Genres

By Rachel Owusu Achaw

Different Genres...
M e d i c a l

CRIME !

Period Drama

Sitcom

Science Fiction

Soap Operas

*Key Texts

Eastenders

Hollyoaks

Holby City
Shameless Footballer's Wives Neighbours Home and Away

The Bill

Coronation Street Emmerdale Waterloo Road

Casualty These soaps remain popular because they have a strong Doctors following, a devoted fan base that keeps them on the air.

Although the myth is that soap operas are made for housewives and working class women, the demographics of viewers reveal that people of all economic levels, men and women, enjoy a good narrative story that never ends!

What are Soap Operas ?

Each and every weekday, millions of people from all over the world tune in to their favorite soap to watch the trials and tribulations of their favorite characters. Lives are portrayed with passion, courage, love; stories are told with a flair for the outrageous, or even a hint of danger. It also gives aspects of every days lives so the target audience could easily relate to the Soap and be really interested and fascinated by it. Soap characters are like every day people, but then again, they are really very fictional. Soap people never seem to age, or they age very rapidly, as in the case of children being children one day and teenagers the next!! Characters are always perfectly dressed, with perfect hair, perfect clothes, and perfect jobs, where the money never runs out, and babysitting is always available on a moments notice, so that if the hero needs to save the day, he or she can!

Where did the name Soap Opera originate from?

Soap operas were originally introduced as American radio programmes during the 1930s and were transferred to our television screens after on-going success in the 1950s. They were originally sponsored by soap manufacturing companies such as Proctor and Gamble, which is where the reference to 'soap'.

The term soap opera is deceiving, as it is not about soap, neither is it an opera! It is called this because soap companies were big sponsors of the radio shows back in the 1930s, when soaps like Guiding Light were being aired. The opera part comes from the fact that operas tell a story, just as the soaps do. What makes a soap opera unique is that the story never ends, that is why soaps like GL can be on the air (either radio or TV) for more than 50 years!

First ever Soap!

There are many Soap Operas shown on TV on a day to day basis however the first ever Soap was named after the BBC's Lime Grove Studios, The Grove Family is Britain's first ever soap for adults. It shows a lower-middle-class couple who'd worked hard to build a home for themselves and their family after the war and are just beginning to feel comfortably off after years of hardship. By the end of the year, The Groves will have built up a following of nearly 9 million people, a quarter of the population

Most Influencial Soap

Eastenders is a British Television Soap Opera, first broadcast in the UK on BBC One on February 1985 and continuing today Eastenders is one of the most popular shows on British television, regularly attracting 12-13 million viewers. EastEnders storylines examine the domestic and professional lives of the people who live and work in the fictional London Borough of Walford in the East End of London. The series primarily centres around the residents of Albert Square, a Victorian square of terraced houses, and its neighbouring streets, namely Bridge Street, Turpin Road and George Street, and which encompasses a pub, street market, night club, community centre, charity shop, cafe and various small businesses, in addition to a park and allotments. Relationships are at the heart of Eastenders, as they are in our own lives. The family is a priority, especially for the older generation. For example, the way in which the Mitchells stick together but at times they are often at war with each other.

Sitcom/Comedy

*Key Texts
My Wife and Kids
One on One

Malcolm in the Middle

Sister Sister

Kenan and Kel

Every body hates Chris Everybody loves Raymond Friends

Little Britain
Fresh Prince of Bel Air

What is Sitcom/ Comedy ?

Sitcom, also known as situation comedy, is also a comedic performance which focuses on creating humorous situations which the characters must resolve. This format started out on the radio, and made its jump to the television in the late 1940s, making it one of the first modes of entertainment to move to the television screen. The switch to TV turned out to be a good move for sitcoms, with most networks airing several popular sitcoms at any given time. Comedy is written chiefly to amuse its audience A comedy will normally be closer to the representation of everyday life than a tragedy and will explore common human failings rather than tragedy's disastrous crimes.

Key features
There are various types of Comedy which includes: Spoof
Parody Satire Irony Sarcasm Farce

Black Comedy
Surrealism

Key Features
Parody;Parody is where a work deliberately mimmicks the style of another for comic effect or ridicule

Spoof;Spoof is light parody or gentle imitation. Is it not necessarily intended to ridicule or make fun of the thing being spoofed but the comedy happens in the recognition of the piece being spoofed.
For instance, a woman in glasses with tied up hair who is obviously beautiful anyway takes off her glasses and then unties her hair and shakes it loose. As she does, her wig falls off. We all recognise the Hollywood moment and so this is funny not just because her wig falls off but we are fully aware of the reference and know that usually this is not supposed to happen.

Satire;Satire is where a section of society or politics is deliberately mimicked and mocked in order to poke fun at them and point criticism using humour. e.g. Catch-22 is a satire of war.
Irony;Irony is where the opposite of what is expected happens or where someone says the opposite of what they mean. The lack of harmony between something that is expected and the reality (so if you moved jobs from being a dustman to being in a bank but were being paid less then some would point out a certain irony.)

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Sarcasm;Sarcasm is where an insult or quick remark is fired at someone with the intention of causing injury. It is often used in response to an initial statement or comment in order to pour scorn on the stated idea or statement. Sarcasm often features irony, (for instance, someone drops a tray and someone else shouts "Ooh, that was SO clever.") Farce; This is where comedy is achieved through exaggeration and extreme characters in preposterous circumstances that seem to spiral out of control and become ever more ludicrous. Black Comedy;This is a dark comedy where a light humoured touch is applied to very dark and serious subject matter in order to ease the pain or make some specific point by juxtaposing the humour and the sadness. Surrealism; Throwing together completely disjointed concepts and random ideas to weave together something bizarre. (I once heard a very funny stand up comedian come out with: "Suppose you're a fish... (pause) how the f*** you supposed to get to the airport?... (pause) They don't make rivers go that way.

Key texts- History of Sitcom/Comedy

The term was applied in the Middle Ages to narrative poems that end happily: the title of Dante's Divine Comedy (c.1320) carries this meaning. As a dramatic form, comedy in Europe dates back to the Greek playwright Aristophanes in the 5th century BCE. His old comedy combines several kinds of mischief, including the satirical mockery of living politicians and writers.
At the end of the next century, Menander established the fictional form known as new comedy, in which young lovers went through misadventures among other stock characters; this tradition was later developed in the Roman comedy of Plautus and Terence, and eventually by Shakespeare in England and Lope de Vega in Spain.

Where did the word comedy come from?

The original meaning of the word comedy was merely a dramatic play that was the opposite of tragedy. Tragedy involved big important characters (usually falling from grace). It would often end badly and would explore high themes of power and betrayal etc. Comedy, on the other hand, usually revolved around normal people moving up in the world and would feature a happier ending. This was the origin of the word comedy. In literary circles, people often talk of high comedy and low comedy. High comedy is seen as intellectual wit, often set among high society and using clever characterisations and complex situations. (Oscar Wilde, P G Wodehouse ) Low comedy uses coarse language, slapstick and farce. (Monty Python, Little Britain)

Different formats of TV drama

The four main categories of TV drama is; single drama, series, serials and soaps. Single Drama: The single drama used to be a regular show on TV however nowadays it is quite rare. It is especially designed especially for a one- off story for television. Single drama's are often based on subject matters that producers feel is more appropriate to television that cinema. Series: These are programmes that are broadcasted regularly and at least once a week, where the same characters and basic situation will be used to tell a different story in each episode.

Serials: Similarly, this format uses the same characters and locations, however each episode is not fully complete in itself and the story line will continue through to the next episode, encouraging us to watch again the same time next week and sees what happens next. Also serial narratives carry more than one story line.
Soaps: Soaps have multiple characters who carry many story lines at once. There wouldnt usually be a storyline that dominates and can cary on for weeks or even months before coming to an conclusion

Todorov's Theory of Narrative

In media terms, narrative is the coherence/ organisation given to a series of facts.

The human mind needs narrative to make sense of things. Also, we connect events and make interpretations based on those connections.
Todorov's theory includes the Equilibrium and Disequilibrium and there are five stages that the narrative could progress through; 1) A state of equilibrium (this is when everything is as it should be) 2) A disruption of that order by an event 3) A recognition that the disorder has occurred 4) An attempt to repair the damage of the disruption 5) A return or restoration of a NEW equilibrium

Todorov argues that narrative involves a transformation. The characters or the situations are transformed through the progress of the disruption.