Initial Post
Respond to one of the two prompts below. Your initial post should be about 200 words and directly respond to the prompt. Each initial post must make at least one reference to a reading, including the page number. Note that the 200-word limit is intended to keep your responses concise and focused on the topic. Verbosity will not be rewarded.
1. Compare a media text and its adaptation. How specifically do you see squeezing or stretching, and to what effect?
2. Choose a reality TV show and break it down to the four ways it’s constructed according to Kraszewski.
Response Post
Each response should run about 75 words. If you’re not sure where to start, consider responding to one classmate you agree with or you disagree with, explaining your point of view or posing a genuine question to better understand a classmate’s point of view. Look for ways to push the conversation forward. As you engage in the discussion, maintain a respectful, collegial tone.
This Week: Narratives + Realities
Through the materials and assignments this week, you’ll be able to:
break down stories having narratives, characters, and audiences.
differentiate anthology, episodic, and serial TV and how they evolve.
recognize how narratives are adapted by and influence other media.
appreciate the practices of mediation.
consider how news, documentary, and reality TV are constructed.
analyze how reality TV serves both industrial and narrative functions.
Readings (all 4 in upload files)
Narrative
VanArendonk, Kathryn. “Theorizing the Television Episode.”
Martin, Adrian. “The Challenge of Narrative: Storytelling Mutations Between Television and Cinema.”
Realities
Croteau, David and William Hoynes, excerpts from “Media Organizations and Professionals.”
Kraszewski, Jon. “Country Hicks and Urban Cliques: Mediating Race, Reality, and Liberalism in MTV’s The Real World.”
