|
Posted to ACW-L, WCenter, NCTE-Talk,
and TEACH on 4/4/99.
Amy Scherer, of University of South Dakota's
English Department, wrote and asked me to tackle writing projects the
focused on television shows. Her students will be working with movies
or TV shows. If they watch TV, they'll watch several episodes of one
show or analyze similar shows (such as News Radio and Don't
Shoot Me).
I'm focusing on TV shows here. Some of the
assignments will work for either scenario that Amy's students
describe, some are clearly for students who are comparing two shows,
and some invite comparisons among several shows. You can adjust them
all so that they fit your students — cutting down the number of
shows to be compared, for instance, if you don't think that your
students can manage a larger number of parameters.
- [Gender] Look at the
characters in the shows that you've watched closely for this
assignment, specifically focusing on the gender of the characters.
How is their gender important to the roles that they play (or is
it)? To what extent, are the characters in roles that could not
have been played by an actor of the opposite gender? Are the shows
playing with gender? Write a paper that explores the ways that
gender enhances or detracts from the shows that you're examining
— consider all the major characters of the program, looking
particularly at any stereotypes and any roles that break with more
traditional gender roles.
Alternately, you might focus on a very specific character and
write an analysis of how the program would be different if that
character were the opposite gender. Here's an interesting example:
originally, the creators of The Practice were looking for
another male actor to add as a lawyer for the show. Instead, they
found Camryn Manheim, who plays Ellenor Frutt. Once she was
chosen, they wrote the script for her....but what if that
character weren't in the program? How would it be different?
- [Realism or Stereotype?]
Consider the characters in the programs that you've watched. In
what ways are the characters real, and in what ways do they seem
to be stereotypes or caricatures? Do the characters have real
emotions — and a full range of emotions? Or do they just have the
emotions that seem politically correct for the time and place that
the programs consider? Are their emotions predictable? Do they
look like real people, or like models and pin-ups? Is their hair
every mussed? Do they get dirty? Does anyone ever go to the
bathroom? Do they every get sick? Do they grow at a normal rate?
Write a paper that explores the degree of realism that the
programs that you're examining for your paper.
Alternately, write a two-part paper. For part one, rewrite one of
the episodes that you watched from a more realistic perspective —
you can write a short story rather than a script. For part two,
explain the decisions that you made to make the show more
realistic, giving details both on the changes that you made and
why you made them.
- [Commercials] In addition to
watching the television shows, pay careful attention to the
commercials that come on. What products are advertised? What
commercials are used? As you watch, make a complete list of the
commercials and the order in which they appear — if there are
repeats, be sure to note them. Once you have a list, look for
connections. Just who is the audience for all those commercials —
who would buy the products or services? Would the characters on
the program be likely to buy the products or services? After
you've gathered all the details on the audience for the
commercials, apply that information to the television show. How
does the audience for the commercials fit the programs? Based on
the commercials that you see, who would you think that the
television programs are aimed at? In your paper, explore the
relationship between commercials and television program, focusing
on what you can tell about the audience for the program and their
interests and desires.
Alternately, you are an advertising executive. Choose a product or
service that is not advertised during the program that you've
watched. Write a proposal that convinces your client (the decision
maker at the company that makes the product or provides the
service) to buy airtime during the program. To make your proposal
convincing, you'll need to identify connections between the
audience for the program, the audience for the kinds of
commercials that are now being advertised during the program, and
the people who buy your client's product or service.
- [Predictability] To what
degree are the shows that you are examining predictable? For
example, most folks know the show Gilligan's Island. Do you
remember the episode where Gilligan accidentally caused some
trouble for everyone on the island? Who doesn't? All the episodes
had that plot. What predictable things that happen in the shows
that you're watching, and how do these things help the program?
(or do they hurt it?) For your paper, explore the predictability
of the programs that you've watched and the writers' and
directors' goals in relying on predictable devices.
Variation: brainstorm alternatives to the predictable devices that
you've seen in the program you're examining. Choose two or three
that are reasonable options, and write a paper that explores how
the program would be different if these options were chosen
instead and that accounts for the choice that the program's
writers have made (an example: it's not reasonable to suggest that
a giant meteor will wipe out the castaways on Gilligan's Island
before the Professor can find a solution to whatever trouble
Gilligan has caused.)
- [Clothes] How do clothes and
costumes play a role in the programs that you've watched? For each
major character, record the clothes and accessories that they wear
in each show. Once you've assembled your list, look for patterns
for each character — and among and between characters. To what
extent does the show use clothing, jewelry, and the like to
communicate information about the characters, their lives, and
their interests? Consider how the program would be different if
everyone wore a school uniform — or for that matter, what if they
all had on jeans and t-shirts (and not skin-tight either!). Write
a paper that explores the function that costumes play in the
programs that you've watched.
- [Ratings] Many television
programs now use a ratings system to help adults decide whether
programs appropriate for children whom they are caring for. The
scale ranges from a Y for young children to an M for shows that
are suitable for adults only. You can check out the details on the
scale at the PTA web site — http://www.pta.org/programs/nbcguide.htm.
For your paper, pay attention to the rating for the programs that
you watched and consider whether the ratings were accurately
applied. Your paper should pay attention to the details that are
included in the definitions of the different ranks on the rating
scale. Once you've analyzed the application of the ratings to your
show and indicated whether the application was appropriate, you
should go on to consider whether the scale itself is adequate.
- [Same Subject, Different
Shows] Choose television programs that consider the same
subject or the same issue, but from different perspectives. For
instance, if you wanted to think about lawyers and legal issues,
you might choose Ally McBeal, The Practice, reruns
of LA Law, and Judge Mills Lane. While these shows
all consider similar issues and all focus on lawyers, they go
about it in different ways and with different attitudes. You could
choose different issues of course — shows on medicine and
doctors, shows on police, and so on. For your paper, compare the
ways that the issues are dealt with — which things remain
unchanged regardless of the show you're considering, and which
things change? In addition to thinking about the similarities and
differences, be sure to consider the reasons for the changes.
- [Time Capsule] Imagine that
the programs that you've watched are all that have survived to
tell future generations about our life and times. Imagine that a
video recording of these programs has been discovered 500 years
from now. Miraculously, the discoverers have found a way to watch
the programs. What would they think of us and our world? Take on
the role of one of the discoverers, and write a report to your
home office explaining what you've learned about your ancestors
based on the programs. Be sure that your report draws clear
connections between the details of the program and the conclusions
about your ancestors.
- [Role of Television] Edward
R. Murrow said, "Television in the main is being used to distract,
delude, amuse, and insulate us." In light of Murrow's quotation,
what role would you say that the programs that you're examining
play? Do they distract? If so, from what, and how? Or do they
delude? Who are they deluding? What methods do they use? If they
amuse, whom do they amuse, and what techniques do they use? If
they're insulating us, what are they insulating us from, and how
do they go about it? Do they fill several of those roles? Or do
you seem them as filling roles that Murrow has not allowed for? In
your paper, explain the roles that your television programs fill,
providing examples and explanations from the shows that support
your analysis.
- [Music & Sound Effects]
What roles do music and sound effects play in the programs that
you watched? Are certain sounds associated with particular
characters or themes? Are sounds matched to the mood of a
character (or characters)? What do the sound effects add to the
program — are they an integral part of the show, or just extra
noise? In your paper, create a system for identifying the kinds of
music and/or sound effects. Your system should account for the
characteristics of the music or sound effects as well as when and
how the music or sound effects are used. If certain pieces of
music and sound effects are a regular part of the show, how are
they used? And in what circumstances are additional pieces added?
Originally
Posted April 7, 1999 on the Daedalus Website.
Posted Sunday, 12-Jun-2005 09:09:22 PDT
Copyright © 1998-2011 Traci Gardner, P. O. Box 11836, Blacksburg, VA 24060-1836.
These materials may be referenced, linked to, and indexed, but their contents
may not be duplicated without express written consent of the author. See the
Copying and Sharing page for more details.
|
|