The new TV show Scream Queens premiered September 22, 2015 on FOX. Scream Queens is about the Kappa Kappa Tau sorority house, who is being targeted by several killers dressed in a red devil outfit. The shows is part slasher flick and black comedy with a modern take on the classic whodunit. Even though there is violence, gore and the use of sexual language, the show demonstrates to be more satirical than terrifying. In addition, Scream Queens is a unique show because it’s like a parody, pocking fun at the horror genre. Through an analysis of the pilot episode “Pilot” from Scream Queens (2015- present) this essay will illustrate how the TV aesthetics of the show develop and portray the theme, mood and narrative. Furthermore, Scream Queens displays
…show more content…
Within the first five minutes of the episode “Pilot” actress Jamie Lee Curtis appears and the viewers can infer that the show is going to be hilarious and at the same time terrifying. According to Welsh, “From the 1914 movie serial, Perils of Pauline, to Jamie Lee Curtis’ initial rise to fame as the “Scream Queen”, the portrayal of women in abject terror has been a staple of cinematic suspense” (Welsh 1). Scream Queens is replicating the original “Scream Queen” in a modern way by having Emma Roberts be the new “Scream Queen”. The show illustrates the traditional elements of the slasher and horror genre by victimizing women, punishing women for immoral activity and the killer is always assumed to be a male character. For example, in the episode Chanel Oberlin is being rude to the new pledges of Kappa Kappa Tau and digs them in a hole which results in one pledge’s death. A day later Chanel almost is killed by the red devil, she screams and runs for dear life. This demonstrates the victimization of women and the punishment for behaving badly. The narrative keeps unfolding when everyone assumes that the red devil is a male, which is stereotyping men to be violent, but that is what the horror/slander genre portrays …show more content…
The editing in the pilot episode of Scream Queens flowed smoothly across shots and scenes without jarring inconsistencies, this is called continuity editing. For example, in the episode Chanel is having a conversation with dean Munsch as they are having their conversation there is cross cutting which basically means moving back and forth between two or more lines of action. This is used because it gives a balance between the characters and the audience can equally relate to them. Another example is when the red devil kills death Taylor Swift. In this scene the editor used cross cutting because it starts with a close up of Zayday screaming because she hears a lawn mower. Then it cuts to a close up of the rest of the girls screaming and then a shot of the red devil on the lawnmower. Next it is a shot of death Taylor swift singing and another shot the red devil getting closer to grass area. It cuts to a close up of the red devil and then death Taylor Swift’s face looking straight into the light of the lawnmower. Meanwhile it cuts to each one of the pledges screaming and end with death Taylor Swift’s head getting cut off. Throughout this whole scene it create anxiety due to the cross cutting. The characters did not know what exactly was going on and the audience starts getting anxious because they do not know who is going to get killed. Editing illustrates the theme of revenge, death, and the mood of fear. In
Within the first five minutes of the episode “Pilot” actress Jamie Lee Curtis appears and the viewers can infer that the show is going to be hilarious and at the same time terrifying. According to Welsh, “From the 1914 movie serial, Perils of Pauline, to Jamie Lee Curtis’ initial rise to fame as the “Scream Queen”, the portrayal of women in abject terror has been a staple of cinematic suspense” (Welsh 1). Scream Queens is replicating the original “Scream Queen” in a modern way by having Emma Roberts be the new “Scream Queen”. The show illustrates the traditional elements of the slasher and horror genre by victimizing women, punishing women for immoral activity and the killer is always assumed to be a male character. For example, in the episode Chanel Oberlin is being rude to the new pledges of Kappa Kappa Tau and digs them in a hole which results in one pledge’s death. A day later Chanel almost is killed by the red devil, she screams and runs for dear life. This demonstrates the victimization of women and the punishment for behaving badly. The narrative keeps unfolding when everyone assumes that the red devil is a male, which is stereotyping men to be violent, but that is what the horror/slander genre portrays …show more content…
The editing in the pilot episode of Scream Queens flowed smoothly across shots and scenes without jarring inconsistencies, this is called continuity editing. For example, in the episode Chanel is having a conversation with dean Munsch as they are having their conversation there is cross cutting which basically means moving back and forth between two or more lines of action. This is used because it gives a balance between the characters and the audience can equally relate to them. Another example is when the red devil kills death Taylor Swift. In this scene the editor used cross cutting because it starts with a close up of Zayday screaming because she hears a lawn mower. Then it cuts to a close up of the rest of the girls screaming and then a shot of the red devil on the lawnmower. Next it is a shot of death Taylor swift singing and another shot the red devil getting closer to grass area. It cuts to a close up of the red devil and then death Taylor Swift’s face looking straight into the light of the lawnmower. Meanwhile it cuts to each one of the pledges screaming and end with death Taylor Swift’s head getting cut off. Throughout this whole scene it create anxiety due to the cross cutting. The characters did not know what exactly was going on and the audience starts getting anxious because they do not know who is going to get killed. Editing illustrates the theme of revenge, death, and the mood of fear. In