The most universally accepted characteristic of narrative is the depiction of a sequence of events (Herman 2007, p. 25). It is not linked to any media and most communication situations involve a story, whether it is a book, a joke or a report. How a given medium handles the narrative can be difficult to see because we are accustomed to the norms associated with it and therefore often blind to them. Film and television narratives overlap in many ways, but each medium offers its own possibilities and limitations in the use of narrative devices. This essay seeks to identify the main differences and similarities between cinematic and television storytelling. This is done by briefly examining how the two mediums have evolved and how this has affected different aspects of the narrative. References are made to the film Under the Skin (2013) and an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997-2003) and their narrative structure is analyzed (for readability reasons, the two will be referred to respectively as Skin and Buffy). no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essayIf we consider the context in which we interact with film and television, it becomes clear how much their narratives are affected. Films are traditionally made to be viewed in cinemas. This means they are designed to be viewed in widescreen format, in a dark, quiet room equipped with surround sound. It is an atmosphere that tolerates active viewing and engagement and as such allows films to use narrative devices that depend on it. This involves less reliance on dialogue and more reliance on visual elements to guide the story. This is why it is often said that cinema favors the eye and television the ear, and why the term "pure cinema" refers to films that rely heavily on imagery in their storytelling. As seen in Skin, the visual elements of the story become essential once the dialogue is eliminated. Additionally, movies usually have a clear beginning, middle, and end, even if there are multiple episodes. In contrast to this, we have television. Television is watched in a much less formal context and is produced to be part of continuous broadcasting by the different channels. This is why most TV shows are 30 minutes or an hour long (including commercial breaks). At home, many distractions can interfere with the viewing experience, and it is necessary to grab the viewer's attention and prevent them from changing channels. To ensure that a show is easily accessible to all viewers and to encourage audiences to “tune in next week,” television has developed specific standards and formats (Herman 2007, p. 163). Standards include cliffhangers either before a commercial break or at the end of an episode. Formats refer to narrative structure such as series or serial format. Series feature “continuing stories (usually involving the same characters and settings) that consist of self-contained episodes with their own individual conclusion. Thus, episodes of a traditional drama series can be broadcast in any order without losing their narrative coherence" and the serial format as "a continuous story spanning a number of episodes which generally ends in the final part (even if it is a sequel). follows)”. Buffy is not traditional in its format as it is a hybrid of the two. Hefeatures self-contained episodes with its own narrative and temporary resolution, but also a season arc that is not resolved until the season finale. Narrative structure in its most basic form includes a beginning, middle, and end. It is on this structure that Tzvetan Todorov relies in his own theory of narrative. This model can be applied to most linear narratives, but is not as useful when analyzing fragmented narratives such as Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction (1994). To highlight the similarities in narrative structure, this theory is first applied to the Buffy episode "Nightmares", then to Skin. Buffy the Vampire Slayer is named after its heroine Buffy Summers, a high school student who recently moved to the town of Sunnydale. As the title suggests, Buffy is a vampire slayer and the series revolves around her and her high school friends Xander and Willow, as well as school librarian Giles, protecting the town from supernatural forces. The story is heavily focused on dialogue and the different stages are easily identifiable. The first narrative stage is a state of equilibrium. This is the state of the diegesis since the beginning of the story. It is simply a reflection of the current balanced state of the diegesis and does not necessarily have to be a positive state. In the episode "Nightmares", the balance is Buffy and her friends taking a temporary break from supernatural threats and living their daily high school lives. Although the episode begins with Buffy having a nightmare, this is only a foreshadowing of events to come and so the balance has not yet been disturbed. The second stage presents a disturbance – something that throws the balance out of balance. This happens at school when Wendell opens his textbook and tarantulas start coming out of it. Although the main characters witness this disturbance, they do not yet know what exactly happened or if it is something supernatural. This happens within the first five minutes of the episode, illustrating the previously mentioned need for television to grab the audience's attention from the start. The third stage is the recognition of the disturbance by the main character(s). After approximately 24 minutes, Xander, Willow, and Giles discuss the strange events and identify the disturbance as the realm of nightmares-turning-reality brought on by Billy, a comatose child, astrally projecting into the real world. Before Buffy is attacked by the monster from Billy's nightmare, the screen goes black. This signals where an ad break would have taken place and functions as a mini cliffhanger encouraging the viewer to watch the adverts. The fourth step is an attempt to repair the disruption and return to a new balance. Now that the main characters have recognized the disruption and its cause, they set out to repair it and return the world to its state of balance. To do this, they must bring Billy out of his coma. Buffy encounters the ancient vampire from her initial nightmare in reference to the overall plot. After reaching the hospital, she fights the monster haunting Billy, and he gathers the courage to confront the monster and remove his mask. The fifth stage presents either a new balance or a return to the old one. As Billy, or his astral projection, removes the mask, a white flash passes across the screen and their surroundings return to normal as the world returns to balance. Billy wakes up and they are back to the initial equilibrium. As the example above shows, Todorov's theory perfectly encompasses the narrative structure of the episode. The weakness here is that it focuses only on the contained narrative and is unable to take into account thestories that span several episodes. Under the Skin is a film by Jonathan Glazer. The film stars Scarlett Johansson as an alien woman driving across Scotland, seducing and capturing unsuspecting men (she is never named, but I will refer to her as Johansson from now on). The film features long sequences without any dialogue and is therefore largely an example of pure cinema. The first actual scene with dialogue occurs 14 minutes later, while she is in her van. Narrative information is presented primarily through the use of sound, direction, cinematography and performance. This remains very ambiguous, leaving the plot open to different interpretations. Therefore, it should be recognized that this is just one interpretation of the plot and in no way claims to be the definitive answer. The steady state is characterized by Johansson fulfilling his duties by leading and capturing men. The first scene features a series of graphics that can be interpreted as the creation of his body with the sound of him learning English off-camera. Johansson then replaces an ancient alien who is seen by Johansson taking and putting on his clothes. Johansson examines an ant that found the body of the previous alien. This could be interpreted as symbolic for Johansson's character at this point - a worker as part of a larger hive. An important part of the story is the music. An eerie soundtrack plays whenever she hunts. The disruption occurs when she begins to develop empathy towards humans. This turning point is easily missed and signaled only by the sound effect of a baby crying. While stuck in traffic, Johansson seems to feel empathy for the first time after hearing a baby cry. This is an incredibly subtle disruption from the "nightmares come true" in Buffy, but seen in a theater, the sound of the baby crying would have a dramatic spatial component that cannot be reflected on television. It is accompanied and developed by scenes which follow it. That is, she receives a rose and sees the blood of the man selling it, she trips and is helped by strangers who are worried about her – the disruption is never explicit but must be interpreted by the spectator. She realizes this after kidnapping a young man with a facial deformity. She learns that he has no friends and has never had a girlfriend. After capturing him, she goes down a staircase with a mirror at the end. She is seen examining herself in the mirror for over a minute before the shot cuts to a trapped fly. We then see her free the young man before leaving in her van. For the first time, Johansson's performance makes her seem uncertain and afraid. The viewer must actively engage in reconstructing these scenes and making meaning from them. Her recognition of developed empathy ultimately leads her to attempt to assimilate into the human world. This is demonstrated by her abandoning her van and engaging in human activities. One scene shows her eating a piece of cake before spitting it out. Another scene shows her standing watching TV and her facial expressions make it clear that she doesn't understand. Finally, a scene is shown where she tries to have sex with a man. This also fails, apparently because she is incapable of it – she does not have the necessary elements. Realizing that she is incapable of assimilating into the human world, she flees into the woods. In the woods, she is attacked by a rapist. Once again, the soundtrack of.