TV series or soap opera analysis
The genre: a serial television featuring a set group of people, typically in an urban middle class environment. Predominant themes are personal relationships and everyday problems, often acted out to the point of melodrama. The narrative is based on dialogue more than on action. Each episode is a fairly independent unit, and the series can continue indefinitely.
An analysis of a tv series episode must take into consideration elements such as:
1. Structure: Divide the show into scenes. Define the main plot and minor story lines. Use the Hollywood model to analyse the structure and the chronology of the main plot: Prelude – presentation – clarification – point of no return – escalation – climax - resolution
2. Setting: Describe the physical and social environment(s). Is the setting in familiar domestic interiors? Analyse the function of the setting: Are different locations linked to different story lines, and can the localities be seen as clichés? Do certain props play a specific role?
3. Characters: Describe the characters according to appearance, age group, education/occupation, social status and personality. Do they represent ordinary people or are they glamorous? Analyse their roles in the plot as e.g. protagonist, antagonist or mouthpiece, and discuss if they represent the types that we expect to meet in this genre. Discuss if the characters are flat or round, and if they are realistic or stereotypical.
4. Plot(s): Make an analysis of each story line, using the actantial model to illustrate the conflicts. How is each of the conflicts solved? Discuss whether the position of the characters and concepts in the different models show predictable plot lines, or clichés. Do the plots mirror the lives of ordinary people – family life, personal relationships, emotional, financial or moral conflicts, or are they e.g. glamorous or melodramatic?
5. Themes: Analyse the themes you can find in the episode. How are they introduced, what are the messages, and how are the messages conveyed to the audience? (Are they e.g. clear or for reflection?) Discuss who the target audience might be. Are the themes universal, timeless or topical?
6. Presentation: Analyse a significant scene from the episode: editing, camera (angles, distances, movements), light, colours, sound (real or background music), special effects. Discuss if the scene is representative for the entire episode, and how the presentation contributes to the themes and messages.
2. Setting: Describe the physical and social environment(s). Is the setting in familiar domestic interiors? Analyse the function of the setting: Are different locations linked to different story lines, and can the localities be seen as clichés? Do certain props play a specific role?
3. Characters: Describe the characters according to appearance, age group, education/occupation, social status and personality. Do they represent ordinary people or are they glamorous? Analyse their roles in the plot as e.g. protagonist, antagonist or mouthpiece, and discuss if they represent the types that we expect to meet in this genre. Discuss if the characters are flat or round, and if they are realistic or stereotypical.
4. Plot(s): Make an analysis of each story line, using the actantial model to illustrate the conflicts. How is each of the conflicts solved? Discuss whether the position of the characters and concepts in the different models show predictable plot lines, or clichés. Do the plots mirror the lives of ordinary people – family life, personal relationships, emotional, financial or moral conflicts, or are they e.g. glamorous or melodramatic?
5. Themes: Analyse the themes you can find in the episode. How are they introduced, what are the messages, and how are the messages conveyed to the audience? (Are they e.g. clear or for reflection?) Discuss who the target audience might be. Are the themes universal, timeless or topical?
6. Presentation: Analyse a significant scene from the episode: editing, camera (angles, distances, movements), light, colours, sound (real or background music), special effects. Discuss if the scene is representative for the entire episode, and how the presentation contributes to the themes and messages.
Compare your findings with your expectations of this specific tv show and of the genre in general, and discuss whether you find the episode successful in relation to the target audience.
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