Breaking bad and narrative complexity in this paper i deal with the phenomenon of narrative complexity in tv serial production, and as an example i will discuss breaking bad. Breaking bad as one of the prime examples of narrative complexity in. While all of these characters have depth and complexity, we rarely see much of. Obviously, tbe labels conventional and complex are not \aluefree descriptions, just as terms like primitive and classical signal evaluative standpoints in film studies. The concept of complex tv, at various times also termed narrative complexity by the author, has been a consistent feature of mittell s work since at least 2006, when his essay narrative complexity in contemporary american. Mittell suggests that narrative complexity emerged in the. West wing to the xfiles, as well as in critically beloved. Mittell, narrative complexity in contemporary american television, the velvet light trap 58 2006. Jason mittel 2006 says the complex narrative challenges the norms of what the medium can do, as it breaks away from shows with set characters and episodic timelines.
A read is counted each time someone views a publication summary such as the title, abstract, and list of authors, clicks on a figure, or views or downloads the fulltext. In trying to understand the storytelling practices of contemporary american. The xfiles exemplifies what may be the hallmark of narrative complexity. Complex narratives tell stories in a more meaningful way, and they are able to do this through various storytelling devices. The wire, serial storytelling and procedural logic. Pointing to this phenomenon as a creative revolution, characterized by a new visual style, i will discuss its selfreflexivity.
Download fulltext pdf how to watch television, by thompson, e. Additionally, as reality television has emerged as a popular and costeffective alternative to scripted programming, television writers seem to be asserting what they can offer that is unique to fictional television. Works of narrative complexity play on this division, using formal techniques such as cliffhangers, coincidence, frame narratives, unreliable narration, plot twists, flashes forwards and backwards, and many others to present the storyworld and its characters. Ethan thompson and jason mittell imagine that you just purchased a brand new television, and inside the box, along with the remote, the styrofoam packaging, and various cables, was this book. However, jaskn viewers soon learn that future episodes will neither show these scenes nor will they have actually occurred within the ongoing storyworld although in the third season, the show varies this norm by allowing some of the. Televisions narrative complexity is predicated on specific facets of storytelling that seem uniquely suited to the series structure that sets television apart from film and distinguish it from conventional modes of episodic and serial forms. The poetics of contemporary storytelling is the culmination of an idea that jason mittell has been advocating for over a decade. Mittell states that the role of the television producer has significantly. Breaking bad and narrative complexity duric am journal. The wires novelistic qualities are most directly linked to its storytelling structure and ambitions. Drawing on jason mittells 2012 conception of televisual narrative complexity, it considers how these overlapping narratives affect the. Narrative complexity in contemporary american television. Pdf narratively complex television series and the logics of. Narrative complexity in american television slideshare.
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