Mittell Expertise Project

In “Narrative Complexity in Contemporary American Television” Jason Mittell discusses the “formal attributes” of television shows that are narratively complex, highlights reasons for the emergence of the genre of narratively complex television in the 1990s, and explores the patterns and trends within the genre as a whole. Changes in technology in the 1990s, like seasons of television programs on DVD, video recording, and the Internet inviting “participatory engagement” through message boards and fan websites, are reasons Mittell attributes to the rise in complex television (“Narrative Complexity” 31). In the essay “All in the Game: The Wire, Serial Storytelling, and Procedural Logic” Mittell examines the characteristics of the complex narrative in The Wire, looking at the show through the lens of both a novel and a videogame. In defining narrative complexity, Mittell utilizes definitions produced by David Bordwell and Kristen Thompson. His own definition of narrative complexity is stated as: “At its most basic level, narrative complexity is a redefinition of episodic forms under the influence of serial narration—not necessarily a complete merger of episodic and serial forms but a shifting balance” (“Narrative Complexity” 32). Mittell emphasizes that television needs to be examined as its own medium, not through the lens of cinema or any other media.

Mittell establishes many characteristics of narratively complex TV. One such characteristic is a shift from episodic narratives to the serial narrative. He writes that shows with complex narratives do not always have closure with every episode. Instead, they expand the story arc across episodes and even seasons. This demonstrates a shift from episodic tendencies in television, where a plot issue is constructed and solved within the episode, to serialized television, which may not offer closure at the end of each episode and requires viewers to pay attention as a certain plot may span across seasons. In “All in the Game” Mittell argues that The Wire dedicates seasons to a particular aspect of the city life, and over the course of the following seasons, culminates into a coherent story arc.

While many shows blend episodic and serial narrative, thus making them complex, Mittell also applies the term “serial procedural” to The Wire. He uses Murray’s observation on the relationship between the procedural nature of videogames and the digital narrative to explain how The Wire uses this in its own narrative mode – “its ability to capture experience as systems of interrelated actions” (“All in the Game” 436). Mittell writes, “The Wire is on the other end of television’s narrational spectrum, with each episode in the series demanding to be viewed in sequence and strict continuity.  Thus, The Wire functions as what might be television’s only example of a serialized procedural” (435).  It is the focus on procedure that allows for narration within the rules of the game:  “procedurality…offers a probing social investigation of the urban condition” (437).

Other issues that arise with narratively complex television, like The Wire, are “rewatchability” and “replayability.” Being able to rewatch a series from the beginning allows the viewers to further engage and participate in understanding the complex narratives. Mittell argues that The Wire cannot only be rewatched, but replayed. In examining The Wire as a videogame, Mittell notes the importance of replayablity in simulation games, stating that The Wire’s offering of replayability comes from learning new characters, variables, and rules through which to play the game in the later seasons, that can also translate back to the first season’s narrative.

Procedural literacy is another characteristic of complex narrativity. In order to fully understand a program with complex narrativity the viewer must understand the underlying procedures the show is utilizing.  An example we thought of concerning procedural literacy occurs with Lost.  Lost utilizes flashback, a trend in conventional television programs. However, the flashbacks in Lost often do not provide clarity, but raise more questions for the viewer. Though flashback may be seen as a conventional narrative device, the season three finale of Lost also subverts this convention by shocking the audience with a flashforward instead. Because the viewers have mastered the procedure of Lost—knowing that each episode will have a flashback—episodes like the season three finale become all the more shocking because the procedure is changed.

Other characteristics Mittell attributes to narratively complex television include the viewers’ appreciation for the construction of the complexities of the narrative. Because the viewers are aware of the form, reflexivity becomes an issue. Mittell writes, “We watch these shows not just to get swept away in a realistic narrative world, but also to watch the gears at work, marveling at the craft required to pull off such narrative pyrotechnics” (“Narrative Complexity” 35). Not only are the plots themselves engaging, but also viewers are similarly engaged by watching how the writers will pull off the narrative. Lost is an example of this: while being involved in the plot itself, viewers are also engaged in watching how J.J. Abrams and others will conclude the complex story lines they put forth. Websites such as the Lostpedia exemplifies this. Mittell also uses the example of the Lost episode titled “Orientation,” where the characters watch a video that explains the origins of the hatch, and Locke remarks that they must watch it again (line occurs around 2:56), mirroring the audiences viewing experience (35). This scene demonstrates the rewatchability as well as appreciation for the complexity of the narrative.

Mittell argues that the narrative strategies used within narratively complex television shows are what most engages the audience. Viewers are engaged because of the ways the tropes of conventional narrative are broken. Conventional narratives utilize techniques such as flashback, voice-over narration, and dream sequences, in order to provide clarity for the audience. Narratively complex shows are not afraid to confuse and disorient viewers; they make viewers wait for the moment of clarity when the plot all comes together. Viewers must engage actively and “master each programs internal conventions of complex narration” (37). Mittell writes that The Wire “avoids flashbacks, voice-overs, fantasy sequences, repetition from multiple perspectives, or reflexive commentaries on the narrative form itself” (“All in the Game” 435), further positioning itself as a narratively complex show that does not use traditional narrative conventions.

Finally, though Mittell argues that The Wire needs to be examined as its own medium, he also declares that  it is also a useful critical strategy to examine The Wire as both a novel and videogame. David Simon, creator of The Wire, believes The Wire to be novelistic in form. Mittell writes, “The Wire’s novelistic qualities are most directly linked to its storytelling structure and ambitions” (“All in the Game” 429).  However, Mittell contends that The Wire fails in one main area that is directly associated to the novel:  character development. The characters of The Wire, Mittell argues, are usurped by the institutions of both society and Baltimore (the police force, drug trade, government, and education systems) and are therefore denied individuality or mobility. The shift from focus on character development to plot development is a characteristic of narratively complex television rather than the novel.

Mittell also examines The Wire as a videogame. While video games are predominantly interactive, Mittell comes right out and says “Let me preemptively acknowledge one significant limitation here:  watching The Wire is not interactive” – but rather, it is spectatorial, like a baseball game (“All in the Game” 431).  The show, if viewed as a game, produces a game within a game theme for the characters are often seen playing and referring to the urban struggle and drug trade in Baltimore as “the game.”  Finally, Mittell positions himself against Simon’s declaration of The Wire as a televised novel by saying the complex issues regarding the institution are better represented by video games:  “While Simon imagines that the televised novel is the form best suited to accomplish such goals, in today’s media environment, video games are the go-to medium for portraying complex systems” (“All in the Game” 432).  Examining The Wire as a videogame makes the complexities within the show more apparent.

We noticed many similarities between what Mittell is arguing in both narratives in relation to Dollhouse. Dollhouse blends a serial narrative with an episodic narrative. While in the first few episodes of Dollhouse, the narrative is simply being established and the audience is being shown how the Dollhouse works as a whole, from the middle of the season on the narrative becomes more serialized, with overarching plots. Questions are left unanswered in Dollhouse: the season one finale utilizes a flashforward. It is giving the viewers a glimpse of the future, demonstrating the complexities involved in the narrative, and leaving the viewer with more questions than answers. Finally, as in The Wire, Dollhouse is more focused on plot than character because the main characters are dolls. They have no personality of their own.

Resources:

-Mittel blogs about Dollhouse: http://justtv.wordpress.com/2009/03/25/jump-starting-dollhouse/
-Caroline Levine responds to Mittle’s essay on The Wire: http://www.electronicbookreview.com/thread/firstperson/serialrip
-A question and answer session with David Simon about The Wire: http://www.borderline-productions.com/TheWireHBO/exclusive-1.html

1 comment October 22, 2011