Tuesday Group Task 3: Adverts, Genres and Theorists

Task 3 requires you to discuss THREE areas: Narrative Theory, Representation and Genre. Today's session will bring everyone up to date on the narrative theories and then deal with how we can identify and understand genre conventions in adverts.

FIRST!

I'd like you to get into groups - those that missed last week's session teamed up with someone who was here. The person who was here last week is the 'group expert'. They will take the next 10-15 minutes to explain to the others the narrative theory of either Propp, Todorov, Levi Straus, or Barthes.

SECOND! (part a)

Those that missed last week will now put together a presentation that they will give to the rest of the class on the theorist they have just been told about. Outline what they said about narrative and apply their ideas to your own examples

SECOND! (part b)

Those that WERE here last week will now move on to this topic of genre. Write out how you think we might define the genre of TV adverts. Think about the following:

• What distinguishes adverts from other kinds of TV programming?
• What kind of images would we expect to see in an advert?
• What kind of characters do we tend to see in adverts?
• What sort of expectations do you as audiences have of adverts?
• Can you identify the different kinds of adverts that there are?
• How do advert styles merge with one another, pastiche or parody existing adverts?

THIRD!

Those working on the theorist presentations will present to the class, and the 'group experts' will evaluate whether or not the presentation is accurate, and will apply the theory to the advert genre.
The 'group experts' will then discuss how we define, understand and respond to the genre of TV advertisements. The rest of the class will say whether or not they agree with the definitions.