Beyond and Beside Narrative (Discussion)

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Bill Nichols' terms

Explain film scholar Bill Nichols' sense of the following terms:[1]

  • Groups 2, 4, 6, 8: historical world or historical reality
    • Why does he prefer this term to "reality"?
  • Groups 1, 3, 5, and 7: social actor
    • Why does he prefer this term to "individuals" or, simply, "people" in non-narrative works?

Modes of representation

Television depicts historical reality and addresses itself to the viewer about that reality through four principal "modes". Individual genres and programs are not limited to one single mode, but instead draw upon each as needed.

Explain the principles behind each mode, drawing examples, as the book does, from:

Applying "modes of representation"

Cement Heads: "Chubby's Meatballs" (8/19/2014)

  1. Groups 4 & 8: Expository (or rhetorical)
    • How does it argue for a certain interpretation of these events?
    • How does it shape our understanding of them?
  2. Groups 1 & 7: Interactive
    • Does the TV world interact with the historical world?
  3. Groups 2 & 6: Observational
    • Do the producers just observe these events or do they appear to stage or manipulate them?
    • How is this show different from/similar to Cops?
  4. Groups 3 & 5: Reflexive
    • Is it TV about TV? Does it make you aware of TV as TV?

Cast

  • Billy Lougheed, co-founder of WJL Equities and Danielle's husband
  • Danielle Buenaventura, co-founder of WJL Equities and Billy's wife
  • Bill "Sarge" Lougheed, Sr., Billy's father
  • Joan Lougheed, Billy's mother
  • Joe "Chubby" Luciano

College Football: Florida Atlantic at Alabama on the SEC Network

9/6/2014. Announcers: Dave Neal (play-by-play), Andre Ware (color), Laura Rutledge (sideline)

  1. Group 1: How is the expository mode apparent in this game?
    • What function do statistics, graphics and replays serve? Be as specific as possible.
  2. Group 2: How is the game turned into a narrative, a story?
    • Do Andre Ware's comments in this game fit the generalization? Be as specific as possible.
    • Are the "social actors" turned into characters?
  3. Group 3: Do the book's generalizations about the play-by-play announcer apply to Dave Neal in this broadcast? Be as specific as possible.
  4. Group 4: How do football's time and space fit the time and space of television?
    • Provide examples from this broadcast.
  5. All Groups: What function does the sideline reporter (Laura Rutledge) serve? How does her function compare with that of the play-by-play announcer and/or the color commentator?
    • Trivia question: What UA connection does Rutledge have?

Divorce Court, 1960

Divorce Court 1960.jpg

"March 29, 1960: On the set of Divorce Court at KTTV’s studios, an assistant director, left, uses cue cards during videotaping of the unrehearsed show. Bill Welsh, KTTV’s special events director, who serves as narrator on show, is seated just inside railing."[2]


Bibliography

  1. Jeremy G. Butler, Television: Critical Methods and Applications (New York: Routledge, 2012).

References

External links