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Pknapp54's Show-Supernatural, Season 4
Narrative Structure of an Episode of Supernatural: Season 4
Episode 401: Lazarus Rising
Protagonists (Single/Multiple): In this episode, there is seemingly only a single protagonist, going directly against the norm of the show. Dean is the only character for the first 20 minutes of the episode, only briefly encountering other characters. Later on, he reunites with his brother Sam, and then the show falls back to its normal format of the two brothers acting as protagonists.
Exposition: This particular episode, being the season premiere, starts up where the last season left off. Quick recap: Dean, after making a deal with a demon to resurrect his brother, came to the final day of his one year to live before his soul was taken by the demon. After trying lots of different ways to get out of the deal, Dean dies, and is seen in the final moments of season 3 being chained to a seemingly endless void, obviously implied to be Hell. At the beginning of season 4, Dean awakens trapped inside of a coffin, three months after his death. After digging his way out of the grave, Dean looks around and realizes that the entire area has been blown apart, the epicenter of the blast being . . . his grave. Dean comments later on this as some "Real bad mojo."
Motivation: In this episode, Dean's motivation is to find his brother, and to find out the reason why he of all people should escape from Hell. One clue to this dilemma is a hand-print burned into Dean's shoulder, which he believes to be the hand-print of a demon, that 'rode' him out of Hell.
Narrative Enigma: The questions raised in this episode are; Why was Dean released from Hell? Who released him? What plans does the being that released Dean from Hell have for him?
Cause-Effect Chain: Dean eventually finds his brother and their 'Uncle' Bobby. Together they try to find the name of the creature that released Dean from Hell, with help from a local psychic. In a gruesome turn of events, during the seance, the psychic sees the being that released Dean, and subsequently, her eyes are burned from her skull. From this experience, they only glean the name of the creature, "Castiel". Dean and Bobby sneak off in the dead of night, in order to keep Sam safe, and summon the supposed demon into a barn prepared with many supernatural safeguards. The creature is summoned, and a man appears in the barn doorway. He walks right through the traps that Dean and Bobby have set, and the two hunters start shooting the man, to no avail. Bobby is thrown into a wall, and is knocked unconscious.
Climax: Dean and Castiel are alone in the barn, and it looks that the demon is about to kill both Dean and Bobby, when he stops, and begins to talk to Dean, explaining that he is an angel, rather than a demon. Incredulous of angels' existence, Dean asks why he, of all people, was released from Hell. Castiel explains in the climactic moment of the episode, "God has work for you."
Resolution (or lack thereof): This is actually the end of the episode, and the work described is left an ambigiuous claim made by the so-called angel. The creature has been identified, but in true narrative style for the show, one answer brings a hundred questions.
External Links
The Official Supernatural Website (complete with season 4 episodes for streaming content)
Official Supernatural Website
Unofficial Supernatural Website (blogs, games, forums and more)
Supernatural
Reasons for Watching
I first started watching the show because I was interested in a new show, and the first season had gone on sale for like fifteen dollars at work. Not wanting to pass up a great deal, I scooped it up and took it home. After that, I was really interested in it, and ended up watching the second and third seasons soon after, and now I'm watching Season 4 as it airs every Thursday night at 8 p.m. on CW 6.
My favorite place to watch an enjoy the show is at home, in the company of my brother, Craig. He also really likes the show, and is into the story as much, if not more, than me. I think to some extent, we really bond watching the show, because of the narrative of two brothers overcoming amazing circumstances. I don’t really look to any extra sites or anything extra-curricular in relation to the show, with the exception of the occasional wikipedia venture, to see if the creatures are being kept to their traditional roots.
Context of the Show
Well, I'd have to say that this show is about as testosterone filled an hour as one can only dream of. Of course there are the commercials that advertise some more effeminate shows, such as 90210 or One Tree Hill, but all in all, most the commercials that are seen during the run of an episode of Supernatural are geared towards men. Lots of shaving, trucks, beer, and movies are seen in the five minute interludes between scenes. Even the slot for the evening is pretty masculine, being preceded by the newest version of the Superman tale, Smallville. The show itself is somewhat a show for the quintessential southern male, with Metallica seeping through the most serious moments, and witty humor that mirrors the dark feel of the show, not to mention the obscene amount of guns that the series showcases. To sum things up, if you aren't into the occasional zombie movie or really big explosion, or if you still sleep with a nightlight listening to Raffi, you may want to consider a show other than Supernatural. If you live, eat, and breathe metal, enjoy the occasional dismembered vampire, or just like the sound of a classic 1967 Chevy Impala, then this is the hour long reality that you need to be a part of.
Mise-en-Scene
To describe the Mise-en-Scene of an episode of Supernatural, I'm going to use the same episode as described above, "Lazarus Rising".
Lighting: The lighting throughout the episode has a very filtered feel to it, with many of the daytime scenes being very warm and grainy, while the night scenes are accurately dark, with enough light to see the characters. The best use of lighting in the episode was the scene with Castiel in the barn. The simulated lightning has an amazing effect, paired with the artificial shadows, creating a spectacular moment.
Location: The location used for Dean's reawakening was very striking, because of the isolation that he felt as soon as he gained his senses. Also, The barn was an excellent location choice as well.
Props: The props that probably were best utilized in this episode were the many glass objects that would break at the sound of Castiel's "real voice". The shaking and exploding glass were definitely a strong tool to create a feeling of fear and terror.
Video / Cinematography
Let's talk Cameras. The beginning scene from season 4 of Supernatural, "Lazarus Rising", is Dean inside of a coffin. Rather than just implying that Dean is in a coffin, the camera actually accompanies him inside the coffin itself, adding lots of dramatic tension. When Dean does make his way out, the camera cuts to a close up of him, as he slowly realizes his surroundings, and the camera zooms out to a high-angle extreme long shot showing the area around Dean's grave, and showing that it is a completely cursed land. After this, the camera cuts to black, leaving extreme tension moving into the commercial.
Editing
Editing is a very important part of a television show, because were a show to have a gratuitous amount of cuts and camera changes, or if it were a single continuous shot, the effect of the scene and overall program would be greatly diminished. The scene I'm going to describe to you is a simple scene from season 3 of supernatural (not the right season, I know, but a great scene none the less) in which Dean does a pretty spectacular stunt. The scene begins with two goons talking about killing Sam, which is exaggerated by close up shots alternating between the two goons, finally culminating in a shot high angle shot behind their backs, with the lead goon holding a gun to Sam's head. Dean then walks in with a gun of his own pointed at the goons, shown in a single 3/4 medium shot of Dean. The goons then turn to face him, and Dean places his gun down on the table, in a close up, looks at the goons, and in another close up picks up a pen. Dean then tosses the pen, and with a panning shot, the pen lodges itself in the gun barrel. One of the goons attacks Dean who moves out of the way, with the goon hitting the wall and knocking himself out. Dean then picks up a T.V. remote (another close up) and throws it at the leader's head, knocking him out. Then Dean exclaims the priceless one-liner, "I'm Batman!"
Sound
The sound of a television show is very important, creating the feel of many unspoken emotions, building dramatic tension, and helping move along the story. To give an excellent example, the sound of episode number 6 in season 4 of Supernatural, "Yellow Fever", there are a couple places where sound adds some important content. Firstly, the episode, based around a paranoia style mental sickness that Dean is infected by, has a large place for Hell Hounds, which are supernatural representations of Dean's fear of going back to Hell. The Hell Hounds are not actually shown, rather, they are heard, growling and shrieking and barking every time that Dean believes that one is near; very frightening. Next, Dean is given a rather strange sound effect of hearing things with a slight echo when he is really badly affected by the Demon Sickness, giving the viewer an ominous feel to everything that Dean witnesses and interacts with during this time. Finally, while not entirely a story progressive element, or a terribly important scene, but in one scene of this episode, Dean is afraid to leave the car, for fear of someone killing him, and when Sam returns to the car, 'Eye of the Tiger' is playing on the car radio, and Dean is dancing inside the car. Very trivial, very funny.
A Little Bit of History
Supernatural, like many shows on television right now, is a fairly new show. First shot in 2005, Supernatural is currently in its fourth season aired, and is still making personal records in terms of ratings. The show's pilot episode was filmed in California, but the show has since then been shot primarily in Vancouver, then edited down on the west coast. The show has seen its ratings go on a roller coaster, this season in specific, with record highs and lows, but the show has since then evened out to a steadily strong rating of adults 18-49. Interestingly enough, many of the main plot elements, such as the lore behind many of the creatures and spirits that the brothers face in the show have actual literature and truth (in context) about them. Many of the stories and plot elements are kept to a high standard as far as keeping details right. One example is the different uses of pentacles as signs of protection, or the use of salt and iron against spirits, not shotguns and poorly scripted quips. Finally, this show has been called the best show to come out of the U.S. in this genre since Buffy The Vampire Slayer, and the X-Files. A pretty prestigious claim, but so far, I'd like to think they've lived up to it.
Content
Supernatural, in its name alone, is a somewhat taboo show in many ways. One facet of the content that may steer viewers away is that of the actual storyline. Many people of traditional religious beliefs find stories of ghosts, demons, and things of that nature to be a very inappropriate type of content. There is, of course, the usual sex, drugs, and alcohol that is referred to in the show, with the brothers going to a bar and getting drunk, and many 'compromising' situations with women and demons looking like women. All in all, this show does not really have anything all that different from the other shows on prime time slots right now. The biggest difference, like the name implies, is the supernatural plot.
Final
Hey everyone, it's been fun, but we're at the end of the class. If you'd like to view my presentation, it'll be here, otherwise, thanks for a great class!
http://app.sliderocket.com/app/FullPlayer.aspx?id=3770edc3-400a-4651-9cd4-9ecc6b7a0520
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| Started By | Thread Subject | Replies | Last Post | ||
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| pknapp54 | Watching My Show | 2 | Oct 28 2008, 12:33 PM EDT by Brittala | ||
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Thread started: Oct 19 2008, 2:01 AM EDT
Watch
My favorite place to watch an enjoy the show is at home, in the company of my brother, Craig. He also really likes the show, and is into the story as much, if not more, than me. I think to some extent, we really bond watching the show, because of the narrative of two brothers overcoming amazing circumstances. I don’t really look to any extra sites or anything extra-curricular in relation to the show, with the exception of the occasional wikipedia venture, to see if the creatures are being kept to their traditional roots.
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