engleski

Fictional Characters, Seriality and the Aesthetic Appeal of Formulaic Genre Tv Serials,

A puzzling aspect of genre fiction TV serials is that, regardless of their formulaic nature, they continue to sustain and reward viewer’s interests. My aim here is to tackle this puzzle, primarily by analyzing modes of engagement that serialized storytelling, adjusted to the distinctive mimetic norms of each genre, demands of its viewers. I start with an account of genre fiction TV serials, emphasizing their mimetic aspect. A general mimetic genre specific subject determines characteristic plots and fixes a core set of characters. Within a genre, serials are differentiated by their specific mimetic focus, i.e. one dominant aspect of a genre’s general mimetic subject. Each episode within a serial depicts a concrete problem, dealt with in accordance with the specific mimetic focus of the serial and solved by characters occupying genre- specific roles. Seriality results from accumulation of these episodes, and from development of characters’ storylines which extend beyond individual episodes. Given a high level of consistency with respect to narrative strategies, themes and character-interactions, genre fiction is formulaic, but nevertheless inviting and rewarding. I focus on modes of engagements with the serials and the characters to explain this. Cognitive engagements concern attention to serials’ mimetic aspects, grounded in the real word practices and thus potentially informative on them. Serials influence viewers overall understanding of these practices, but a care must be taken to balance factual and fictional aspects of the story. Emotional engagement is evident with respect to characters, in light of the role they have in the fictional world and due to the actors portraying these characters. I end by explaining how serial development sustains both of these modes of engagement, provided a high degree of serial’s artistry. My go-to example throughout the paper is crime fiction.

TV aesthetics, series, serials, genre, appreciation, fictional characters

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