LFTVD - Stranger Things: Representations

Representations:

>  Narrative Structure

-          Linear:

·         Have a clear beginning, middle and end.

·         They follow a chronological timeframe.

·         Action A leads to action B which leads to action C etc.

-          Fragmented (non-linear)

·         Disrupted or disjointed narratives. e.g. one is Joyce's family, one is Hopper and one is Scientists etc.

·         They do not have a clear beginning, middle and end.

·         Events / actions may be shown out of chronological order and not in the order they would naturally occur in, so C might happen before A does.

·         It is a narrative technique that can help to show parallel stories, a story within a story, dreams and so on within the same episode or sequel.

·         They are seen to more closely replicate the way the human mind works.

·         They make the audience participate in the story to try and piece the story together.

-          Restricted:

·         We experience the story through the senses and thoughts of just one character.

·         This is almost always the main character (protagonist).

·         The narrative cannot tell the audience things that the main character does not know, we find things out in the story at the same time as the character.

-          Omnipresent:

·         A panoramic, all seeing, view of the world of the story, not just one character's point of view.

·         Provides the point of view of many characters and their experience and feelings within the story.

·         Helps the audience see a broader background to the story, from a number of contexts.

·         Used for telling stories in which the context, views and feelings of many characters are important.

-          Narrative endings /Closed endings:

·         TV dramas traditionally feature one character's story or point of view in an episode, which comes to a resolution at the end of the episode.

·         The character's story can exist as one unique story in one episode.

·         A story is unravelled before an audience, and then ultimately brought to a conclusion.

·         The following episode will feature a different story

-          Open endings

·         When an episode or season ends on a cliff hanger.

·         A story-telling technique.

·         In films, open endings can be unsatisfying for audiences.

·         In long form TV drama, open endings indicate there will be a continuation of the 'story', or possibly a resolution, in the next episode.

-          Academic ideas about narrative:

·         Todorov : Equilibrium theory

·         Strauss : Binary Oppositions

> Enigma Codes:

·         Roland Barthes. e.g.

·         Where does eleven come from?

·         Why did the man get taken?

·         What took him?

·         Why did Benny get shot?

>  In relation to Stanger Things:

·         The events in the episode occur in a fragmented structure due to the multiple storylines in one episode.

·         The structure helps me to understand the story due to the flashbacks to give some background / context e.g. Joyce in Will's tent.  Also, just the background information e.g. Hopper's history shown through the picture in his office and when the teacher asks about his child.

·         The structure helps me to engage in the drama before it unfolds because it makes me want to find out what happens to the characters.