Story arc

which are seen in Game of Thrones’ unorthodox plot structure. The economic decisions behind Game of Thrones storytelling techniques are also critiqued along with analyzing how the show found success through complex plots and character arcs. Through Mittell’s concepts, this case study of operational aesthetics and narrative complexity within Game of Thrones will shine light on how narrative complexity has changed the way contemporary TV operates. Mittell’s “Complexity in Context” defines “narrative complexity” and “operational aesthetic.” Mittell identifies narrative complexity as a new model of storytelling that is an alternative to conventional episodic and serial forms (Mittell, 17). He further states that narrative complexity “redefines episodic forms under the…

” Twyla Benson retells the story of her time in St. Bonaventure shelter and encounters with Roberta Frisk, but they remember different things each time they reminisce on the past. Twyla finds herself evaluating what really happened in her life, shifting ideas based on her own memories and what Roberta thinks. Her thoughts are ultimately distorted, raising questions on what is actually true. Twyla, as the narrator, tells the story with her own bias, making it difficult to discern the authenticity…

Stranger Things Stranger Things is an original Netflix series set in Hawkins, Indiana in the 1980’s. It is about a group of residents looking for a lost boy called Will Byers. There are 3 main story lines within the season, which are Joyce (Wills mum) and Chief Hopper (the chief of police); Mike, Lucas, Dustin (Will’s friends) and Eleven (a runaway science experiment); and Nancy (Mike’s brother) and Jonathan (Will’s Brother). All these story lines are working for the same thing, finding…

Exercise 4: Gesture and Gaze in Conversational Storytelling In order to make their narrative more plausible and detailed, many will use more than just a verbal account to illustrate their stories. Instead, they use gazes and gestures. In conversational storytelling, which is a collaborative event, gestures have meaningful functions that are tied to the description of the story. Simply defined, a gesture is the movement of the body that expresses a thought or feeling. In the video-recorded…

enjoy watching. This is true for the recently popular television show “American Horror Story”. The entire television series of American Horror…

In our society where the world is always turning, we cannot slow down to spend more than 45 seconds on a particular story in the news. If you watch any news program two stories that are seemingly unrelated are tied together with a phrase similar to “now…this”. For example, in a clip from the one of the news channels it will go begin with a story of a car rolling down a hill killing a nine-month old child, then once this story has had its 45 seconds the camera angles shift followed by the…

“The Lottery” is a short story written by Shirley Jackson. This story takes place in a small town on a clear sunny day on the 27th day of June. The children of the town arrive first and begin collecting stones and piling them together until their parents call them to order. Mr. Summers calls each head of the household to come forward to a black old wooden box, where each select a slip of paper. Once the men of the house have chosen a paper slip, Mr. Summers allows everyone to open the paper and…

Teen Wolf Here’s a show I think everyone should get into watching it’s called Teen Wolf. Teen Wolf is a hit show on MTV and is now coming into its 6th season. If you like shows that consist of supernatural characters and teen romance this show is perfect. The main character is this confused teen boy with lots of responsibilities including keeping his estranged pack together. While also keeping his grades together and getting ready to move on to next phase in life choosing a college and actually…

The house is a so called trap and if you die on the premises then your spirit is stuck there. Murphy has also made a story line along with this “murder house.” Tate, a teenager who was a mass murder at his school, was killed in the house and is now stuck. Violet, the teenage daughter who just moved into the house, has now fallen in love with Tate. Through stress and anxiety, Violet commits suicide and Tate hides her dead body in the basement. Drama arises when Violet’s parents decide to move…

complexities fall somewhere in the middle, it’s not “necessarily a complete merger of episodic and serial forms, but a shifting balance”(Mittell). Narrative complexity television shows use operational aesthetics to entertain its viewers in unconventional ways not found in serial or episodic television. One of the ways This Is Us attracts viewers is its use of the “narrational mode” type of storytelling to portray its plot. A “narrational mode” structure is a type of structure that has “ a…