Monday, 8 October 2012

LO1: Task Three - Genres

Task Three - Genres


Period Drama


A period drama is a drama that is set in the past. 'Downtown Abbey' falls in the genre of period drama as it is a drama that is set in the past. It is aired on ITV 1 during the week. The drama is based in the post Edwardian era. The programme is based in the fictional location of Yorkshire country estate. The costumes worn are old fashioned, the characters wear gowns, and suits and their costumes present their class, whether they are rich or poor. In the time period there was such a big different between social classes and it was evident in the way people themselves. The props seen in period dramas are old-fashioned cars and old furniture, this is so that the audience understand what the setting was like in that time period. They have storylines, which are realistic, can relate to real life situations and are usually about money problems, love, family disputes and marriage problems. These themes were very common and important in households during that time period. The language used is formal and standard English. Period dramas tend to use the black and white effect to add realistic elements to the drama. In 'Downtown Abbey' you see clean streets, castles and mansions these are all things that we expect to see in the past. Some period dramas are linear as they show flashbacks of certain characters. 




Drama


'Grey’s Anatomy' is a drama. It is a realist drama and is based on real life events. 'Grey’s Anatomy' has storylines, which can relate to real life situations such as love, affairs, family disputes and money issues. The main setting for the drama is a hospital. The drama is set in the present day and has a urban setting as we see modern day buildings and modern cars. The language used is modern day English and is usually informal. The drama is filmed with neutral colours as it supposed to look as real as possible. Propp's theory applies to these types of dramas as they include a hero, a villain, a helper and a damsel in distress. 'Grey’s Anatomy' has modern props such as present day cars and up to date technology as the drama is set in the 21st century and at the same time period as the audience. 



 

Fantasy


'Secret Circle' falls into the genre of fantasy, as it is a fictional story based on witchcraft. The programme focuses on fancy effects for example the use of magic and supernatural creatures. Most of the storylines included do not relate to the audience and are situations that do not occur in everyday life. Fantasy programmes use locations such as other planets, battleships, spaceships and castles. Propp's theory can apply to these types of programmes, as you are able to see clearly which characters are good and which ones are evil. The props used are sometimes futuristic technology, modern cars and props related with witches, wizards and aliens. Fantasy programmes are usually set in the dark they include a gloomy effect. Not much lighting is needed as fantasy programmes focus on being dark, gloomy and scary, the setting needed to portray those themes. In 'Secret Circle' the characters have their own unique look; their appearance portrays the type of person they are. The villains usually have a rough look and tend to wear a lot of black and the hero is usually appeared to look innocent by wearing whites. The costumes worn in fantasy programmes range from normal, casual clothing to capes, gowns and head gear. The programme is linear as there are flashbacks included.




Crime



'My Murder' falls perfectly into the genre of crime as the programme focuses on a teenager who gets murdered. The programme was based on a real life event about a young boy who was targeted and was included in a honey trap, against a girl and her boyfriend. The programme focused on the young boy and presented what his life was like and the reason for his murder. The programme is set in an urban setting; locations presented were homes, flats, a school and a park, which all related to the story. The costumes worn in the programme are casual clothing, police outfits, school uniform; all costumes used were strictly related to the story.  The props used in this programme were knifes and also up to date technology such as phones and iPod’s. The characters used in crime programmes are usually detectives, police, ambulances, fire fighters, families and witnesses. Propps theory and Todorov's theory can be applied to crime stories as you can clearly see whom the villain and the stories usually start with a calm setting and then step-by-step a problem unravels. 




Sitcom Comedy



'Citizen Khan' is a sitcom comedy as it is a programme, which is made to make people laugh. The programme focuses on the main character 'Mr Khan' and his family. Comedy sitcoms are usually based in the present day and usually have storylines about love, family disputes, marriage and financial problems but these typical situations are usually made a mockery off. There are limited sets; in 'Citizen Khan' the main locations are 'Mr Khan's' house and the local mosque. The costumes worn are everyday clothing, casual clothing. The language spoken is usually informal and also strong language is presented. Sitcoms have limited characters; in 'Citizen Khan' there is 'Mr Khan' and his family in all of the episodes. There is also use of canned laughter and use of catchphrases purposely to make people laugh and recognise the saying. 





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