Terminator 2 and Eastenders

In this essay I intend to show the differing ways in which film and broadcast fictional texts compare. To account for examples or film I will refer to Terminator 2. Terminator 2:Judgement Day was released in 1991 and is the sequel to The Terminator (1984). The film was directed by James Cameron and starred Arnold Schwarzenegger as the Terminator T-800 and Linda Hamilton as Sarah Connor, as the leading male and female roles. This was a science-fiction/fantasy action multi generic blockbuster known for it’s groundbreaking special effects. The film won four Academy Awards for its sound, visual effects, make-up, and sound effects editing and is one of the most popular films to be released from the 1990s period, grossing over US$490 million worldwide. The broadcast fictional text I will refer to will be EastEnders. BBC’s EastEnders created by Julia Smith and Tony Holland, with its first episode transmitted at 7pm on 19th February 1985. It is one of the BBC’s most successful programmes with viewing figures reaching 15 million per

T-1000 Sarah - Leslie Hamilton Gearren

Broadcast fictional texts follow the traditional narrative rather vaguely. There is always equilibrium, dis-equilibrium and new equilibrium to every story line but this does not apply to an episode or in fact the soap as a whole. Every episode has an open-ended narrative structure, which forms temporary resolution for the viewer but not closure. Christine Geraghty (1981) in ‘The Continuous serial – a definition’ defines a broadcast fictional texts narrative structure as the following. “Soaps begin with a hook, in which the threads of a storyline from the previous episode are taken up, but they also end with a cliff-hanger, in which one or more dramatic situations are left in suspense, encouraging us to view the next episode to see what happens”. Temporary resolution only tends to occur during the Christmas episode or ‘specials’ such as weddings and funerals. In a typical episode of EastEnders there can be as many as 10 different storylines. These also tend to be semi-related to one another. This can be seen between the storyline of Dot and Jim being a married couple whilst Doris, who claims to be Jims’ friend, wants an affair with him. The similar situation is between Barry and Natalie being the married couple but Natalie is having an affair with the local mechanic Ricky. This is a contrast between the old and the young. Soap also has a feeling of familiarity with its sense of predictability. This occurs from similar storylines occurring next to each other or over a period of time. Soaps can be fairly predictable as a genre and do not tend to expand from its conventions that succeed to attract large audiences. A large cast is apparent in soaps with a high yearly cast turnover. Currently in EastEnders there are 35 main characters with numerous extras and minor cast members that are only shown for a few episodes. This can result in having many families for the viewer to watch with a sense of ‘knowing them’. This is an approach, which works well for soap as it entices the viewer, to become a regular viewer, to discover what is happening in the next episode to certain characters. This is unlike star appeal that can fade and be fickle with changes in fashion or if the star is in a bad film. For a broadcast fictional text, soap is the genre. Although this can become multi-generic such as docu-soaps or reality TV, EastEnders for example, will always have a soap genre. This is in no way restrictive to the types of social issues or ‘inner-genres’ of the soap as they cover a range of topics. The episodic nature of soap means that it is unique to TV, although radio attempts to imitate the genre with ‘The Archers’ on BBC’s Radio 4. This is also released in an episodic form. Each episode of a TV soap tends to be 25 to 30 minutes long with most soap's having advertisement breaks. Th

Some topics in this essay:
BBC EastEnders, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Coronation Street, Tony Holland, Christine Geraghty, Currently EastEnders, Lord Rings, , Fellowship Ring, Barry Natalie, broadcast fictional, john connor, fictional texts, film broadcast, terminator 2, broadcast fictional texts, film broadcast fictional, broadcast fictional text, lord rings, arnold schwarzenegger, advertisement breaks, fictional text, traditional narrative, lord rings trilogy, swat team leader,