Re-watch the following clips before looking at the example question and answer:
People have been asking me for an example of how to use the C.E.E.A structure to answer Question 1 so here is an example of a question 1 and how you would use the structure to address EACH of the bullet points:
(Please note that this is AN EXAMPLE. You will not know the real three bullet points until you encounter the questions in the actual exam)
Please also note how I am writing IN ROLE which the exam requires you to do at all times, even for question 1.
1) We believe that Serial Television Dramas are successful because they:
- Offer a number of audience
pleasures
- Have interesting characters
- Have either narrative arcs
or episodic narratives to keep the audience interested in the whole series
Remember C.E.E.A as your structure:
C-
Convention
E- Example
E- Explanation
A-Audience pleasure / effect on audience / how it targets them
Let's take bullet point 1 and answer in a paragraph about Stranger
Things: (I have colour co-ordinated for you to see where the big marks are)
Dear AtoZ Productions,
In
the hope of achieving a potential apprenticeship with your company to make my
own serial television drama, I have been studying existing products in the
genre. I completely agree that they offer a number of different audience
pleasures to keep people watching. An example would be the Netflix
Original series, Stranger Things, where the horror and science fiction
sub-genre will appeal to an audience looking for ‘Diversion’ so they can find
escapism in the fictional town of Hawkins and the world of scientific
experiment and parallel universes offered by the show’s narrative. The show also
focuses on the adventures of a group of teenagers who are friends and one of
them goes missing. This disruption to the equilibrium means that a young audience
may be able to relate to the idea of losing a friend or bonding together to try
and sort out a problem. There are other narrative strands, such as a love triangle with Mike’s
sister and two potential boyfriends – this might be appealing for young
girls or boys in similar situations. Much of the drama is set in a small
town, in domestic homes or in a high school which is familiar to
audiences who have similar lives. Over the whole series, it is possible for the
audience to form relationships with the characters by learning their
back stories and we care about whether or not Will can be reunited with his
mother after his kidnap by the monster in the first episode.
Let's take bullet point 2 and answer in a paragraph about Stranger
Things: (I have colour co-ordinated for you to see where the big marks are)
I
also agree that TV Dramas have to have interesting characters to attract and
keep their audience. Normally, it is conventional for a TV Drama to have an ‘ensemble
cast’ where there is not one main protagonist (hero) but instead many
characters so that we can learn about their own narratives. In Stranger Things,
the narrative focuses on a group of friends of ‘stock characters’ that fit
stereotypes the audience can recognise: the funny one (Dustin), the cynical one
(Lucas), the leader who makes the decisions (Mike) and the sensitive ‘innocent’
Will who is kidnapped. Audiences will also enjoy watching the anti-hero Hopper who is a town Sheriff
with a sad past as his daughter has died and he is a subversive
policeman as he drinks, swears, smokes and punches people rather than following
the law and arresting them. Will’s mother Joyce and his brother Jonathan are
also key characters in the ensemble cast because we see how their lives have
been torn apart by the loss of Will and how they deal with getting him back by
taking on the monsters and the evil villain scientist. Stock characters
and more subversive characters mean the audience can relate to the characters
and identify them as ‘types’. Eleven is an interesting character as she is
subversive for a female hero – she is a young girl who wears a dress but has a
shaved head because she was experimented on in a laboratory. She also has super
powers and can manipulate things with her mind which is exciting for the viewers as
they do not know if she will be captured or use her powers for good or evil.
Let's take bullet point 3 and answer in a paragraph about Stranger
Things: (I have colour co-ordinated for you to see where the big marks are)
Most
Serial TV Dramas have episodic narratives, where stories are resolved in one
episode, so that the ‘casual viewer’ can be rewarded. They also feature ‘story
arcs’ where a narrative is on-going throughout all the episodes so that loyal
viewers who always tune in can be rewarded for their loyalty. In Stranger Things,
the on-going narrative arc is the kidnap of Will and the enigma codes that are
posed to the audience: Will he survive or die? Will he be rescued from the
Upside Down? Will his mum or his friends be the ones to save him? This on-going
tension causes viewers to want to watch the next episode after the opening
where they are ‘hooked’ in by the disappearance of Will within the first 8
minutes. This dramatic disruption to the equilibrium is not resolved until the
last episode so the tension builds and there are lots of cliff-hangers at the
end of each episode so that audiences are encouraged to ‘binge watch’ the whole
series, which was released all at once. There are also episodic storylines
focusing on individual characters, such as flashbacks to Eleven’s sad
childhood; the back story where Hopper’s daughter dies of cancer, and the ‘happier
times’ memories that Will’s mother has of their time together. Also, Nancy and
Steve’s relationship and the death of Barb (Nancy’s friend) are dramatic
narratives that develop within an episode and keep the audience watching as
they are given some resolution as the story progresses.
Try answering some of your own C.E.E.A paragraphs using examples from our other case studies: Waterloo Road and Doctor Who.
Last tip - remember that you MUST talk about at least 2 TV Dramas from our case studies so if you wrote the above answers JUST using Stranger Things, you would limit your marks. Make sure that you are able to say detailed examples from more than one television drama across the three bullet points.
Good luck!
Miss Fowler
