Friday 16 December 2016

TV Drama - Textual Analysis Alphabet

A - Action code. This is one of Barthes' narrative codes. This contains sequential elements of action, creates suspense.
B - Blocking. This is the way the actors are positioned to get across relationships and/or power. 
C - Close ups. This is when the camera is close to an actor's feature, typically the face, filling the frame with that feature. This allows the audience to see the full emotion of an action. 
D - Dangerous. This is part of Alvarado's theory for ethnicity. This is when minority groups are presented as being a threat to society. 
E - Enigma code. This is one of Barthes' narrative codes. This code is a mystery within the drama. Clues are given but no full answer is given. 
F - Festinger's stereotypes, cognitive dissonance. This is the idea that we resist adjusting our attitudes unless faced with overwhelming evidence against it. 
G - Gender. This is one element that can be shown in TV Dramas. This involves the different roles of how men and woman should act. 
H - Hunt's stereotypes of disability. Hunt has 10 stereotypes for disabled people in TV Dramas - pitiable/pathetic, an object of curiosity or violence, sinister or evil, the supper cripple, atmosphere, laughable, their own worst enemy, a burden, non-sexual, unable to participate in daily life. 
I - Invisible editing. This is when the audience doesn't notice the editing due to correct lighting and blocking. 
J - Juxtaposed. This is when contrasting things are placed closely together. This could be ethnicities, ages, social class, gender etc. 
K - Kids. This is one age that can be presented in TV Drama. They can be presented as being innocent, powerless or selfish. 
L - Low angle shot. This makes the camera look up at the subject, making the subject seem powerful.
M - Male gaze. This is Laura Mulvey's ideology where the audience have to view the characters from the perspective of a heterosexual male. 
N - Negotiated reading. This is when the audience partly agrees and accepts the preferred reading but often modifies it in a way to which reflects their won interests. 
O - Oppositional reading. This is when the audience has a different reading to the producer's intention. This could be because of differences in culture and social experiences. 
P - Preferred reading.This is the directors intentions, they way they want the audience to read it. 
Q - Queen. This is a character of high social class and status established by costume, hair, make up and props. 
R - Referential code. This is when something with in the TV Drama is referring something outside the TV Drama. This could be scientific, historical or cultural. 
S - Symbolic code. This is when there is a symbol within the TV Drama. This is done to create more meaning, tension, drama and character development. 
T - Teenage representation. This is an age that can presented in TV Drama. They can be presented as being aggressive, lazy and hate school. 
U - Unity. This is presented with ethnicity and shows the stereotype of close families and communities. 
V - Verisimilitude. This is a feeling of reality created by particular elements. This can be done by using real places for sets and language used by the actors. 
W - Wealth. This is stereotypical trait of city people when looking at regional identity. 
X - Xenophobia. This is when a character's actions, behaviours, feelings or words seem to be discriminate against people because of their country of origin. 
Y - Young. This is an age that can be presented in TV Drama. They an be presented as being emotional, stubborn and immature.
Z - Zoom. This is when the camera would appear to be getting close but it is stationary.