How to write an exam question

P| oint
E| xample from scene
E| xplore:
              C| amera
              E| diting
              M| ise En Scene
              S| ound
    Refocus on Question + Audience
    COMPARE

REPEAT!!

Example question from first episode;

Explore the way that different groups of people are represented in ST and D83
• audience
• media language 

P: In ST, we see a counter typical representation of women (especially considering the 1980s setting) in that we see empowered women. 

E: We see the ‘social worker’ murder Benny, Eleven kills two men, and although Nancy isn’t aggressive, she does control the scene with her and Steve.

E: It is an interesting subversion of stereotypes – the 1980s setting leads us to expect submissive, powerless women, but the 21st Century construction transfers modern ideologies and values and empowers the women.
CEMS: When we first meet the social worker, we view her from a high angle shot, from the point of view of Benny. This reinforces the patriarchal hegemony which tricks us into thinking that she is a typical submissive woman. However, when she shoots Benny, she is elevated onto an equal level with the other government officials, and is even empowered through a low angle shot. This reinforced by the editing – the screen time she is given compared to the (silent and nameless) male officials is significantly greater, therefore empowering her. 




A: This shocks the audience, which is important for narrative, but the Duffer Brothers are also trying to highlight the everyday sexism in society – even though we are a modern audience, we fell into the trap of putting sexist assumptions onto the scene.  

Representations in Stranger Things Characters

LFTVD Theorists

Todorov: Equilibrium theory

Traditional narratives follow a 3 part structure of beginning middle and end which unfolds in 4 phases:

1. Exposition  2. Introduction of conflict  3. Climax  4. Resolution

Narrative is usually a chronological and linear sequences of themes, actions and motives.


Strauss: Binary opposites

Strauss identified that we understand the world by the relationship two opposites have together. He believed that narratives are arranged around the conflict of binary oppositions e.g. 

• Man vs Woman
• Good vs Evil
• Day vs Night
• Old vs New

In stranger things; we see binary opposites e.g.

• Justice vs Injustice
• Nerds vs Jocks etc.

The conflict between the opposites helps to drive the narrative forward, finding problems to the issues within the narrative to progress the story.

Narrative Structures

Linear narrative ; Have a clear beginning, middle , end.
                             Action A leads to Action B to C etc.
                             Follow chronological time frame


Fragmented narrative ; know as a non-linear narrative, disrupted and disjointed
                                  Split narratives
                                  No clear beginning, middle and end
                                  Events / actions shown out of chronological order, not in the order they naturally appear in 
                                  Helps to show parallel narratives, a story within a story
                                  More closely replicates the human mind and how it works, grabbing at different strands.


Enigma Codes ; Planting questions to incise audiences to watch the next episode:
                       What killed the first man in the elevator
                       Where does Eleven comes from, who is she.
                       Why does she have the 011 tattoo.

The events unfold in a linear order , however takes tropes from fragmented narratives.


Restricted Narrative ; We experienced the story through one characters eyes, thoughts and senses.
                                Always the main characters
                                Narrative cannot tell things to the audience the main characters doesn't know


Omnipresent narrative ; panoramic, all seeing, view of the world of the story, not just one characters point of views
                                    provides the POV of many different characters and their experiences within the story
                                    Audience sees a broader background to the story.



Narrative endings: Closed and Open endings

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 (if done wrong). In LFTVDs, opening endings can indicate there will be a continuation of the story, or possibly a resolution, in the next episode. Encourages the viewer to watch more.                             

Stranger Things '80s References

Stranger Things Representation

The representations in Stranger Things are not simple. There are complex gender representations , complex representations of age.

Going "Beyond the Binary".

Novelistic - multiple story lines and characters that are over a number of episodes and seasons. We see flashbacks that explain backgrounds. 

Teenagers: Angst, stereotypical, Isolated from their family, breaking conventions
Family Life and relationships:
Mothers: Will's mum breaks codes and conventions , Mike's mum plays up stong conventions
Absent Fathers: Will's Dad - Gone, Mike's Dad - bad dad, shadows mum
Police: 
Governments: Dehumanized.


Deceiving themes of power;

• Social workers - killing Benny
• Government - chasing Eleven
• Police - 'coffee and contemplation'

Key terms;

• Suburban
• Paranormal - light flicker, phone boom, Eleven stops fan, Creepy wall goop, Elevator man grab
• Constructed realism - middle class, quiet america
• Family life
• Signs (denotations/connotations)
• Self reflectivity
• Isolation, darkness, light, fear the monster
• Social groups, events and issues

Social groups;

• DRCAGES
• ability
• appearance
• lifestyle interests
• political values
• professions

Stranger Things Poster Analysis

Long form TV dramas

In the exam, 1 long answer , 30 marks , 60 mins
                    1 Applying a theory , 10 marks , 25 mins

Institutional context: US network broadcasters must satisfy their advertisers and hold market share. They are controlled by federal regulation.

US cable television: Launched in 1970s, HBO was the 1st US national subscription cable TV channel. Other major US players include showtime and Fox.

Subscription VOD: 3/4 of UK households have personal viewer recorder (PVR) uptake but it has plateaued. The use of time shift is increasing. Growth of SVOD web based channels such as Netflix, Amazon Prime and Now TV is considerable.

  

Netflix dominates with 24% of UK market and £5m subscribers. 10% growth between 2015 - 16. Rise of binge watching started with DVD boxsets in late 90s / early 00s. Partially due to syndication problems in the UK.
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Been a move from 'water cooler' tv to 'shared universe' fandom (as with cinema).
Rise of easter eggs - hidden references , in jokes (TV , Film and Video Games)

Why do audiences love LFTVD:

• High quality dramas
• Multiple episodes , hours, years
• Content can be dark or difficult or innovative
• It now attracts some of the best and innovative writers and actors
• Time shifters, easily accessible
• Following the characters long term
• Characters development over 100s of hours
• Breaking codes / conventions e.g Plot armour

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'State of the Nation' TV
Long form shows challenged the simplistic storylines and stereotypical characters that dominate network TV in the US e.g. CSI

HBO (Time Warner) launched The Sopranos in 1999 to 2007, which was a huge commercial and critical hit. Increasingly these shows were about the crisis of US identity & hegemony.