What is at the core of AMC's storytelling?
On June 25, 2014, on TIME's
website Abby Abrams wrote “Breaking Bad Is the Most
Binge-Watched TV Show Ever” based on a study led by TiVo.
“In the survey, 91% of people said that they had binge-watched a
show at some point, NBC
reports, and 35% said they had binge-watched Breaking Bad. Close
behind were Netflix drama House of Cards with 29%, and HBO
epic Game of Thrones at 25%.”
Two
years later, on pcmag.com,
Angela Moscaritolo wrote that “[a]ccording to Netflix, users devour
thrillers like Breaking Bad, Dexter, and Sons of
Anarchy quicker than any other genre”. Although the study did not focus on Breaking Bad's addictiveness per se,
one may add that the series'
screenwriters have certainly done a good job.
As the 8th season of Séries Mania begins and after a
French book on HBO's style entitled La
saga HBO : dans les coulisses de la chaîne qui a révolutionné les
séries was released last month, the time has come to wonder
about AMC's style as well.
The book actually
mentions that through the mid-1990s to 2017, HBO has revolutionized
TV storytelling, with series such as Oz, Sex and the City,
Six Feet Under, The Sopranos, The Wire,
Deadwood, Game of Thrones, True Detective,
Boardwalk Empire, Rome, True Blood.
One may even add Westworld. I know what you are thinking. That is quite a long list and
it reads as though they had actually invented screenwriting!
Compared
to HBO, AMC, Canal Plus, Netflix or even Amazon look like newbies.
But what makes
HBO's identity exactly? Certainly their documentary-like, revealing, and sexy tone. What about AMC's then? AMC's visual identity
is based on the golden AMC logo, together with the slogan “Something
more”. What may it be?
***
Last year, in order to
begin an English class session for Political Science students about
the gun control debate, I used a The Walking Dead
episode. Needless to say it got the students motivated to discuss
the issue, linking it to the omnipresence of guns and cars in the
show. My students were, and still are, in their early twenties, and
as young adults, they did what everybody does nowadays, that is
watching TV series. Apart from improving their listening and speaking
skills, TV series enable them to think about contemporary issues,
some of which are related to politics. However, our discussion came
to take an unforeseen turn.
After a moment, one
student uttered the idea that The Walking Dead may be
super addictive but it is also highly repetitive. The
remark struck me as candid, since
it obviously showed a certain amount of disappointment. The student
actually disliked the repetitive nature of the TV series as it gave
him too strong a feeling of iteration, highlighting the
articificiality of the text. Neverthless, he watched it keenly, which
showed that the very repetitive structure tailored to have
him stick to his
screen, was quite efficient.
As
a PhD student focusing on TV series, it had not crossed my mind that
non-professional TV viewers would
not be able to grasp that our taste for TV serials is mostly due to
their repetitive nature. Then in my inner self I thought 'how stupid
of me'. Please, lend me your eyes and let me redress my wrong.
Now
I feel stupid for not mentioning Umberto Eco at the time,
since he had rather aptly underlined the repetitive structure of the
TV series. Of course, TV series are called as such because “[t]o
serialize means, in some way, to repeat” (Umberto Eco, “Innovation
and repetition”, 1985) but they use repetition to trick the viewers
into watching them. The first trick they use is to make the viewers
think that they are watching a new story whereas it “is always the
same” (Eco, 1985); their second is to hide that it is precisely
what the viewers seek, as Eco states that
“[t]he series in this sense responds to the infantile need of
hearing again always the same story, of being consoled by the 'return
of the Identical,' superficially digsuised.” (Eco, 1985)
Hence, to get back to
my student's remark, one may want to turn his primary idea from “The Walking Dead may be super addictive but
it is also highly repetitive” into “The Walking Dead
is super addictive precisely because it is highly
repetitive”.
***
In series like CSI,
repetition is blatant since the very same structure is used with new
characters while in serials like Breaking Bad the structure is
made less obvious, as it is partly covered with the ongoing story.
However, the story is like a house relying on foundations invisible
to the naked eye – repetition.
Repetition gets you
hooked because it speaks to your inner child. When I was a chold, I
read The Little Prince, by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. I don't
if you did, but just in case, do you remember the fox when he spoke
about taming? When he and the prince first met, they agree on the
prince's coming again. To the fox's disappointment, he comes back at
a time different from the first time.
“It would have been better to come back at the same hour,” said
the fox. “If, for example, you come at four o'clock in the
afternoon, then at three o'clock I shall begin to be happy. I shall
feel happier and happier as the hour advances. At four o'clock, I
shall already be worrying and jumping about. I shall show you how
happy I am! But if you come at just any time, I shall never know at
what hour my heart is to be ready to greet you... One must observe
the proper rites...”
Rituals build up expectation, they get you
involved and generate attachment. The series' rituals are twofold. On
one hand, there is repetition; on the other, schedule. On TV, a
series builds up an audience only because it is broadcast at a
specific time, on a specific day. Without this milestone, series are
less likely to hook an audience.
However,
today's situation is different from ten to fifteen years ago. For the
audience, downloading and stream-watching is even more obvious than
before; watching several epsiodes in a row and binge-watch has nearly
become the norm. Hence, what about TV rituals like schedules and
such?
To
be continued.
Lætitia
Boccanfuso
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