Series TV

Numerosi prodotti di importazione arricchiscono sempre più spesso l’offerta dei media italiani, tv compresa: in questo modo, nel nostro Paese approdano contenuti che non sono pensati e realizzati appositamente per il pubblico nazionale, ma che, una volta trasferiti e adattati, mutano – almeno in parte – la loro forma. In ambito televisivo, un caso particolarmente interessante è quello della situation comedy americana: un genere centrale nella tv statunitense, ma che in Italia è insieme molto diffuso nei palinsesti e spesso frainteso, complesso da tradurre e talvolta ricostruito – o persino stravolto –, disprezzato ma visto (e rivisto) da intere generazioni di spettatori. Questo volume pone le basi teoriche per uno stu dio dei processi di ‘mediazione’, solo apparentemente banali, che intercorrono nel passaggio di un prodotto mediale da un Paese all’altro: l’appropriazione nazionale (o ‘italianizzazione’), la traduzione, l’adattamento, la distribuzione. E poi applica queste basi a un’approfondita analisi delle vicende italiane della sitcom americana, e di alcuni suoi titoli in particolare (Seinfeld, Friends, Will & Grace, How I Met Your Mother), da tre punti di vista: la ricostruzione della sto ria del genere nel nostro Paese; la rassegna delle variazioni e modifiche traduttive che il prodotto televisivo si trova necessariamente ad affrontare; infine, il racconto della sua filiera produttiva e distributiva, delle routine traduttive e dei professionisti coinvolti. Per capire cosa cambia nella sitcom quando passa dagli Stati Uniti all’Italia, e perché.

Resumen El artículo intenta realizar una aproximación de tipo narratológica a la serie de televisión Mad Men (AMC, 2007-2015) del creador y guionista Matthew Weiner. Se estudia el relato en tanto estructura poniendo énfasis en los mecanismos narrativos. En primer lugar se aborda el inicio del relato – íncipit-poniendo énfasis en los códigos que ya desde ahí orientan la recepción de la serie para luego contrastarlos con los elementos que dan cierre al relato. Posteriormente, se trabaja la construcción espacial a partir del concepto cronotopos, condensación del binomio espacio-tiempo, según la perspectiva de Mijaíl Bajtín. Desde ahí se analizarán tres cronotopos principales: la ciudad como gran escenario, las casas y, por último, las diferentes oficinas de la agencia Sterling Cooper, a juicio de quién escribe estas líneas, el cronotopos predominante. Finalmente se trabaja la cuestión temporal, en este caso desde tres aristas diferentes: como decurso, como discurso y como experiencia vital Palabras clave: Mad Men, serie de televisión, estructura narrativa, espacios, tiempo Abstract The article proposes a narrative approach to Mad Men (AMC, 2007-2015), the television series by the creator and screenwriter Matthew Weiner. The story is analyzed structurally, emphasizing its narrative mechanisms. Firstly, the beginning of the narrative –incipit-is tackled by highlighting the codes that are already orienting the reception of the series, in order to contrast them with the elements that draw an end to the story. Afterwards, the spatial construction is examined upon the concept of cronotopos, according to Mikhail Bakhtin's perspective. From there onwards, three main cronotopos will be analyzed: the city as a great stage, the homes and lastly, the different offices of the agency Sterling Cooper, which is the predominant cronotopos in the opinion of the one writing these lines. Finally, the topic of temporary matters is handled, in this case, in accordance to three different points of view: as course of time, as discourse and as vital experience.

The aim of this collection is to develop, and promote discussion of, qualitative and quantitative methods, in addi-tion to more traditional ones, for studying television series. Indeed, a methodological hybridity characterizes media stud-ies, which seeks to expand the investigatory frameworks of the phenomena of interest, situating them within the entire media system (including production, distribution and con-sumption) and their social, cultural and political contexts. In this perspective, adopting qualitative and quantitative mod-eling approaches can create an interesting perspective and enhance the development of future research fields. For ex-ample, in the study of individual programs, or particular sites of production, consumption, and reception, or of audience response, modeling approaches might help to identify textual and contextual features that correlate with the persistence of particular programs over time; the ability of particular shows to adjust their form or market appeal in response to changing contextual conditions; and the ways in which different pro-duction, distribution, or exhibition contexts influence textual form and/or audience response.

In 2013, CULT started with an interview with cult-leader Billy Grimm. After short opening 2 credits, the action jumped to a female police investigator, a former cult member herself, searching for her kidnapped sister and nephew. The crime sequence is then revealed to be part of the fictional CW series called " Cult " , embedded in the actual CW series called CULT. Over the course of the season, a journalist investigates the production and the fans of " Cult ". The so called 'True Believers' are shaping up to be a dangerous and fanatic group of fans, willing to kill for their guru-figure, show-runner Stephen Rae. While the 3 show-within-the-show is about a 'classic' cult, its charismatic leader, his implementations of persuasion and fear and a drama-crime plot around that; CULT turns its attention towards the fandom of television shows in general, and is hence an interesting case study for self-reflective views on television fans, TV celebrities and the changing understanding of the term ‚followers'. Politics and Instagram, cults and twitter have drawn nearer — but do they perpetuate the same mechanisms regarding their celebrity figures? The proposed paper will draw upon CULT's and other recently televised cult leaders, like Joe Carroll in FOX's THE FOLLOWING, and question their celebrity qualities by comparing aspects of image, press coverage, self marketing, expectation and promised gratification, hierarchic fandom and following — while focussing on their necessity for authenticity, or rather believability and the interpellation of TV audiences and ‚cult' followers as such.

Authenticity and the body are important issues in contemporary culture, and pop culture and new television series are no exceptions. By culturally, philosophically and ethically examining this important issue, this article discusses how authenticity is constructed through the human face and body. It focuses on some aspects of confessions by the main characters of the Homeland television series. The most important aspects are: how the body and the face are presented in acts of videotaped confession and the suicidal act of confession. This programme clearly shows authenticity as a social convention and a staged act. Depicting and preparing authenticity in a video recording is linked with blackmail in modern society and culture. Another issue considered in the article is how the body can be manipulated by the media and the individual to stage authenticity in a ‘truth tape’.

Dos cosas me inquietan en los últimos días. Recientemente tenemos un overbooking de a) superhéroes b) series apocalípticas. Es posible que ambas cuestiones estén relacionadas, pero hoy nos ocuparemos solo de la primera. Cuando digo superhéroes lo hago conscientemente: no me refiero únicamente a la posición heroica de algunos protagonistas, sino a personajes con sus capas, antifaces y poderes correspondientes. ¿Por qué tal eclosión de mallas ceñidas (y no hablo de los men in tights de Mel Brooks)?

Desde luego estos no son los primeros superhéroes que habitan en la pequeña pantalla, como pensarán aquellos que recuerden El gran héroe americano (ABC, 1981-1983) y ya más recientemente...

This article is a case study of the French TV series Un Village francais , broadcast on France 3 from 2009 to 2017. Based on interviews and observations of the cast and crew members, it attempts to unravel the relationships between writers, producers, directors and broadcasters within the French television industry. First, some particularities of television production in France are briefly addressed. These include: the limited number of channels commissioning original TV series; the still unestablished concept and professional practice of showrunners and the lack of an industrialized process in creating televised serial narratives; and the dominant status of directors, which contributes to the weakened position of TV writers within this economy. The focus of the article is then the pre-broadcast history of the series, from the early stages of its conception to the later stages of its production. Un Village francais is indeed created by an a-typical trio of executive co-producers: a ...

O trabalho pretende responder se os humanos clonados artificialmente na série televisiva Orphan Black são tratados como commodities ao explorar discussões no campo da bioética que envolvem clonagem humana artificial. Para tal, serão descritos debates prévios e presentes sobre a clonagem artificial, assim como a condição em que o humano seria colocado caso a clonagem humana artificial obtenha sucesso. As visões de Jean Baudrillard e Donna Haraway serão comparadas. A metodologia empregada será a análise de episódios de Orphan Black, junto à revisão bibliográfica.

DE ALLÁ PARA ACÁ es una serie documental infantil ganadora del Concurso Nacional del INCAA “Series Documentales para ser emitidas por canal Paka Paka (2014)”. La serie forma parte de la grilla de contenidos del primer canal educativo y público diseñado por el Ministerio de Educación de la Nación Argentina. La propuesta documental representa una herramienta educativa y de comunicación innovadora desarrollada a partir de un trabajo interdisciplinar entre la comunicación, la animación, el audiovisual, y la sociología de las migraciones.

La serie cuenta la vida cotidiana de niños y niñas migrantes que residen en la ciudad de Córdoba (Argentina), y retrata la diversidad y la hibridez cultural de la ciudad desde la mirada y vivencia de los niños. Busca representar los relatos de los niños migrantes, sin caer en los estereotipos, simplificaciones o visiones folckorizantes de las culturas de nuestra Latinoamérica y del resto del mundo.

DE ALLÁ PARA ACÁ es una propuesta dinámica, atractiva y reflexiva que permite al público infantil de entre 8 y 12 años acercarse a los conceptos de diversidad, interculturalidad y migración desde la mirada de los protagonistas de la serie: desde niños para niños. La serie no está dirigida exclusivamente a niños que han experimentado un proceso migratorio, ya que plantea temas transversales vinculados a los desafíos propios de la infancia: la relación con los otros, la convivencia, los vínculos, la integración, la discriminación, etc.

Palabras claves: niños migrantes, interculturalidad, identidad, material educativo, migración infantil.

Dentro del panorama transmedia televisivo español reciente, destaca la experiencia llevada a cabo por la serie 'Víctor Ros' (TVE). El objetivo de este artículo es centrarse en el empleo del perfil personal en Twitter del detective protagonista como vehículo de expansión transmediática de su universo ficcional. Desde esta perspectiva se han analizado más de mil seiscientos tuits generados, de los cuales cerca de quinientos se corresponden con el relato transmedia previo a la emisión de la serie. Los resultados ponen sobre la mesa el uso dado al perfil del protagonista de una ficción como vía para la narración transmedia en primera persona, así como para interactuar con sus seguidores.

A HBO é uma emissora que possui uma reputação muito proeminente no mercado televisivo, muito disso por conta de sua gestão de marca e seu discurso institucional que possuem papel direto na consolidação da terminologia " televisão de qualidade " , trazendo um certo grau de relevância para si na historiografia e na conjuntura atual do audiovisual. Portanto, faço uso do canal para propor a implosão do conceito " televisão de qualidade " e relaciona-lo com a dramédia Enlightened (2011), da própria HBO, com intuito de expor paradoxos mercadológicos do panorama televisivo pago norte americano contemporâneo.

Por estar vivendo seu auge de popularidade, o seriado televisivo é o enfoque dessa pesquisa. Ela tem tem como objetivo traçar a trajetória e flexões presentes no estilo de narrativa seriada. Como critério, foi levado em consideração suas origens na oralidade, sua apropriação pelos meios de comunicação, as variações proporcionadas pelas transformações tecnológicas e suas consequências, além de sua espectatorialidade. O artigo busca organizar os elementos que moldaram o estilo até se chegar ao formato de série de televisão que consumimos atualmente. A narrativa seriada encontrou seu lugar ao sol nos meios de comunicação de massa. O ato de dividir uma história para manter o interesse daquele que está a acompanhando favorece principalmente o capital, que fideliza um público curioso e que está disposto a consumir essas histórias. Jornais, cinema, rádio, televisão e internet, não importa o suporte, a narrativa seriada tem espaço em todos eles. A serialidade encontrou diversas formas e suportes para ser realizado, mas sua origem é bem anterior à sua apropriação pelos meios de comunicação de massa e está relacionada à oralidade. A prática de se contar histórias, como vimos, é parte fundamental da construção da identidade de uma nação. Nesse sentido, o folclore – um

In this paper, I use three case studies from U.S. prime time series ("The Good Wife", "Suits", "Scandal") as prisms to observe one type of  relation between two industries – that of television and that of fashion – and how this relation can produce value for both of them. In particular, I explore one of the processes unfolding in between the two ends of an imaginary fashion industry spectrum: high-end fashion on the one end, high street and fast-fashion on the other. I show that the lifespan of the power suits sported by some TV characters matches an economic cycle that goes from one end to the other and that encompasses a diversified range of practical and symbolic uses (and re-uses) of the original item.

This chapter executes a reading of the character of Walter White / Heisenberg ('Breaking Bad') through John Stuart Mill's 'On Liberty'.  This chapter pays attention to issues related to Mill's harm principle, freedom, individuality, individual sovereignty, individual spontaneity, collective mediocrity, authority, the tyranny of the majority, legislated morality, justice, and punishment.

Resumo: o presente texto estuda a novela Once Upon a Time, série americana de drama–fantasia que aborda o gênero contos de fadas, exibida pela ABC desde 2011. A série apresenta elementos e personagens de contos de fadas ocidentais populares e outras estórias literárias, combinados com a realidade contemporânea dentro de uma nova narrativa O trabalho tem por objetivo descrever os esquemas e modelos narrativos utilizados no seriado.

In the contemporary media landscape the opening title sequence continues to provide its traditional, paratextual function by introducing a storyworld, orienting the spectator, and managing expectations. Moreover, it consolidates other functions while nevertheless assuming new ones. As well as branding content, thus expressing its visual identity and putting it in relation to an audience, main titles connect viewers and contribute to creating ‘networked communities’ or ‘brand communities’ based on a shared passion for media content. This article discusses this renewed, double role of main titles – branding content, branding communities – with special regard to the television shows Mad Men, The Wire, Game of Thrones, and Supernatural.

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https://journals.openedition.org/decadrages/850

Sans adopter un angle d’approche particulier ou une thématique définie, ce numéro de Décadrages cherche à interroger, non pas pourquoi les séries télévisées ont du succès, mais comment elles fonctionnent, à savoir quels sont les modèles esthétiques, idéologiques, narratifs qui les gouvernent. À défaut d’être exhaustif dans les objets et approches choisis, il propose plus modestement un échantillon de ce que des chercheuses et chercheurs en études du cinéma et autres médias peuvent produire à partir de leurs branches respectives de compétence (Star Studies, Gender Studies, Fan Studies, histoire des genres, esthétique, narratologie, sociologie des médias). Alors que certains articles proposent des lectures théoriques, d’autres développent une réflexion à partir d’une étude de cas.

Ces articles traitent par exemple :
• de la question de la sérialité comme forme idéologique (David Buxton)
• de l’expérience esthétique offerte par la série TV (Stéphane Benassi)
• de la représentation des technologies numériques qui induisent des fantasmes panoptiques (Mireille Berton)
• du genre télévisuel du western dans ses liens avec le cinéma, notamment à partir de Deadwood (HBO) (Achille Papakonstantis)
• de la figure du fan dans la série Sherlock (BBC) (Jeanne Rohner)
• de l’apparition de la guest star vieillissante dans les séries TV (Gwénaëlle Le Gras)
• ainsi que des questions raciales et sociales soulevées par The Wire (HBO) (Linda Williams).

Un dernier article présente le résultat d’une table ronde qui a eu lieu aux Journées de Soleure en janvier 2016 à propos des séries et web-séries produites en Suisse (Sylvain Portmann et Anne-Katrin Weber).

ENGLISH SUMMARY

The book "Worlds To Be Continued. Analysing Possibilities of Serial Narrativity" (in Czech "Světy na pokračování. Rozbor možností seriálového vyprávění") is built upon the assumption that fictional stories presented as serials have been a longstanding part of nearly everyday experience with narrative arts; capitalizing on the case of TV shows, it presents the intellectual framework, research background and analytical tools to effectively describe, explore and explain serial fiction.

The approach is theoretically grounded in serial fiction poetics, which aims to (1) present a systemic explanation of serial fiction, (2) capture a variability of artistic possibilities of serial narrative and, (3) offer tools for the analysis of actual serial works.

The original concept of seriality serves as foundation for the first and second aims; it remains as mere background for analytical hypotheses with regard to the third aim. Serial fiction poetics, as presented here, assumes the presence of a space-time continuum, which is created by the work through interaction with its audience. This is process is termed a fictional macroworld: narrated stories take place within its conditions and settings. Each episode of a serial constitutes an episodic world; seriality denotes a relationship between the state of affairs in a macroworld at the end of a current episode and the state of affairs in the macroworld at the end of the previous one. Depending on the intensity of connectedness between these two states and the relations of fictional characters to them, the book presents a typology of seriality, which serves as a functional and heuristic categorization, yet not as a substantive one.

(1) In the case of a separate seriality type, no fictional characters share the state of affairs at the end of the current episode with the state of affairs at the end of the previous one (e.g. The Twilight Zone, 1959-1964).
(2) In the case of a non-sequential seriality type, the current episode shares at least one fictional character with the state of the macroworld at the end of the previous one, without any open connection between these episodic worlds on the level of narrative causality (e.g. Columbo, 1968-2003).
(3) In the case of a semisequential seriality type, episodic worlds represent rather closed narrative units but they include at least one causal line of events, which continues in the state of affairs in the following episode (e.g. most of House, M.D., 2004-2012).
(4) In the case of a sequential seriality type, there are prevalent causal connections among episodic worlds on various levels (e.g. most of Dallas, 1978-1991; Pride and Prejudice, 1995; Stranger Things, 2016-?).
(5) Lastly, in the case of a disrupted seriality type, the standing linear composition of episodic worlds is problematized; instead of a line, it creates a network of relations among fictional elements in both states of affairs in a macroworld, where the currently valid state of affairs in a macroworld is being rewritten or retrospectively changed (e.g. Arabela, 1980-1981; Day Break, 2006; Lost, 2004-2010).

Worlds To Be Continued is divided into three parts, which are all based on analyses of a sample of roughly four hundred television serials from various countries and times.

1. SERIALITY AS A SYSTEM

The first part of the book gives a systemic explanation of seriality, using the five types top-down, and in these contexts, it describes ways of mediating information (a narrative outline) and issues of identifying fictional entities across episodes (a fictional macroworld arrangement). Both aspects turned out to be functionally related, and they expose a logic of an inner composition of seriality as a specific kind of fictional representation. The first part stands for a theoretical-descriptive dimension of the serial fiction poetics. It deals with relationships of seriality within a theoretical frame and, while considering its systemic transformations, it aims at a clarity of explanations.

2. SERIALITY AS A REGISTRY OF POSSIBILITIES

The second part of the book explores variable possibilities of serial narrative. It approaches the types of seriality from its material, bottom-up, as it explores preferred registries of artistic solutions both within the types of seriality and in the crime serial as a mode of fictional worldmaking. In these contexts, it studies (1) narrative process through an original question-based model of the analysis of a work, one which is not based on knowledge of a whole work, as in various other narratological concepts, because knowledge of this kind cannot be assumed in case of a serial work. The second part further focuses on (2) a fictional macroworld dynamics, which it explains through an original composite model, understanding a fictional macroworld as a dynamic interaction between various areas of a macroworld (microworlds and subworlds); this dynamics can be utilized to explain its happening. The second part of the book stands for a descriptive-analytical dimension of the serial fiction poetics. It deals with the art of seriality in a creative frame, explores registries of preferred artistic solutions, and aims at a productive depiction of a field of possibilities.

3. SERIALITY AS ANALYTICAL BACKGROUND

It was deemed necessary in the last, analytical part of the book to limit the range of types of seriality considered appropriate for research interest. Despite the descriptive potential of the typology, it represents a limiting set of categories for a dynamic analysis, disregarding the fact that one serial work often uses various types of seriality in a variety of patterns (e.g. Doctor Who, 1963-1988; The X Files, 1993-2016). What is specifically focused upon in the third part of the book are those tools which have so far constituted the basis for an analytical framework (narrative outline, fictional macroworld arrangement, question-based model of a narrative process, and composite model of macroworld dynamics) or its auxiliary categories (a cultural encyclopaedia, immersive spectatorship, and analytical spectatorship). The last two chapters attempt to offer the greatest possible degree of aesthetic sensitivity towards those works analysed and those explanations presented. An analysis of the serial 24 (2001-2010) explores tactics applied to achieve clarity and coherence within a very diverse system of narrative situates the work in the contexts of complex serials and those of action films of motion. The closing analysis of Mr. Bean (1989-1995) as a serial addresses the more general question of how can we systemically analyse the narrative and macroworld of serials that seemingly consist of a number of rather independent sketches. The third part of the book considers the analytical dimension of serial fiction poetics. It explores issues related to the explanatory potential of analyses of individual serial works within an aesthetic frame and aims at a maximum degree of adaptability in relation to the artistic uniqueness of these works.

The three parts of Worlds To Be Continued develop and transform, with respect to these three aims, which differ from each other but are also interrelated, only to answer the questions posed, in correspondence with the individual dimensions of serial fiction poetics, in ways that are at the same time systematic and aesthetically sensitive.

Este trabalho procurará analisar a representação de clones humanos na série televisiva Orphan Black com base nas obras de Donna Haraway e Jean Baudrillard, ao ponderar aproximações e distanciamentos entre as abordagens propostas pela série e os dois pensadores citados. Para tal, as ideias de clonagem humana artificial e biotecnologia retratadas em Orphan Black serão analisadas, com ênfase nos campos da bioética, transhumanismo e individualidade. A partir desses aprofundamentos, a pesquisa discutirá como Orphan Black traz informações pertinentes a respeito da biotecnologia para seu público. A metodologia empregada será a análise de episódios de Orphan Black baseada em conceitos dos Estudos Culturais Críticos propostos por Kellner (2001). A revisão bibliográfica se também se faz necessária, tendo como base as obras de Jean Baudrillard e Donna Haraway.

El personaje de Claire Dunphy de la serie de television Modern Family es un ama de casa casada con tres hijos que esta totalmente dedicada a su hogar, esposo e hijos. El presente analisis se enfrenta el modelo femenino propuesto por el caracter con la concepcion feminista de las mujeres reales durante las primeras cuatro temporadas de la serie. Esto permite establecer el tipo de estilo de vida y los valores que transmite a la audiencia. Mediante la aplicacion de un modelo de analisis etico que cuestiona acerca de sus ambitos antropologicos, Claire aparece como una mujer moderna que eligio a su familia sobre su carrera y ha encontrado en su puesto actual, la sensacion de una vida exito y amorosa.

PALABRAS CLAVE: Homeland, Sully, Clint Eastwood, locura, compromiso,
héroe

Mediante el análisis de algunas escenas seleccionadas del último capítulo de la sexta temporada de Homeland y de la película Sully, reflexiono sobre el origen etimológico del término “compromiso” y su relación con la figura del héroe. ¿Son ámbitos diferenciados, irreconciliables o, en momentos determinados, él héroe puede lidiar con cierta locura que implicaría la realización del acto heroico, de un compromiso con su sociedad?.

KEYWORDS: Homeland, Sully, Clint Eastwood, madness, engagement, hero

Through the analysis of selected scenes from the last chapter of Homeland's sixth season and the film Sully, I reflect on the etymological origin of the term “commitment” and its relation to the hero‟s character. Do they belong to different or irreconcilable areas, or at certain moments, can the hero deal with a certain madness that would imply the accomplishment of the heroic act, of a commitment to his/her society?.