Television - American Drama

American Drama 

Typical Examples

• Pretty Little Liars
• How To Get Away With Murder 
• The Vampire Diaries 
• Orange Is The New Black 
• American Horror Story 
• Bates Motel 
• Teen Wolf 
• Criminal Minds 
• Breaking Bad 
• Gossip Girl

Format
These types of shows are sown as continuous series, there are usually many series and 20-25 episodes a series for the audience to watch. The shows are usually scheduled to be broadcasted in the evening around 7-8pm as it is the most convenient time for the younger target audience for after school and also the older target audience for when they have finished work. This timed slot is usually best as it is the time most people sit down for dinner and or just a general family time so it is easy to put the series on and watch with the family. It is typical for American drama series to unfold as the series goes on, each episode is always left on a cliff-hanger which will be revealed in the next episode, the larger cliff-hangers are usually at the end of a series as you reach a resolution point but then just as all seems to be fine there is usually a twist resulting in there needing to be another series made. In every episode there are new problems and challenges that the main characters need to face and overcome which help unfold the narrative of the rest of the series. The series run as one giant linear narrative but in addition to this each episode is a mini part of this linear narrative, however there are always some episodes and series where it is not a linear narrative and you have to work it out yourself, this includes the series of American Horror Story as this can be shown as a linear narrative or non-linear narrative structure.

Appeals
The appeals of the genre are that there are many cliff-hangers and that American drama series differ to UK drama series as they focus on different topics and aspects whereas UK drama series usually focus on crime. Another appeal would be that they are mindless and do not require a lot of concentration as the story lines are mainly simple and understandable so you can have it on and still understand the concept of an episode without having your full attention of the TV screen. This is an appeal as people can do other things while watching them so they can enjoy the show and also do every day activities at the same time. In addition to this the target audience can relate and identify with the characters which makes the TV show even more appealing.

Target Audience
There are many different audience types for American drama series are very mindless TV shows, they appeal to the explorer of the 4C's model as they take you away from the every day world and allow you to focus on something else rather than the real world, they enjoy experiencing new things and escaping the real world and being involved in something different. They enjoy alternative and challenging things. In addition to this each episode is filled with twists and mystery that you must keep watching to see how the story ends. Due to the mystery element of these shows they appeal to the self actualisation audience type of Maslow's hierarchy of needs as they enjoy discovering new things and these shows will appeal to that part of them.

Opening Sequence
The opening sequence for the series Pretty Little Liars introduces the idea that these five girls are the main characters of the series and that this type of drama series revolves around the idea of a death and or murder mystery. It is clear that through the song lyrics that there is a secret being held as at the end of the opening sequence we see the camera go into a close-up to one of the girls and put her finger to her moth signalling that a secret is being kept. This introduces the theme of mystery and that this secret will be revealed sooner or later, this links to the mysterious and haunting music that links to the idea of secrets and murder. The camera angles of this opening sequence are usually close-up and extreme close-up as we see fragmented body shots of a female once again reinforcing the idea od murder. There is also a long shot where we see the five girls stood over a coffin and then a close-up of one of the girls signifying these are the main characters and the narrative revolves around them and their lives.

Setting
American drama series are usually set in the homes of the characters and their local towns and shopping centres, this is key as it makes the drama series very relatable to their audience as everybody can relate to their local tows and being at home. In addition to this if the drama series is themed they are usually set in these exact places such as in Orange Is The New Black it is primarily set in a women's prison but most American drama series are set in relatable locations where everyone had been at one point or another. Many American drama series are set in high schools so there are many scenes where the characters are attending school and parties held by class members in their homes.

Technical Codes
The pacing of most American dramas change a lot, they are usually slow as they mainly consist of people going on with their lives and then a twist enters the narrative whereby the impact of mystery hits and pace quickens adding a level of intensity and urgency to the mystery created and that the mystery must be solved but ultimately just results in a another piece to the bigger puzzle. Non-diagetic music is not always used in these types of series but when they are used they are there to create emotion for the audience and to reinforce emotions of characters. Another use of non-diagetic music in American drama series is to create tension and suspense for the audience which is accompanied by a quickened pace. Close-ups and medium close-ups are very frequent shot types used in American drama series as they allow the audience to create a personal bond with characters and let them see emotions and feelings of the characters.

Characters And Representations

• The geek
• The mean girl
• The enemy
• The shy one
• The bad boy
• The jock
• The loyal friend
• The psycho
• The heart breaker
• The bunny boiler

These are all typical and expected stereotypes of characters in American drama series, the functions of the people in American drama series are to carry out their roles they either prevent the main characters figuring out the mystery or they aid them and help then figure out the mystery. For example the mean girl is a very typical role in American drama series as they are always bringing people down and preventing the main characters from reaching their goals however by the end of the series they have either been broken down themselves of they have taken a change of personality and changed themselves so they are no longer the mean girl. Another example would be the bad boy, he is there for all the girls to adore and he is seen as eye candy for the audience. The bad boy is desirable for the characters and the audience and are a source of fantasy. In many American drama series groups are not usually represented as they narrative focuses on the main characters and their group alone, we see other characters come into the narrative but groups ate not usually the focus the mystery is the focus.

Narrative
This genre of TV usually include the binary oppositions of good Vs evil and law Vs outlaw, this is because the American drama series usually focus on the idea of mystery and include many twists and turns that make the audience question the roles of characters. The narratives are usually open ended and make the audience question many things due to all the twists and the audience are constantly left on cliff-hangers which make the narrative twist once again. This genre of TV include many enigma codes that fill the audience with questions that will be revealed later in the narrative whether that means that episode or the next is uncertain which is how the TV shows make sure they will gain views on the next episode as the audience want closure and need to know the answers to their questions. They also use action codes which make the narrative take a different direction such as the phone ringing when the house is silent, this makes the audience create questions and also build tension and suspense. The main themes of American drama is mystery and suspense, in every episode they love to leave the audience on a cliff-hanger and like to make the audience create their own questions and solve the problems themselves before the characters do as this can make the narrative twist and result in an unexpected end.