Study booklet available free for school members. or from TES resources here.
It's also available here.
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Sample exam questions
A)Why do long form television dramas from different countries offer different representations? [30]
In your answer you must:
consider the contexts in which long form television dramas are produced and consumed
explain how media contexts may have influenced representations in the set episodes of the two long form television dramas you have studied
make judgements and reach conclusions about the reasons for the differences in representation between the two episodes.
B) Evaluate the relevance of Todorov’s theory of narratology to long form television drama. [30]
C) Discuss the extent to which the two long form television dramas you have studied challenge the conventions of genre. [30]
D) Discuss the extent to which your chosen long form television dramas successfully target their audiences. [30]
E) How do the representations in the TV dramas you have studied reflect changing social, economic, political and cultural contexts? Consider the differences between the actual time when the drama is set and the time when the drama was written. [30]
F) How do the LFTV dramas you have studied suit the values of the production platform they are shown on (e.g. Netflix, Channel 4 etc) ? BASIC VERSION: Show how Netflix and Stranger Things are an ideal match.
G) How does [STRANGER THINGS E1] represent [American] Society? [30]
Do you think the themes relate solely to America in the 1980's or is the series saying something more universal about today's society and general issues facing the world?
H) Why are David Hesmondhalgh’s ideas more useful than Clay Shirky’s when considering [Stranger Things?]
i) How realistic is the representation of young people in ST E1 ? Include references to any of the following in your answer:
Hall, Todorov, Butler, Levi-Strauss, Van Zoonen, Gauntlett. You may also criticise the question and challenge the idea of 'realism'.
Xtra) Evaluate the usefulness of academic ideas and arguments in helping your understanding of how media language is used in one of the long form television dramas that you have studied. [10]
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Extra questions and discussion points [20 marks]
A)Why do long form television dramas from different countries offer different representations? [30]
In your answer you must:
consider the contexts in which long form television dramas are produced and consumed
explain how media contexts may have influenced representations in the set episodes of the two long form television dramas you have studied
make judgements and reach conclusions about the reasons for the differences in representation between the two episodes.
B) Evaluate the relevance of Todorov’s theory of narratology to long form television drama. [30]
C) Discuss the extent to which the two long form television dramas you have studied challenge the conventions of genre. [30]
D) Discuss the extent to which your chosen long form television dramas successfully target their audiences. [30]
E) How do the representations in the TV dramas you have studied reflect changing social, economic, political and cultural contexts? Consider the differences between the actual time when the drama is set and the time when the drama was written. [30]
F) How do the LFTV dramas you have studied suit the values of the production platform they are shown on (e.g. Netflix, Channel 4 etc) ? BASIC VERSION: Show how Netflix and Stranger Things are an ideal match.
G) How does [STRANGER THINGS E1] represent [American] Society? [30]
Do you think the themes relate solely to America in the 1980's or is the series saying something more universal about today's society and general issues facing the world?
H) Why are David Hesmondhalgh’s ideas more useful than Clay Shirky’s when considering [Stranger Things?]
i) How realistic is the representation of young people in ST E1 ? Include references to any of the following in your answer:
Hall, Todorov, Butler, Levi-Strauss, Van Zoonen, Gauntlett. You may also criticise the question and challenge the idea of 'realism'.
Xtra) Evaluate the usefulness of academic ideas and arguments in helping your understanding of how media language is used in one of the long form television dramas that you have studied. [10]
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Extra questions and discussion points [20 marks]
- How does the first episode draw the audience in?
- How do long form TV dramas successfully target different audiences?
- Discuss the representation of location in the dramas you have studied.
- Compare and contrast the representations of certain groups in the dramas you have studied e.g. authority figures, police, children, women, villains, parents, the army, young people
- How does long form TV drama successfully cross national and cultural boundaries to gain foreign audiences?
- Discuss the differences in style between the English language and the non English language TV drama you have studied.
- Discuss the role of intertextuality and other postmodern conventions such as self-referencing, parody and pastiche in your chosen TV dramas.
- How does the format of a long-form drama influence the structure of the narrative?
- To what extent do the dramas you have studied reflect the cultural, social, economic and political context of the countries in which they were produced?
- Which academic ideas could be useful in adding to an appreciation of the dramas you have studied?
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STRANGER THINGS Let's start with a basic piece of analysis. NOTE: these are introductory questions to warm you up. A-Level sample questions can be found in the blue box a) How does Stranger Things S1E1 grab the audience? What codes and conventions are used? b) How does the episode attract a range of audiences? c) How many narrative storylines are there? Which genre do they relate to? (e.g. romance, fantasy, action-adventure. comedy, sci-fi). How does the long form format allow these story arcs to develop? 
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an essential quote:
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wiki fandom summary of Season One - good on production details https://strangerthings.fandom.com/wiki/Stranger_Things/Season_1
wiki fandom summary of Season One - good on production details https://strangerthings.fandom.com/wiki/Stranger_Things/Season_1
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Here's an excellent video on intertextuality in Stranger Things. Don't worry about the last 2 minutes.
https://youtu.be/AwTpsw-ufDA
Here's an excellent video on intertextuality in Stranger Things. Don't worry about the last 2 minutes.
https://youtu.be/AwTpsw-ufDA
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| representations.docx |
| political aspects.docx |
| character match.docx |
| ST revision cards.docx |
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Take a look at the real Episode One shooting script.
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POWERPOINTS
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Stranger Things Theory Links - full version based on OCR notes.
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| narrative.pptx |
| theory1.pptx |
| theory2.pptx |
| theory3 shirky & hesmond.pptx |
| explain_success.pptx |
| intertextuality.pptx |
| US-society.pptx |
| themes.pptx |