Television Studies Questions and Assessment
- Analyse the narrative and style of one screened episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The Wire, Stranger Things or Game of Thrones. Discuss how the particular structure and style positions the viewer and how this positioning helps to construct the meanings of the episode and the series as a whole.
- Discuss the relationship between gender and the sitcom genre in one screened episode of one sitcom studied in this unit (I Love Lucy, Modern Family, Sex and the City, Will & Grace, The Simpsons, Family Guy, South Park). Your discussion should pay particular attention to the ways in which generic conventions of the sitcom are employed as a means for exploring gender roles and/or sexual difference in the specific episode and the series as a whole.
- What is “quality television”? With particular attention to one screened episode of The Wire, Mad Men, Stranger Things or Game of Thrones, discuss how quality television functions as an industrial, aesthetic and audience category.
- Paying particular attention to the style and narrative structure of episodes screened in class, compare and contrast the ways in which Sesame Street and Teletubbies address and construct the child viewer.
HINTS AND TIPS
- Once again, you are allowed to select episodes from shows outside of the shows screened in class
- Please consult with your lecturer as to the suitability of your chosen show. However, there will be no checking of article suitability.
- You are encouraged to use the material gathered for the library research project
- Additionally, you are also allowed to use non-academic sources, though you must still ensure that they are valid and credible sources.
- Reviews from professional sources (such as Variety or The Hollywood Reporter) are useful points of reference
- YouTube videos and audio podcasts can also be used as a source of information
- In terms of sources used, it doesn’t have to directly relate to the show in question; you can, for instance, take the theories used by an author in analysing Dora the Explorer and apply it to Sesame Street
- It is also recommended that you consider narrowing your focus to a particular area or topic; for instance, in answering question 1, you can determine whether you want to limit your response only to the representation of ethnicity or gender
- Don’t forget to include the chosen television text as a source in the reference list
- For the children’s television question, you must pick two television shows