is that realism is a concern for fact or reality and rejection of the impractical and visionary, while reality is the state of being actual or real.
How can realism be defined? What is realism and why it is used by media producers?
How conventional or important is realism in Long Form TV Drama and the drama’s success?
Context:
social and cultural context-
social refers to the people who live in a specific place and interact with one another in a social environment. Social context therefore refers to the structure and function of institutions that operate within a society, i.e. family, education, religion, communications and government, etc.
Culture is the way different people behave in that society. Cultural context therefore refers to what creates the identity of the people who live in any given society.
In regards to LFTVD's-
the influences of changes in gender roles, racial and ethnic inequalities, social attitudes towards sexuality on TV programmes.
1. In which country is the drama set?
America, Louisiana
2. In which country is the drama made?
filmed on location in Atlanta, Georgia
3. What is the social identity of the people in the drama?
Joyce Byres: single, working mother. Working class
Boys: Geeks, outsiders, young intelligent, smarter than the adults in some cases
Nancy: stereotypical girl who follows rules. Anti-stereotype Nancy's blue phone and pyjamas not usually stereotyped with a women in the 80s
Hopper: lazy stereotypical smoker ad drinker, sleeps on sofa, may suggest grievance from a loss of family
4.who makes the drama?
The Duffer brothers
5.Are they a small independent organisation or a large multi-national / global conglomerate?
American film and television writers, directors, and producers. They created the science fiction horror series Stranger Things, wrote and directed the 2015 horror film Hidden, and have written episodes for Wayward pines. They are twin brothers and have had a close relationship since childhood. They work on all of their projects as a duo.
6. How is the social identity of the country of production reflected in the drama?
America is clearly outlined in Stranger Things by many things; their speech, the typical streets and schools, the school bus and the traditional American housing (Mike).
Todorov suggested that conventional narratives are structured in 5 stages:
1. equilibrium
2. disruption of the equilibrium
3. recognition of the disruption
4. attempt to repair the damage
5. new equilibrium (however will never return to being exactly the same as the original equilibrium)
This type of narrative structure is very familiar to us and can be applied to many 'mainstream' film/TV narratives
Plot: sequence of events, what the reader observes.
Story: All events of the narrative both explicit and implicit (what the reader understands)
Narrative: plot+story (chain of events in a cause and effect relationship in time and space. The manner in which the story is revealed)
Genre and Narratives
what you expect to see in...
horror: violence, terror, unknown, darkness, antagonist, abandoned buildings, scares, tension, bitter sweet ending, religious iconography.
science fiction: futuristic, supernatural, space, technology, post-apocalyptic, scientists, electronic music, special effects.
Genre: A type or category of a media product, an unwritten agreement between producers and audiences.
Neale - repetition and difference
'Genre is a repetition with underlying pattern of variations. This difference is absolutely essential to the economy of genre.'
He stated that film/TV and its genre is defined by two things:
1. how much it conforms to its genre's individual conventions and stereotypes. A film must match the conventions to be classed as a part of that genre.
2. how much a film subverts the genre's conventions and stereotypes. The film must subvert conventions enough to be considered unique and not just a clone of an existing film.
1. What are the formal codes and conventions of Long-Form TV Drama?
Long form TV drama's are series of episodes which firm a cohesive season of media
Some conventions include: one or two central characters, story contained in a season as opposed one episode, one main plot with sub plots and something that will need to be resolved.
2. How similar or different are the formal conventions used in Stranger Things?
stranger things uses some conventions of long form tv dramas, a story is contained within the series rather than individual episodes, there is one main plot with sub plots and an issue that will need to be resolves. However, there is more than one or two central characters as there is all the boys as well as Hopper, Joyce, Nancy and others.
3. How does this help to develop the genre and the way in which audiences respond (positively or negatively) to long form TV dramas? The genres of the set texts for example, Stranger Things as a Science Fiction/Horror hybrid genre drama or Deutschland 83 as a Spy Thriller genre drama.
If the audiences respond positively then it will develop the genre further as many more companies will use the same conventions of that drama to make another show. The conventions of long form tv dramas may therefore change. Additionally, there is a mix of the genres in Stranger Things, sci-fi and horror hybrid genre. Which could arguably subvert the genres conventions as it is unique to itself
4. What codes and conventions are used to help audiences recognise their genre? Make reference to specific examples.
The genre of horror includes darkness, the unknown and antagonists which are all included in Stranger Things. During the first scene when the scientist is looking down the corridor from the lift, it appears to be fully dark, which also emphasises the unknown, another convention of horror. There is a clear antagonistic characters in Stranger Things, firstly, the black unknown creature that takes Will, as well as the scientists who are trying to steal back eleven. Genre conventions of sci-fi includes; scientists and illuminating colours. These are included in Stranger Things as the scientists are shown in the very first scene. And the illuminating colours are shows on the Stranger Things title. In contrast, sci-fi genres tend to be futuristic whereas Stranger Things is set in the 80s.
5. How may these two set products contribute to changes or developments within the genre in their current form?
6. What similarities and/or differences are there between the genres in Stranger Things? How do these help to popularise the form?
The TV drama Stranger Things subverts the normal convetions of its drama and therefore is one of the reasons why it has become so successful as is not a clone of an existing film.
Narratology: can be defined as a ‘branch of knowledge or criticism that deals with the structure and function of narrative and its themes, conventions, and symbols’.
This analysis of narrative can be broken down into a number of ways:
This analysis of narrative can be broken down into a number of ways:
- narrative structures
- narrative endings
- story beats
- character arcs (more on this later
There are many narrative strands within the main story of Stranger Things. Each of the significant characters are introduced for a section during the episode where their own narrative is shown, alongside the main narrative of the drama, Will's disappearance.
2. How does the episode begin and finish?
The episode begins with the boys playing dungeons and dragons in Mike's basement, the equilibrium of the story where nothing seems to be wrong with their lives. Arguably a new equilibrium is shown towards the end of the episode where Eleven is introduced to the boys, opening up a new story and offers a cliff hanger to the audience.
3. What are the story beats* between the beginning and end of the episode?
*Story beats are the points of action upon which you hang your basic story. When you connect the actual individual action points, they build up to story, like a puzzle. These are the story moments that are the X happens, and then Y happens… and then Z happens… and on.
Representation/Semiotics
How are individuals and social groups represented?
In Stranger Things, each character is a representation of their ages in the 80s, with the exception of the supernatural characters like Eleven and the Alien. The boys, Dustin, Mike, Will and Lucas are represented as a typical geeky boy group who are fanatic about games such as; dungeons and dragons which they play in one of the first scenes. These characters link to Todorov's theory of narratology as each character has an initially different equilibrium which leads to a different disruption. Nancy is also a typical representation of a teenager who follows rules but in films and shows it is common to be led astray by a 'bad boy' like Steve Harrington. Nancy has a different equilibrium to the other characters, however her disruption begins when Will goes missing. Joyce is a single mother who takes care of her two sons but struggles where money is concerned, Jonathon helps out with money, and both have the same disruption of Will's disappearance. The social groups shown in the program are a typical representation of what it was like in the 80s.
How are the main characters represented through the use of media language? What social groups can they be seen to fall into?
The characters are represented through the choice of mise-en-scene in the show. The boys wear clothes that you would expect the more fanatic kids would wear at school, as well as riding bikes to school and enjoying games such as; dungeons and dragons. Nancy wears respectable clothes that is a stereotypical representation of her who works hard at school and follows rules.
Which individuals or social groups are mis-represented in the drama?
It could arguably be seen that Hopper is misrepresented at first as he may come across as lazy and careless. Whereas we later find out that it is because he has lost his family and in fact cares a great deal about Will Byers disappearance. Another misrepresentation may be the boys at the beginning, they seem to be very vulnerable and shown to be bullied, when in fact they are more brave than the parents as they are prepared to put their lives at risk to get a clue of where Will may be.
What stereotypes are used?
Mike's family is very stereotyped for an American family, his mother looks after the children, cooks and cleans, whilst the father has little involvement with the bringing up of the children but is shown to be more invested in the television and possibly their work.
Are the stereotypes we see used in a positive or negative way?
Most of the stereotypes shown are positive, however it could be negative that women are not seen to be working as much, which is typical of that time but could still be seen as sexist. The boys are a positive stereotype, as well as Joyce Byers as they are seen as victims and the good characters from the show, unlike the scientists.
What is realism and how is it different to reality? As nouns, the difference between realism and reality is that realism is a concern for fact or reality and rejection of the impractical and visionary, while reality is the state of being actual or real.
How can realism be defined? What is realism and why it is used by media producers?
How conventional or important is realism in Long Form TV Drama and the drama’s success?
Context:
social and cultural context-
social refers to the people who live in a specific place and interact with one another in a social environment. Social context therefore refers to the structure and function of institutions that operate within a society, i.e. family, education, religion, communications and government, etc.
Culture is the way different people behave in that society. Cultural context therefore refers to what creates the identity of the people who live in any given society.
In regards to LFTVD's-
the influences of changes in gender roles, racial and ethnic inequalities, social attitudes towards sexuality on TV programmes.
1. In which country is the drama set?
America, Louisiana
2. In which country is the drama made?
filmed on location in Atlanta, Georgia
3. What is the social identity of the people in the drama?
Joyce Byres: single, working mother. Working class
Boys: Geeks, outsiders, young intelligent, smarter than the adults in some cases
Nancy: stereotypical girl who follows rules. Anti-stereotype Nancy's blue phone and pyjamas not usually stereotyped with a women in the 80s
Hopper: lazy stereotypical smoker ad drinker, sleeps on sofa, may suggest grievance from a loss of family
4.who makes the drama?
The Duffer brothers
5.Are they a small independent organisation or a large multi-national / global conglomerate?
American film and television writers, directors, and producers. They created the science fiction horror series Stranger Things, wrote and directed the 2015 horror film Hidden, and have written episodes for Wayward pines. They are twin brothers and have had a close relationship since childhood. They work on all of their projects as a duo.
6. How is the social identity of the country of production reflected in the drama?
America is clearly outlined in Stranger Things by many things; their speech, the typical streets and schools, the school bus and the traditional American housing (Mike).
Good detail here Lydia with some good supporting evidence. Always try to relate to the theory we have learnt and try to use that key terminology in your answers such as: equilibrium, disruption, representation etc.
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