'Skins' - Editing Example: How is Age Represented?

Parallel editing is used to show that the boy and girl are related and have a strong relationship. We can see through the parallel editing that they lead very different teenage lives, showing binary opposite characters. She is coming home; rebelling against house rules and he has been in his own bed. This conforms to Levi Strauss' idea that all narratives have opposites. The two narrative threads come together as she reaches the window and the cutaways show that she relies on him to cover up for her. The parallel editing here then turns into continuity editing in real-time of when the girl is trying to get her brother's attention when she reaches the house, which suggests that this is a 'normal', everyday tendency in the teenagers' lives and that the sequence follows a linear narrative structure.

At the start of the sequence Todorov's theory is conformed as there is a disequilibrium, which is shown through how the protagonist is positioned between the male and female bodies on the quilt and is awake before the alarm actually rings. This suggests that he is unsettled, thus conforming teenage stereotypes of them having their own problematic issues to deal with. The target audience also can relate themselves to this.

Action editing is used to create a montage of the protagonist's work-out through the use of short takes and compressed time. The part where he is using the weights conforms stereotypes of teenagers as it suggests that the routine helps him to keep fit and he is conscious of his physical appearance in order to be able to attract the opposite sex. Also, the montage shows how his life is hectic and quick-paced which contributes to the idea that teenagers' lives are quite busy.  

An eye-line match is used when the protagonist is looking out the window at the woman in the opposite house who is undressed. This indicates that he is sexually charged and conforms teenage stereotypes as the eye-line match portrays how intensely he's watching the naked woman. 

Shot-reverse-shots are used in the conversation between the protagonist and his father with cuts of the protagonist's sister coming in the house, suggesting that there is a neccessity to get her inside without her father noticing. This conforms to teenage stereotypes as the shot-reverse-shots and cuts at this point highlight the characters' rebellious and mischievous side. After these shots, short action shots of the girl getting dressed into her school uniform are used to portray that she is rushing and that there is no time as she's only just got back to the house. The fact that she's getting changed into her school uniform suggests that she is still a young girl who isn't expected to go out all night, so teenage stereotypes are conformed as she is breaking the house rules and is meant to be innocent.

Narrative Patterns in TV Drama Genres

Narrative Patterns in TV Drama Genres

Narrative Time

Narrative Time

Narrative Theories

Things to Consider in a Narrative

• Codes

• Problem-->Action-->Solution

• Character roles

• Telling a story

• Narrative perspective

• Time

    Tzvetan Todorov proposed that a story starts with a status quo or equilibrium where any possible contrasting forces are balanced, which is disrupted by an event, setting a sequence of events in a chain. Solving problems allows order to be restored in the fictional world.

     Vladimir Propp studied many folk tales and found thirty-one narrative roles and eight character roles.

The eight character roles are:

            

        1. The Villain (s).

        2. The Hero.

        3. The Donor – this person offers an item which has magical powers.

        4. The Helper – the hero is supported by the helper.

        5. The Princess (wanted) – who is the hero’s reward and the person who the villain uses in their schemes.

        6. Princess’s Father – the hero is rewarded by him.

        7. The Dispatcher – the hero is sent on his way by the dispatcher.

        8. The False Hero.

These character roles can relate to all types of narratives. For example, in T.V programmes concerning the news, ‘heroes’ and ‘villains’ are frequently presented, such as Princess Diana and Saddam Hussein.   

·            
Claude Levi-Strauss examined binary oppositions, which are sets of values that have opposite meanings, within narrative structures. For example, good and evil have opposite meanings. Levi-Strauss tried gaining a deeper understanding of themes in narratives.

Roland Barthes examined and decoded how texts were put together. He proposed that to unravel meaning in a text, narrative codes are used. There are five categories of narrative codes:

    1. Action Code – Relates to any action that involves another narrative action. For instance, we speculate what the resolution will be when a criminal draws his gun on a rival.

     2. Enigma Code – Applies to any part of a narrative that hasn’t been made clear in detail which makes the viewers puzzled, making them question certain things that require an explanation.     

     3. Semantic Code – A further meaning, through connotations, within a certain part of the text can be proposed.

   4. Cultural Code – A particular element of the story that applies “to a science or a body of knowledge” – our shared knowledge about the way the world works is closely looked at through the cultural codes.

     5. Symbolic Code.

     Ideology – This is an ordered set of concepts. A comprehensive vision can be associated with an ideology as a way of looking at things – a belief which aids our understanding of the world.

Day and Night

The story links to Todorov's theory as it starts with an equilibrium as Day and Night both seem to be getting on with each other. However, there is a disequilibrium later on as they start to get jealous of each other, which is the disrupting event. A new equilibrium is created when Day and Night find that they are both similar to each other rather than different and unite as one.

Also, parts of Propp's theory relates to the story in several ways. There isn't a specific villain but in the middle of the story when Day and Night get jealous of each other, each of them could be considered a villain towards one another. On the other hand, at the end when they unite as one they both could be considered as heroes because they manage to solve their problems so that each of them can have aspects of both Day and Night. In addition, both Day and Night may be considered helpers too as they both help each other to solve their problems.

Levi-Strauss's theory is associated within the story as well through the clear binary opposites of the characters, Day and Night.

Some of Barthes's theory links to the story through semantic codes. Day has connotations of brightness and bliss whereas Night has connotations of darkness and gloom. Moreover, Day has a symbolic code of positivity but Night has a symbolic code of negativity.

There is an ideology, which is portrayed at the end when Day and Night unite, portraying that everyone should be treated equally and by coming together as one can make things easier so that better things can be achieved.