Timed Essay Question 4

Multiple narrative strands are the key convention of long-form television dramas. Discuss how far you agree with this statement in relation to the set episode of the long-form television drama you have studied.

Multiple strands are an important key convention of long-form television dramas, though they are not the most important. I will be exploring this with reference to the set episode of the long-form television drama I have studied, which is episode one of Stranger Things.

The classic Hollywood narrative structure features 5 stages; equilibrium, disruption, recognition, resolution, new equilibrium. However, if long-form TV dramas solely followed this structure then there would be no point in watching them any further. TV takes a lot longer to work through 5 stage, and will also implement new, smaller narratives in new episodes with an overarching narrative that also follows the structure. In the first episode of stranger things, three main narratives are introduced; Will going missing, Eleven escaping the lab, and the alien escaping the lab. All of these reach the recognition stage, but none of them are resolved within that first episode. If they had been resolved so quickly then the show would not have been as popular or successful, as audiences will want something exciting that will spur them to keep watching, which is likely why cliff-hangers are so favourable.

Furthermore, there is a series of smaller narratives that are also developed within this episode; the boys being bullied, the sheriff’s backstory and how his daughter died, Nancy and Steve’s relationship, and also that the boys are now in danger after discovering Eleven. This development encourages the audience to continue watching, and also that it is in fact a key convention, but not the only one that is important. If the show only featured and used narratives for its appeal to the audience, then it would not have been as popular as it is, as the various other conventions that play into it are what helps it to appeal to a large audience.

Genre is also another important convention of long-form television drama. Stranger Things falls under both sci-fi and horror and features key conventions of both of these which will appeal to the primary target audience. For example, the alien would be a key convention of the show that makes it recognisable as sci-fi, and the fact that it is seemingly dangerous with some sort of power would then make it recognisable as a horror as well. Intertextuality is heavily shown in Stranger Things, as we see various reference to other shows and movies inside of the first episode. For example, there is a poster of Alien on the wall in Mike’s basement, and Knight Rider is seen playing on the TV. Both of these are two texts that were very prominent in the 80s, which is the period that Stranger things is set in. This gives it a greater appeal to a wider audience, as it would bring a feeling of nostalgia to those from an older generation, due to both of these being popular during the childhoods or teen years of a lot of parents to the children that are likely to enjoy stranger things. It also helps it to create an original text. However, it still links into post-modernism as it is borrowing from other texts that are of the same genre.

In conclusion, multiple narrative strands are a key convention of long-term television dramas, however they are not the most important, as other conventions such as genre also play a large role in their appeal and popularity to a primary and secondary target audience.