genres in the film & tv industry

7/31/2019 Genres in the Film & TV Industry

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Genres.

By

Rachel Owusu Achaw


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Different Genres...

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CRIME !

Science Fiction

Sitcom

Period

Drama


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*Key Texts

Eastenders Hollyoaks

The Bill

Coronation Street

Emmerdale

Waterloo Road

Casualty

Doctors

Holby City

Shameless

Footballer's

Wives Neighbours

Home and Away

These soaps remain popular because they have a strongfollowing, a devoted fan base that keeps them on the air.Although the myth is that soap operas are made forhousewives and working class women, the demographicsof viewers reveal that people of all economic levels, menand women, enjoy a good narrative story that never ends!


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What are Soap Operas ?

Each and every weekday, millions of people from all over theworld tune in to their favorite soap to watch the trials andtribulations of their favorite characters. Lives are portrayed withpassion, courage, love; stories are told with a flair for theoutrageous, or even a hint of danger. It also gives aspects ofevery days lives so the target audience could easily relate to the

Soap and be really interested and fascinated by it. Soap characters are like every day people, but then again, they

are really very fictional. Soap people never seem to age, or theyage very rapidly, as in the case of children being children oneday and teenagers the next!! Characters are always perfectlydressed, with perfect hair, perfect clothes, and perfect jobs,where the money never runs out, and babysitting is alwaysavailable on a moments notice, so that if the hero needs to savethe day, he or she can!


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Where did the name Soap Operaoriginate from?

Soap operas were originally introduced as American radioprogrammes during the 1930s and were transferred to our televisionscreens after on-going success in the 1950s. They were originallysponsored by soap manufacturing companies such as Proctor andGamble, which is where the reference to 'soap'.

The term soap opera is deceiving, as it is not about soap,neither is it an opera! It is called this because soap companieswere big sponsors of the radio shows back in the 1930s, when

soaps like Guiding Light were being aired. The opera partcomes from the fact that operas tell a story, just as the soaps do.What makes a soap opera unique is that the story never ends,that is why soaps like GL can be on the air (either radio or TV)

for more than 50 years!


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* First ever Soap!

There are many Soap Operas shown on TV on a dayto day basis however the first ever Soap was namedafter the BBC's Lime Grove Studios, The Grove

Family is Britain's first ever soap for adults. It shows a lower-middle-class couple who'd worked

hard to build a home for themselves and their familyafter the war and are just beginning to feel comfortablyoff after years of hardship. By the end of the year, TheGroves will have built up a following of nearly 9million people, a quarter of the population


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Most Influencial Soap Eastenders is a British Television Soap Opera, first broadcast in

the UK on BBC One on February 1985 and continuing today

Eastenders is one of the most popular shows on Britishtelevision, regularly attracting 12-13 million viewers.

EastEnders storylines examine the domestic and professional

lives of the people who live and work in the fictional LondonBorough of Walford in the East End of London. The seriesprimarily centres around the residents of Albert Square, aVictorian square of terraced houses, and its neighbouring streets,namely Bridge Street, Turpin Road and George Street, and which

encompasses a pub, street market, night club, community centre,charity shop, cafe and various small businesses, in addition to apark and allotments.

Relationships are at the heart of Eastenders, as they are in ourown lives. The family is a priority, especially for the older

generation. For example, the way in which the Mitchells sticktogether but at times they are often at war with each other.


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Sitcom/Comedy


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*Key Texts

My Wife and Kids

One on One

Kenan and Kel

Every body hates Chris

Everybody lovesRaymond

Friends

Malcolm in the Middle

Sister Sister

Little Britain

Fresh Prince of Bel Air


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Key featuresThere are various types of

Comedy which includes:

Spoof

Parody

Satire

Irony

Sarcasm

Farce

Black Comedy

Surrealism


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Key FeaturesParody;Parody is where a work deliberately mimmicks the style of another for

comic effect or ridicule

Spoof;Spoof is light parody or gentle imitation. Is it not necessarily intended toridicule or make fun of the thing being spoofed but the comedy happens inthe recognition of the piece being spoofed.

For instance, a woman in glasses with tied up hair who is obviously beautifulanyway takes off her glasses and then unties her hair and shakes it loose. As

she does, her wig falls off. We all recognise the Hollywood moment and sothis is funny not just because her wig falls off but we are fully aware of thereference and know that usually this is not supposed to happen.

Satire;Satire is where a section of society or politics is deliberately mimickedand mocked in order to poke fun at them and point criticism using humour.

e.g. Catch-22 is a satire of war.

Irony;Irony is where the opposite of what is expected happens or wheresomeone says the opposite of what they mean. The lack of harmony betweensomething that is expected and the reality (so if you moved jobs from being adustman to being in a bank but were being paid less then some would point

out a certain irony.)


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Key texts- History of Sitcom/Comedy

The term was applied in the Middle Ages to narrative poems that endhappily: the title of Dante'sDivine Comedy (c.1320) carries thismeaning. As a dramatic form, comedy in Europe dates back to theGreek playwright Aristophanes in the 5th century BCE. His oldcomedy combines several kinds of mischief, including the satirical

mockery of living politicians and writers.

At the end of the next century, Menander established the fictional formknown as new comedy, in which young lovers went throughmisadventures among other stock characters; this tradition was later

developed in the Roman comedy of Plautus and Terence, andeventually by Shakespeare in England and Lope de Vega in Spain.


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Where did the word comedy come

from?The original meaning of the word comedy was merely a dramatic playthat was the opposite of tragedy.

Tragedy involved big important characters (usually falling from grace). Itwould often end badly and would explore high themes of power andbetrayal etc.

Comedy, on the other hand, usually revolved around normal peoplemoving up in the world and would feature a happier ending. This wasthe origin of the word comedy.

In literary circles, people often talk of high comedy and low comedy.

High comedy is seen as intellectual wit, often set among high society andusing clever characterisations and complex situations. (Oscar Wilde, PG Wodehouse )

Low comedy uses coarse language, slapstick and farce. (Monty Python,

Little Britain)

Different formats of TV drama


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Different formats of TV drama The four main categories of TV drama is; single drama, series, serials

and soaps.

Single Drama: The single drama used to be a regular show on TVhowever nowadays it is quite rare. It is especially designed especiallyfor a one- off story for television. Single drama's are often based onsubject matters that producers feel is more appropriate to televisionthat cinema.

Series: These are programmes that are broadcasted regularly and atleast once a week, where the same characters and basic situation willbe used to tell a different story in each episode.

Serials: Similarly, this format uses the same characters and locations,however each episode is not fully complete in itself and the story line

will continue through to the next episode, encouraging us to watchagain the same time next week and sees what happens next. Alsoserial narratives carry more than one story line.

Soaps: Soaps have multiple characters who carry many story lines at

once. There wouldnt usually be a storyline that dominates and cancary on for weeks or even months before coming to an conclusion

T d ' Th f N ti


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Todorov's Theory of Narrative

In media terms, narrative is the coherence/ organisation given to a seriesof facts.

The human mind needs narrative to make sense of things. Also, weconnect events and make interpretations based on those connections.

Todorov's theory includes the Equilibrium and Disequilibrium and thereare fivestages that the narrative could progress through;

1) A state of equilibrium (this is when everything is as it should be)

2) A disruption of that order by an event

3) A recognition that the disorder has occurred

4) An attempt to repair the damage of the disruption5) A return or restoration of a NEW equilibrium

Todorov argues that narrative involves a transformation. The characters orthe situations are transformed through the progress of the disruption.

genres in the film & tv industry

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