Alyssa

Genre Translation

 Posted by on Tue, 3/19 at 9:38pm  genre translation prewriting  No Responses »
Mar 192019
 

True Crime Podcasts –> Recorded as comedies to encourage consumer enjoyment.

Podcasts have grown in both producers and listeners over the last few years. True crime podcasts consistently top the charts, but what makes some of them so successful? Deep diving into the horrific minds of serial killers with dark humor and comedic elements to make hearing these crimes fun.For example LPOTL has become a mogul podcast of telling disturbing stories in hilariously messed up sense fashion that has become a cult following. https://www.lastpodcastontheleft.com/

Walt Disney World –> The Happiest Place On Earth to Wait In Lines

Literally paying $125 to wait in hour long lines with sweaty adults and screaming children. For “fun”. Also, the idea of a trip to WDW as becoming part of the American Dream (https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/how-disney-came-define-what-constitutes-american-experience-180961632/

 

Mar 012019
 

In a time of political correctness and inclusivity, comedy television viewers are looking for shows that not only provide them with entertainment but also problematic free punch lines. Brooklyn Nine-Nine cold opens have been delivering top notch buddy-cop comedy without making characters use the stereotypical or obvious punchline. This is relevant to how as a society we are moving toward a movement of comedy that will use a character’s race, gender, or sexuality to enhance character depth and the range of comedy available instead of using it to keep the less represented groups quiet. The use of cold opens in Brooklyn Nine-Nine allows viewers to be engaged in the first sixty to ninety seconds of each episode, while characters deal with current societal issues without taking away from the enjoy ability of the show.

To understand how writers are able to work in comedy and societal commentary without taking away from an enjoyable show, this presentation will present three factors of why these cold opens are successful- the use of introducing characters each episode, making a casual point about a central subject, the viewer building an emotional attachment to both these cold opens and the characters’ popularity within the genre. By the end of this presentation, I will argue that Brooklyn Nine-Nine’s use of cold opens is necessary and successful because of the comedic elements not putting down or promoting a specific group of people/stereotypes. This approach to television comedy raises the bar of network comedies, while at the very least, providing entertainment to a wide range of audiences.

 

*I’ll be doing this project as a 5-7 minute presentation in class*

B99 Subject & POS Take 2

 Posted by on Fri, 2/22 at 11:51am  subject-pos take 2  No Responses »
Feb 222019
 

Subject: The use of 60-90 second cold opens presents viewers with a funny, quick look at a few or the entire cast of characters.

POS: Encourages audiences to stay by giving them a laugh and then complete the episode, even if they are not familiar with the series. 

Subject: The cold opens are typically gag/punch line style jokes that are the characters doing an exceptionally dramatic scene, while making a casual point about an important subject.

POS: The audience sees these specific characters of a variety of backgrounds give a light-hearted commentary that goes against societal expectations. ex, Gina explains she sees G-d when she is hit by a bus and describes G-d as “ethnically ambiguous”.

Subject: The emotional attachment to both these cold opens and the characters make them popular within the genre. 

POS: This use of cold opens redefines network televisions use of their characters and time slots to keep audiences engaged within the first minute of each episode. 

Question: How does Brooklyn Nine-Nine’s use of 60-90 second cold opens to engage audiences allow the writers to comment on society without distracting the audience from the enjoyability of the show? 

Feb 202019
 

Sub: Dedicating the first 60-90 seconds of a show to a comedic scene

POS: Purposely warming up the audience with a light-hearted scene to encourage laughter later

Sub: A buddy-cop show with diverse cast

POS: Encourages most viewers to feel represented & accepted 

Sub: Running Gags/ Seasonal Bits 

POS: Will keep viewers interested in material, encourage them to keep watching for these particular cold opens 

Dedicating the first 60-90 seconds of the show to a comedic scene encourages viewers to keep watching episode and seasons. 

How can using comedy within the first 60-90 seconds of a show encourage audience to stay engaged? 

Feb 132019
 

In Network television comediescold opens are used to give a lighthearted 60-90 second beginning of a show popularized by the hit TV comedy Brooklyn Nine-NineAndy Samberg’s cop character Jake Peralta is working with a victim to identify the criminal in a line-up, he asks each member of the line-up to sing a part of the famous Backstreet Boys hit “I Want It That Way”. He enjoys the sing-a-long so much that when the victim recognizes number 5 as the man who killed her brother, he immediately realizes he forgot that key detail in their passionate singing. 

Feb 062019
 
  1. What content is typically included or excluded? How is the content treated? What sorts of examples are used? What counts as evidence (personal testimony, facts, etc.)?

Visual/audio content is always included, text content is typically excluded. The content relates to the same group of characters throughout each season and the examples used go through a variety of running jokes, pranks, or typically something light-hearted.

  1. What rhetorical appeals are used? What appeals to logos, pathos, and ethos appear?

Pathos plays a role in these cold opens by inviting the viewer to laugh and enjoy the first few minutes of each episode, which may later go into a more serious topic or tone.

  1. How are texts in the genres structured? What are their parts, and how are they organized?

They are structured in a simplistic manner, with the character name speaking followed by the line being delivered.

  1. In what format are texts of this genre presented? What layout or appearance is common? How long/big is a typical text in this genre?

Text is kept to a minimal, unless the viewer adds captions. Text is mostly kept to the bottom of the screen with character name and following the script.

  1. What types of “sentences” do texts in the genre typically use? How long are they? Are they simple or complex, passive or active? Are the sentences varied? Do they share a certain style?

Simple and active sentences are most common throughout Brooklyn Nine-Nine, they have a particular style that they follow for viewers to understand dialogue.

  1. What diction is most common? What types of words (or symbols, images, etc.) are most frequent? Is a type of jargon used? Is slang used? How would you describe a typical writer’s tone?

Typical writers tone would be quick-witted and light-hearted with casual/slang language used to be related to a variety of audiences.

Analyze What These Patterns Reveal About the Situation and Scene

  1. What do these patterns reveal about the genre, its situation, and the people who use it?

The genre doesn’t take itself too seriously as a comedic show, but finds a way to create enjoyable content that not only entertains its audience but creates meaningful stories.

  • What do participants have to know or believe to understand or appreciate the genre?

They have to know or believe in the good-naturedness of the show, as well as appreciate the genre of workplace comedies.

  • Who is invited into the genre, and who is excluded??

Anyone is invited into the genre to enjoy; however it may exclude people who do not appreciate or enjoy the humor aspect or the inclusive content.

  • What roles for writers and readers does it encourage or discourage?

It encourages writers to think outside of the box for everyday life

  1. What can you learn about the actions being performed through the genre by observing its language patterns?

Through the language patterns, viewers can see that the characters are living an average life as American cops with realistic conversations.

  • How is the subject of the genre treated? What content is considered most important? What content (topics or details) is ignored?

The subject and content are treated as average people who are representing the viewers. The details that are ignored are the stereotypes commonly placed on cops.

  • What values, beliefs, goals, and assumptions are revealed through the genre’s patterns?

Values, beliefs, goals, and assumptions that are revealed through the genre’s patterns are the idea that every person is important and valid regardless of race, gender, or sexuality and that what makes you a good person is how you treat others.

  • What actions does the genre enable? What actions does the genre constrain??

The genre enables the action of thoughtful conversation about difficult or overlooked topics, and constrains close-mindedness.

Feb 052019
 
  1. Identify your tentative “underappreciated” genre (or subgenre)

Brooklyn 99 Opening Scenes

  1. What is interesting to you about this genre? Or, why might it be significant or otherwise worth paying attention to?

Brooklyn Nine-Nine is a diverse comedy that provides relevant, insightful, and hilarious interactions between its characters.

  1. Tentatively, define/describe your corpus (collection of texts/examples)

A Television show containing well-delivered interactions between a diverse cast of New York’s “finest”

  1. Provide links (and/or titles) of five samples. (Try to gather samples from more than one “place” [or type] in order to obtain a diverse and accurate representation of the genre. For now, choose samples without significant deviations).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=upEvNeTvtF8

https://www.vulture.com/2018/05/brooklyn-nine-nine-cast-choose-their-favorite-cold-opens.html

https://www.buzzfeed.com/noradominick/brooklyn-nine-nine-cold-opens-funnier-hundreth-time

https://www.buzzfeed.com/astrolexi/which-brooklyn-nine-nine-cold-open-matches-your-pe-1sq19

https://www.reddit.com/r/brooklynninenine/comments/6hjf8i/list_of_cold_opens/

 

 

Describe the Context

  1. Setting: Where (in what context or medium) does the genre appear? How and when is it used? With what other genres does this genre interact? How?

Appears on Network television as a way to deliver niche comedy. It is used as both entertainment and to provide representation to communities that are under-represented in the typical media.

  1. Subject: What topics, issues, ideas, etc. are common to this genre? When people use this genre, what are they communicating about?

When people use this genre, they are typically looking to entertain a wide variety of viewers.

Shows that fall into this genre are using their platform to create open dialogue between characters about issues that are not typically covered in mainstream media outlets, while keeping the tone lighthearted. Issues taken up in Brooklyn 99 include: toxic masculinity, bisexual erasure, racism, transphobia, homophobia, and sexism.

  1. Writers: Who writes the texts in this genre? Are multiple writers possible? What roles do they perform? What characteristics must writers of this genre possess? Under what circumstances do writers write the genre (e.g., in teams, on a computer, in a rush, for their profession? for fun?)?

There are multiple writers for this genre, they play a key role in how the characters and story will be affected with each episode.

This genre can take the life of numerous circumstances, mostly on a computer, in teams, and not typically a rushed writing event.

These writers do this as a profession but I would imagine that they selected it as a profession due to how fun it can be when it is succeeding.

  1. Readers: Who reads the texts in this genre? Is there more than one type of reader for this genre? What roles do they perform? What characteristics must readers of this genre possess? Under what circumstances do readers read the genre (e.g., at their leisure, on the run, in waiting rooms)?

There is a diverse audience for this genre as it has a far-reaching audience on Network television.

Readers of this genre enjoy single-camera comedies like Parks and Recreation and The Office and is typically enjoyed in their leisure time or in weekend long binging sessions.

  1. Exigency/Purpose(s): Why do writers write this genre, and why do readers read it? What purposes does the genre fulfill for the people who use it?

Writers write this genre and readers consume it both for the use of entertainment and for the messages of inclusivity that are sprinkled throughout the series. This genre is providing its readers with feeling important, validated, and most importantly, seen as a member of everyday life.