TV Form: Aesthetics And Style

    This section of the book was very interesting to me because when we watch a TV show, we often get so involved into the story that we fail to realize that the visuals and storytelling devices of the show are themselves major contributors to advancing the plot. William spoke about Mad Men and its visual palette. Since Mad Men had its final season premiere last night, I've decided that I'm going to talk a little bit about it as well.


In the show, at least in the office, the men are dressed very business forward, with no distracting colors. The women, however, are dressed more colorfully, more sensually.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrQStUl2rg8

As you can see, Joan is a perfect example of that. Most of her outfits are very hug tight and bright, guaranteeing her the attention that she seeks. Meanwhile, Peggy, who has been promoted from a secretary to an account man, now wears outfits that are more conservative and more befitting of her new position; a position that is generally reserved for men. The two characters are constantly compared and contrasted, and nowhere in the show is it more apparent than in the below clip.



This scene embodies the visual style of the show. The men, concealed in the dark room, ogle the women who are in this brightly-lit room wearing these outfits that individualize them. The men almost seem similar. In a way, all characters in the show put on a facade. The men try to conform; the women try to stand out.

  Meagan also spoke about the use of music in Nip/Tuck. She specifically highlighted the perfect use of music during a surgery set to Billy Idol's Eyes Without A Face. Now the interesting thing about this use was that there is a french film called Les Yeux Sans Visage (Eyes Without A Face) made in 1960 that caused a bit of controversy due to a surgery scene where somebody's face was sloughed off in a surgery scene.

  The TV show Cold Case used a lot of music that would be contemporary to the case that the investigators were working on at the time.


This was done as a way to really highlight the time period that the episode focused on and to create the perfect atmosphere for it. The above clip titled "Wednesday's Women" was set during the Civil Rights 60s and involved an investigation into the case of a Northern woman whose body was found on the side of a highway.
  Cold Case was a master in using songs that befit an era and invoked a feeling in its audience. For example, in this episode titled "The Road", while modern songs were used to fit the time period, the final song used still had lyrics that embodied the theme of the episode where several women were kidnapped and wanted to come home.


   A show's visual style, narrative techniques and soundtrack can give us insights into the characters and help the storytelling advance. Just as Suzanne spoke about Phineas and Ferb, we can see why our generation often complains that the cartoons nowadays just don't rival those from our days. The graphics are no longer as intricate and the song use have become banal. The younger generation has a shorter attention span. Thus, show creators try not to include too many elements that may impede the success of those cartoons.

 These elements helped both shows' narrative structure tremendously, helping to establish mood and key character development moments.