Texture, realism, performance: exploring the intersection of transtexts and the contemporary sitcom

Contemporary US sitcom is at an interesting crossroads: it has received an increasing amount of scholarly attention (e.g. Mills 2009; Butler 2010; Newman and Levine 2012; Vermeulen and Whitfield 2013), which largely understands it as shifting towards the aesthetically and narratively complex. At the same time, in the post-broadcasting era, US networks are particularly struggling for their audience share. With the days of blockbuster successes like Must See TV’s Friends (NBC 1994-2004) a distant dream, recent US sitcoms are instead turning towards smaller, engaged audiences. Here, a cult sensibility of intertextual in-jokes, temporal and narrational experimentation (e.g. flashbacks and alternate realities) and self-reflexive performance styles have marked shows including Community (NBC 2009-2015), How I Met Your Mother (CBS 2005-2014), New Girl (Fox 2011-present) and 30 Rock (NBC 2006-2013). However, not much critical attention has so far been paid to how these developments in textual sensibility in contemporary US sitcom may be influenced by, and influencing, the use of transmedia storytelling practices, an increasingly significant industrial concern and rising scholarly field of enquiry (e.g. Jenkins 2006; Mittell 2015; Richards 2010; Scott 2010; Jenkins, Ford and Green 2013). This chapter investigates this mutual influence between sitcom and transmedia by taking as its case studies two network shows that encourage invested viewership through their use of transtexts, namely How I Met Your Mother (hereafter HIMHM) and New Girl (hereafter NG). As such, it will pay particular attention to the most transtextually visible character/actor from each show: HIMYM’s Barney Stinson, played by Neil Patrick Harris, and NG’s Schmidt, played by Max Greenfield. This chapter argues that these sitcoms do not simply have their particular textual sensibility and also (happen to) engage with transmedia practices, but that the two are mutually informing and defining. This chapter explores the relationships and interplay between sitcom aesthetics, narratives and transmedia storytelling (or industrial transtexts), focusing on the use of multiple delivery channels in order to disperse “integral elements of a fiction” (Jenkins, 2006 95-6), by official entities such as the broadcasting channels. The chapter pays due attention to the specific production contexts of both shows and how these inform their approaches to transtexts. This chapter’s conceptual framework will be particularly concerned with how issues of texture, the reality envelope and accepted imaginative realism, as well as performance and the actor’s input inform and illuminate contemporary sitcoms and transtexts, and will be the first scholarly research to do so. It will seek out points of connections between two (thus far) separate strands of scholarship and will move discussions on transtexts beyond the usual genre studied (i.e. science-fiction and fantasy), as well as make a contribution to the growing scholarship on contemporary sitcom by approaching it from a new critical angle. On the basis that transmedia scholarship stands to benefit from widening its customary genre choice (i.e. telefantasy) for its case studies and from making more use of in-depth close analysis in its engagement with transtexts, the chapter argues that notions of texture, accepted imaginative realism and the reality envelope, as well as performance and the actor’s input deserve to be paid more attention to within transtext-related scholarship.

Representing violence, playing control: warring constructions of masculinity in Action Man toys

This chapter analyses how children, and especially boys, are constructed as ‘savage’ in relation to warlike toys and representations that narrate particular versions of conflict, such as war and terrorism. The chapter uses Action Man toys as a case study that is contextualized against a wider background of other toys, television programmes and films. Action Man is most familiar as a twelve-inch costumed toy figure, but the brand also extends into related media representations such as television programmes, comics and advertising. The chapter focuses increasingly on the specifics of Action Man representations produced from the 1960s to the 1990s, prefacing this detailed discussion with some examples of transmedia texts aimed at children in film and television. This chapter suggests that making the toy a central object of analysis allows for insights into representations of the gendered body that are particularly useful for work on the child-savage analogy. Some of the cultural meanings of war toys, warlike play and representations of war that can be analysed from this perspective include their role in the construction of masculine identity, their representation of particular wars and warlikeness in general, and their relationship to consumer society. This complex of meanings exhibits many of the contradictions that inhabit the construction of ‘the child’ in general, such as that the often extreme masculinity of war toys and games is countered by an aesthetic of spatial disposition, collecting and sometimes nurturing that is more conventionally feminine. Such inter-dependent but apparently opposed meanings can also be seen in the construction of the child as untainted by adult corruption yet also savage, or as in need of adult guidance yet also offering a model of innocence and purity that adults are expected to admire.

Den avgörande föreställningen : En struktur för transmediaberättandet

En transmediaberättelse kan beskrivas som ett berättande som sker över flera separata tekniska medier, där varje enskilt mediums innehåll kan stå självständigt, men i läsningen tillsammans bildar en större sammanhållen berättelse. De enskilda mediumen kan vara icke-berättande, interaktiva, uppmuntra till medskapande och vara helt valfria både vad gäller ordningen de konsumeras i och att ta del av över huvudtaget. En sådan berättelse, eller snarare berättelsekonsumtion ställer krav på en analysmodell. Uppsatsens syfte är att att beskriva användarens förhållande till berättelsebeteenden i det pågående transmediaberättandet, avseende tolkning och påverkan av produktionen. I studien genomfördes en explorativ litteraturstudie inom flera olika ämnesområden och resultatet har sammanställts i en beskrivande modell för berättelseprocessen. Modellen inkluderar en ny begreppsapparat, som inte utgår från vilken typ av produktion det handlar om. Den skildrar användarens förhållande till de berättelsestimuli som finns i olika framställningar och hur dessa genom tolkning sammanfogas till sammanhållande berättelser. Modellen berör även skapandet och medskapandet av sådana framställningar. Modellen prövas på ett exempel med samspel mellan en distinkt icke-berättande och en berättande komponent i form av en actionfigur och dess förpackningstext. Exemplet illustrerar hur actionfiguren utan att på något sätt själv vara en berättelse ändå besitter berättelsestimuli som gör att den passar in i den större transmediaberättelsen. Skaparen har planterat berättelsestimuli, men det är läsarens uppgift att knyta samman och genom sin föreställning omvandla en rad stimuli till en faktisk berättelse.

Law and narrative: a life history interview with a Brazilian jurist

This article discusses some issues in communicating experience, based on a life history interview with 83-year-old Brazilian jurist Evandro Lins e Silva conducted by the Getúlio Vargas Foundation’s oral history program (Centro de Pesquisa e Documentação de História Contemporânea do Brasil, or CPDOC) between August 1994 and January 1995.1The text focuses especially on two images used by the interviewee, which consolidate both the experiences that have been communicated to him and the experience that he himself endeavors to communicate regarding his activities as an attorney and the status of truth within the field of law.

Lagoa do Piató: a educação como uma obra de arte

A partir de una concepción de la educación como una obra de arte, la disertación revela los estudios realizados en una escuela de la comunidad de Areia Branca Piató, en la Laguna de Piató en Assú, Estado de Rio Grande do Norte. Como una forma de hacer dialogar conocimientos científicos y saberes tradicionales, la investigación establece el intercambio de saberes y afectos sobre todo por intermedio del intelectual de la tradición Francisco Lucas da Silva. Para construir un conocimiento pertinente (Edgar Morin), el que forma parte de un contexto, buscamos aquí la comprensión de una pedagogía viva e imaginativa. La disertación encontró en la Laguna un laboratorio vivo para pensar en una enseñanza educativa y para ejercer el pensamiento complejo. A partir de estudios e investigaciones anteriores, pude organizar lo que considero que se constituye como constelaciones de saberes que permiten dar continuidad a ese eje de investigación que empezó desde 1986 en el Grupo de Estudios de la Complejidad GRECOM. En la construcción de este trabajo, pude aprender valores que creo que son importantes para una educación compleja: la humildad delante de la vida; la abertura para diferentes lenguajes del mundo; el diálogo con la naturaleza; la apuesta en nuestras creencias; el sueño de resignificar a la realidad a partir del lazo entre la profundidad de nuestro ser y el mundo; el uso pleno de nuestras potencialidades imaginativas y creativas; y, finalmente, la vivencia intensa de los sentidos. Partiendo de ese aprendizaje, la investigación teórico‐práctica tuvo como elemento central el desarrollo de talleres sobre el tema del agua con alumnos de la enseñanza básicas de diversas series, y con la participación activa de dos profesoras de la comunidad de Areia Branca Piató. Fueron llevadas adelante experiencias que contemplaron una visión sistémica de la naturaleza, las fotografías, los atelieres, las clases de campo, el arte de educar, la narración de historias y sobre todo las enseñanzas del intelectual de la tradición Francisco Lucas da Silva

Jornalismo e narrativas transmidias: a reportagem no contexto da convergência

The transmedia storytelling is a phenomenom recently conceptualized theoretically (JENKINS, 2009), arising from ficcional mediatic products and disseminated as well by the use on other fields. This search aims to analyze how the transmedia storytellings can be applied to journalism on the basis of an specific genre, the reporting. To that, take as reference theoretical developments performed by brazilian authors (FECHINE et al., 2011, 2012, 2013), on the basis of televisive fiction, which culminated on concepts as transmediation and transmedia contents and deepened the comprehension and the research in this area. Thenceforth, this study propone a problematization and apropriation of this theoretic support for the journalism field, using, for that, a comprehension of journalistic production on a speech level, as well as its social practices (newsmaking). The empiric research also take two different paths. First, analyze a group of reportings, in which there is transmediation, in order to verifying the configuration of the transmedia phenomenom - more specifically of the transmedia storytelling - and its particularities to journalism. Then, develops an investigation, based on the etnographic method, of the productive routine on the special reporting section of the Jornal do Commercio (Recife/PE), aiming to investigate the conditions of transmediation in this range and the practices that favor and difficult the employment of transmedia storytelling. The result are, therefore, compared and related, with the goal of providing multidimensional view of the phenomenom

Patients' experiences of peritoneal dialysis at home: a phenomenological approach

O objetivo deste estudo foi compreender a experiência da diálise peritoneal domiciliar, a partir da narrativa dos pacientes. A abordagem do estudo inspirou-se na fenomenologia hermenêutica de Paul Ricoeur. Foram entrevistados 19 pacientes na unidade de hemodiálise de um hospital público brasileiro, de março a setembro de 2009. As entrevistas foram orientadas pela questão: descreva sua experiência na diálise peritoneal. Os resultados desvelaram a percepção dos participantes sobre o significado da doença em suas vidas e as drásticas transformações pessoais sofridas nesse processo. Sentimentos de angústia e dor física foram acompanhados por importantes limitações pessoais e sociais, impostas pelo tratamento. Eles esperam por um futuro incerto, reconhecendo sua dependência da ajuda dos familiares e dos profissionais da saúde. Os resultados desvelam as dificuldades e a falta de perspectivas vividas pelos pacientes em diálise, demonstrando o papel crucial que cabe aos profissionais que os acompanham. Ajudá-los a desenvolver o autocuidado e maximizar sua qualidade de vida é prioridade na assistência a esses pacientes.

Encontrando-se em casa: uma proposta de atendimento domiciliar para famílias de idosos dependentes

OBJETIVO: Este estudo qualitativo teve por objetivo descrever como um sistema familiar reage perante a situação de dependência em um membro idoso, quais recursos utiliza para manter sua estabilidade e a assistência de enfermagem disponibilizada neste contexto. MÉTODOS: Utilizou-se como referencial teórico a abordagem dos sistemas familiares e como método a pesquisa-ação. Os dados foram colhidos de novembro de 2004 a janeiro de 2005, utilizando-se o genograma, o ecomapa e o levantamento de problemas. RESULTADOS: Principais demandas familiares: luto antecipado, sobrecarga do papel de cuidador, falta de conhecimento sobre a doença e desajustamento familiar perante a crise. Principais intervenções: incentivar a narrativa da enfermidade, oferecer sugestões e informações, elogiar as forças familiares e assegurar pronto atendimento. CONCLUSÕES: Com o atendimento à família sob o enfoque sistêmico foi possível propor as intervenções de ajuda para a melhoria da qualidade de vida familiar, de maneira que ela também vislumbrasse suas próprias soluções para o enfrentamento das adversidades.

Experiências de educadores: convite para reflexão sobre a formação contínua

Pós-graduação em Artes - IA

Metáforas, memórias e narrativas: aproximações e distâncias na formação de professores : uma análise de narrativas de professores de artes do Programa REDEFOR

Pós-graduação em Artes - IA

Transdução e realidade híbrida em Avatar: uma experiência media assemblage

Pós-graduação em Comunicação - FAAC

Educação para as mídias na formação de professores: uma proposta transmídia entre Web e TV digital

Pós-graduação em Televisão Digital: Informação e Conhecimento - FAAC

Televisão digital e Educação a distância: modelo de ambiente virtual de aprendizagem para mídia audiovisual

Pós-graduação em Televisão Digital: Informação e Conhecimento - FAAC

TV digital e convergência de mídias: estudo exploratório sobre narrativas interativas

Pós-graduação em Televisão Digital: Informação e Conhecimento - FAAC