Theory Questions

HOW DOES EPISODE 1 AND SEASON 1 OF HOMELANDS FOLLOW OR DISTRUPT TODOROV'S NARRATIVE THEORY?

Todorov described narratives as having a state of equilibrium which is present at the start of a narrative. In Homelands this equilibrium is set in Washington around a spy espionage thriller. This is established in the setting and the location (Washington DC is the capital state of the U.S). What becomes the equilibrium is the story set post 9/11 which focuses on how well Homeland security can deal with terrorist threats. I much prefer watching a TV series than a film as the story carries on over time instead of across 2 hours. The fact that there is an ongoing story as well as small character changes make a TV drama a lot more interesting than a film. I feel as though by having multiple equilibrium's and disruptions it can differ from a film as there is only so much you can have in one film meanwhile a series or box set can carry through multiple series/ seasons.

In applying Todorov's concept of equilibrium to long form TV drama, disruption to the community or state of affairs takes place. In Homelands the discovery of Nick Brody who has been missing in action for 8 years is the jolt that drives the narrative, which gives the audience a story and narrative are for the lead character Carrie Mathieson. The narratology revolves around a strong female character that are represented as the investigator of the crime un each episode. Todorov argues that a realisation of disruption occurs next in the narrative structure and sometimes this is the same as the disruption itself. These suspicious unravel in episode 1 where Carrie has to uncover the evidence that Nick has been turned. Here it is the female intelligence officer that realises that something has gone wrong.

Todorov's ideas regarding recognition of disruption are relevant here and although they appear differently in the narrative structure of the two dramas, his ideas help us to analyse just how the recognition occurs and, as they are both crime dramas, when the recognition of disruption is revealed, it helps to create further suspense and engagement with the narrative.

Todorov's theory applies to Homelands to an extent, his ideas around the original equilibrium and disruption are applicable but the theory is less relevant in terms of resolution and the new equilibrium. The theory is disrupted and it shows how Homelands doesn't reach a full resolution and therefore doesn't have a new equilibrium in order to create a story arc that follows the conventions of a long-form TV drama in order for the audience to keep watching.

HOW DOES EPISODE 1 AND SEASON 1 OF HOMELANDS FOLLOW OR DISTRUPT TODOROV'S NARRATIVE THEORY? DIRT

Todorov described narratives as having a state of equilibrium which is present at the start of a narrative. In HOMELANDS this equilibrium is set in Washington around a spy espionage thriller. This is established in the setting and the location (Washington DC is the capital state of the U.S). What becomes the equilibrium is the story set post 9/11 which focuses on how well Homeland security can deal with terrorist threats. What both TRAPPED and HOMELANDS have in common is the fact that in the first episode we see prior to the actual present day. TRAPPED has as 7 years ago flashback and HOMELANDS has a 8 year flashback. By having these flashbacks it disrupts Todorov's theory by not following a traditional equilibrium. I much prefer watching a TV series than a film as the story carries on over time instead of across 2 hours. The fact that there is an ongoing story as well as small character changes make a TV drama a lot more interesting than a film. I feel as though by having multiple equilibrium's and disruptions it can differ from a film as there is only so much you can have in one film meanwhile a series or box set can carry through multiple series/ seasons.

In applying Todorov's concept of equilibrium to long form TV drama, disruption to the community or state of affairs takes place. In HOMELANDS the discovery of Nick Brody who has been missing in action for 8 years is the jolt that drives the narrative, which gives the audience a story and narrative are for the lead character Carrie Mathieson. The narratology revolves around a strong female character that are represented as the investigator of the crime un each episode. Todorov argues that a realisation of disruption occurs next in the narrative structure and sometimes this is the same as the disruption itself. These suspicious unravel in episode 1 where Carrie has to uncover the evidence that Nick has been turned. Here it is the female intelligence officer that realises that something has gone wrong.

Todorov's ideas regarding recognition of disruption are relevant here and although they appear differently in the narrative structure of the two dramas, his ideas help us to analyse just how the recognition occurs and, as they are both crime dramas, when the recognition of disruption is revealed, it helps to create further suspense and engagement with the narrative.

Todorov's theory applies to HOMELANDS to an extent, his ideas around the original equilibrium and disruption are applicable but the theory is less relevant in terms of resolution and the new equilibrium. The theory is disrupted and it shows how HOMELANDS doesn't reach a full resolution and therefore doesn't have a new equilibrium in order to create a story arc that follows the conventions of a long-form TV drama in order for the audience to keep watching. What TRAPPED includes in their ending is that it is slightly unpredictable and leaves their audience questioning endless possibilities for what could happen next which is not what HOMELANDS do. It makes TRAPPED seem more realistic and credits their audience for making them work out what happens next rather than giving them options for whats to come. 

HOW CAN GERBNER'S THEORY BE APPLIED TO TV DRAMA?

HOW CAN GERBNER'S THEORY BE APPLIED TO TV DRAMAS?- ESSAY

Gerbner's theory can be applied to both tv dramas I have studied, Homelands and Trapped. Gerbner discusses that exposure to media overtime subtly "cultivates" viewers perceptions of reality. Gerbner and Gross asserts "television is a medium of socialism of most people into the standardise of roles and behaviours its function is in a world, enculturation". What both Homelands and Trapped include in their narratives is violence. Homelands show violence through the torture of Brody and the current war. Meanwhile, Trapped has violent murders with realistic cuts and blood. We can link this to Gerbner's theory as he says that a prolonged exposure to violence can turn us into a "mean world". He also discusses the matter of people using labels and typical stereotypes which can be seen in Homelands clearly. They use the stereotype that all middle-eastern people are terrorists. This is completely different in Trapped. Trapped use and show realistic versions of their characters and don't follow any basic stereotypes unlike Homelands. What Trapped also do is gives their audience credit for being smarter and will give them endless possibilities of an ending however Homelands gives their audience a handful of scenarios what will happen next. Homelands are also primarily right-wing America and this can link back to Gerbner's statement that "audiences are more likely to describe themselves as politically moderate. To conclude, Gerbner's theory can be applied easily to any TV drama just like these two I have studied.

WHY DO LONG FORM TV DRAMAS FROM DIFFERENT COUNTRIES OFFER DIFFERENT REPRESENTATIONS? 

Gender representations in Homeland subvert conventions, the main character Carrie is unconventional as most crime TV dramas feature a male protagonist, disrupting the Marxist notion of the media being dominated by white straight males, female representation is fitting with the social context where the topic of equality has been heavily featured within the media, she allows for further viewership from a female audience. The character - played by Claire Danes, is portrayed with bipolar which creates a more complex character and narrative but does make her  come across as weak and not as capable as her male counterparts which prevent her character from being as progressive as she could've possibly been, however, does give representation to people with mental illness but not necessarily in a positive light.  In Homeland, the character of Jess reinforces gender stereotypes by acting as the perfect stay at home mom; patriarchal authority is asserted over her by her husband who comes across to be very masculine due to his military position. Brody (played by Damian Lewis) reinforces Western ideals of gender due to his masculine profession within the US army, this would appeal to a mass audience who are subconsciously drawn to traditional stereotypes as they have been conditioned to them by the mass media. Long form TV Dramas offer different representations from different countries is that they follow their own importance which differentiates from another country. For example the cultural importance of television dramas in reflecting, re-interpreting and re-enforcing national cultural identities and representations of social groups, events and the individuals. However, despite having Homelands narrative that would appeal to a global audience, themes and the screenplay represents a Western society; the reception in Middle Eastern countries would be different, stereotypes around faith and faith-based terrorism are deceptive and generalise Arab countries and religions to be evil which would anger the viewership in the countries but agree with the representations the media has given the US audience. This however is different with the other TV drama I have studied, Trapped. In this TV drama they do not follow typical stereotypes and show realistic versions of their characters. What although things differ from Homelands to Trapped is their audiences and how a Homelands watcher would describe themselves as being more politically moderate. Meanwhile what Trapped do is give their audiences credit for being smarter and making them work out what will happen next. What is a common theme in Trapped is how they make middle aged upper/middle class men untrustworthy and the authority due to the events that occur throughout the TV drama which can link to the mistrust we may have in males similar aged and class as they do. What can be clearly seen in Trapped is that it is on a much lower budget than Homelands due to the props and scenes in the drama. 

EVALUATE THE RELEVANCE OF GILROY'S ETHNICITY THEORY TO LONG FORM TELEVISION DRAMA.
Gilroy describes a ‘myth of black criminality’ and attributed statistical differences in recorded criminality between ethnic groups as being due to police stereotyping and racist labelling. His theory draws attention to the continuing role of colonial ideology- of the superiority of white western culture. In one of the TV dramas I have studied Homelands, they use very racist stereotypes that couldn't be more wrong. They imply that all middle-eastern people are terrorists and show this through the current war with the middle-east. The realise of Homelands was around 9/11 and Homelands really put an emphasis on who to blame for the historic event. Gilroy also argued that crime amongst Black British ethnic groups was a legacy of the struggle against White dominance in former colonies such as Jamaica. When early migrants came to Britain they faced discrimination and hostility, and drew upon the tradition of anticolonial struggle to develop cultures of resistance against White-dominated authorities and police forces. The African diaspora caused but the slave trade has now constructed a transatlantic culture that is simultaneously African, American, Caribbean and British- the 'Black Atlantic'. Britain had failed to mourn its lost of Empire, creating an attachment to an airbrushed version of British colonial history, which expresses itself in criminalising immigrants and an 'us and them' approach to the world founded  on the belief in the inherent superiority of white western civilisation. What can be seen when watching the TV drama Trapped is that ht main cast do not consist of any coloured people. It can be argued that by not including any it can make the TV drama seem more realistic as 93% of the Icelandic population are Icelandic and the 7% are Polish you wouldn't come across any coloured or Asian people. They do include however a few black cast members in the TV drama for an extra. A theory like this is useful to apply and can be to lots of different TV dramas however it is very easy to apply this to Homelands due to the storylines and characters used and is basically transferable because of it. In stressing the influence of social conflict on representations the theory may underestimate the influence of social consensus on representations.