Levi-
Strauss Binary Opposition Theory
Hero v Villain
Skins adopt the ‘hero
v villain’ structure that was highlighted by Levi Strauss. The episode
we analyzed was based around a conflict between two characters. Levi Strauss
said that the conflict was between two 'binary opposites 'however skins doesn’t adhere to
this, as the conflicting characters share similar qualities. This is probably
the cause of their disagreements and eventually the fight, as their both ‘alpha
male’ characters’.
Propp’s
Character Types Theory:
Hero- COOK
Cook although the hero strongly subverts typical hero stereotype with opposite characteristics.
He’s an overconfident, lively character with a personality you’ll either love
or hate. The director uses his personality to spark the conflict that later
unravels in the episode. The episode begins with Cook showing
the prominent features of his personality being rowdy and singing loudly The
Ace of Spades, the episode finishes with him singing this again after all the
drama is brought to a close as the director chooses that he sings "its all a game to me" which
shows his carefree personality that has resulted in the disruption of this
episode. Cook is also your typical male stereotype; he is the ‘alpha male’ of the
group and lacks any sign of femininity. He’s interested in fighting, drinking
and women and fits right into the stereotypical mould for a young male.
Villain-
GANGSTER
Adheres to the typical stereotype of a villain possessing
characteristics such as threatening, violent and dangerous, However, this
villain is a scrawny looking man who is constantly surrounded by larger men to
protect him. Although at first he would seem very masculine as the episode
develops we see him doing a speech on stage where he shows a feminine side and
then goes onto get upset and sensitive about Cook singing to his daughter, this
shows his feminine side which fits his vulnerable build but not his oversized
ego.
Donor-
UNCLE
Provides the hero with drugs which is ultimately yet
not traditional “magical” object that will help them complete their quest of
having a good night
False hero-
FREDDIE
Although not doing this nastily he is ultimately
wanting to get the princess the hero is out to get, and often goes along with
things he is doing that are bound to end badly, he also strongly disagrees with
what the hero is doing although this brings the hero happiness. Freddie creates
disputes on various occasions in this episode as he confronts Cook about sleeping
with Effy when JJ liked her, he also shouts at Cook later in the episode when
they flee the party. It is obvious from the beginning of the episode that
Freddie is uncomfortable with Cook and his actions, it is also obvious he has
strong feelings for Effy as there are numerous scenes that are slowed down of
him staring at Effy.
Helper- JJ
A quiet and timid character that is constantly there
for hero and false hero although he may be ill treated, we do not see much of
JJ until he is in the brothel and he shows how he is quite the opposite to Cook
who acts like he has been here before and is comfortable here, it is obvious JJ
does not want to be in this situation but he does everything to please the more
dominant characters JJ and Freddie.
Princess-
EFFY
Also subverts the typical princess stereotype as she
is a “grungey” girl who shares many characteristics of the hero, that are bad,
and manipulates both hero and false hero.
Todorov’s
Theory of narrative equilibrium
Equilibrium-
The beginning is a balanced state where although not much is happening regarding the
party, there is no trouble or
disruption and the scene is that of a calm one although you can sense
disruption is approaching
Disruption-
The party fails and a new party is to be found, once in it is
obvious the disruption is about to approach as there are hints that the gangster and hero are about to
clash with threatening talk as soon as the hero enters, and then the pinnacle
of the disruption when the hero sings to the gangsters daughter and ultimately
starts a fight, the disruption continues when Freddie confronts Cook as he
disagrees with what he is doing and how he has to bail him out all the time and
put himself in danger. The pinnacle of the disruption is when Cook nearly hits
innocent JJ from the aggressive state he has reached due to drugs.
Recognition
of disruption- Cook realises he has done wrong and how much he appreciates the friendship of Freddie, he goes to his house and convinces him to hear
him out.
Attempt to
repair- Cook attempts to repair the realtionship by recognising his errors and apologising which he does successfully and the friendship is back to a new equilibrium
New
equilibrium- Freddie and Cook are now friends as
the night is over and everyone is away from danger, however, the gangster is
still onto Cook as we see from the “Next time” clip as that situation is still
left over from other episodes.
Narrative Structure
The
episode uses a ‘linear' narrative structure This means the storyline unravels in a chronological order. There
are no flashbacks or jumping around in time. The structure is fairly basic and regular;
instead I think the director has focused on the storyline instead of focusing
too much on the structure.
The
narrative structure is fairly
mainstream and in fact typical of that that would be used in a Hollywood
film. For example the story
works as a chain; everything has its purpose and links neatly together. The
whole story is fleshed out
around a bunch of enigmas and resulting solutions, e.g. ‘the fight’ and
the ‘fall out with Freddy’ then the making up. A high level of narrative closure is used too. At the
end of the episode we see cook have a talk with Freddy and their differences
settled, leaving everything on a good note. However the whole gangster issue is
left unresolved, but this is because it’s continued further down the series.
And finally the episode is driven by slightly stereotypical but largely believable characters, with clear
goals.
Brad and Elliott
To reflect on my own performance so far, I personally think our presentation was effective and we put a lot of effort into the presentation and worked well till we believed it was the best it could be. I think at the beginning of the Media course I didnt put as much effort into my blog for example as some other people did this could be because the stress of all the subjects and in particular A LEVELS we had just been faced with which was a bit daunting, However, I think now I am/have put a lot more effort into my blog which will help my learning. I think me and Roo worked well as a pair and we didnt hardly bicker at all, suprisingly, the most important and rewarding thing we did was take time in the deciding of which tv drama we were going to use and after deliberation and choosing Skins this really did benefit us as it was something we were both interested in and knew quite a lot about. 
