Example C.E.E.A Paragraph on Stranger Things

Re-watch the following clips before looking at the example question and answer:

Stranger Things opening

Stranger Things best bits!

People have been asking me for an example of how to use the C.E.E.A structure to answer Question 1 so here is an example of a question 1 and how you would use the structure to address EACH of the bullet points:

(Please note that this is AN EXAMPLE. You will not know the real three bullet points until you encounter the questions in the actual exam)

Please also note how I am writing IN ROLE which the exam requires you to do at all times, even for question 1. 

1) We believe that Serial Television Dramas are successful because they:

• Offer a number of audience pleasures
• Have interesting characters
• Have either narrative arcs or episodic narratives to keep the audience interested in the whole series

Remember C.E.E.A as your structure:

C- Convention

E- Example

E- Explanation

A-Audience pleasure / effect on audience / how it targets them

Let's take bullet point 1 and answer in a paragraph about Stranger Things: (I have colour co-ordinated for you to see where the big marks are)

Dear AtoZ Productions,

In the hope of achieving a potential apprenticeship with your company to make my own serial television drama, I have been studying existing products in the genre. I completely agree that they offer a number of different audience pleasures to keep people watching. An example would be the Netflix Original series, Stranger Things, where the horror and science fiction sub-genre will appeal to an audience looking for ‘Diversion’ so they can find escapism in the fictional town of Hawkins and the world of scientific experiment and parallel universes offered by the show’s narrative. The show also focuses on the adventures of a group of teenagers who are friends and one of them goes missing. This disruption to the equilibrium means that a young audience may be able to relate to the idea of losing a friend or bonding together to try and sort out a problem. There are other narrative strands, such as a love triangle with Mike’s sister and two potential boyfriends – this might be appealing for young girls or boys in similar situations. Much of the drama is set in a small town, in domestic homes or in a high school which is familiar to audiences who have similar lives. Over the whole series, it is possible for the audience to form relationships with the characters by learning their back stories and we care about whether or not Will can be reunited with his mother after his kidnap by the monster in the first episode.

Let's take bullet point 2 and answer in a paragraph about Stranger Things: (I have colour co-ordinated for you to see where the big marks are)

I also agree that TV Dramas have to have interesting characters to attract and keep their audience. Normally, it is conventional for a TV Drama to have an ‘ensemble cast’ where there is not one main protagonist (hero) but instead many characters so that we can learn about their own narratives. In Stranger Things, the narrative focuses on a group of friends of ‘stock characters’ that fit stereotypes the audience can recognise: the funny one (Dustin), the cynical one (Lucas), the leader who makes the decisions (Mike) and the sensitive ‘innocent’ Will who is kidnapped. Audiences will also enjoy watching the anti-hero Hopper who is a town Sheriff with a sad past as his daughter has died and he is a subversive policeman as he drinks, swears, smokes and punches people rather than following the law and arresting them. Will’s mother Joyce and his brother Jonathan are also key characters in the ensemble cast because we see how their lives have been torn apart by the loss of Will and how they deal with getting him back by taking on the monsters and the evil villain scientist. Stock characters and more subversive characters mean the audience can relate to the characters and identify them as ‘types’. Eleven is an interesting character as she is subversive for a female hero – she is a young girl who wears a dress but has a shaved head because she was experimented on in a laboratory. She also has super powers and can manipulate things with her mind which is exciting for the viewers as they do not know if she will be captured or use her powers for good or evil.

Let's take bullet point 3 and answer in a paragraph about Stranger Things: (I have colour co-ordinated for you to see where the big marks are)

Most Serial TV Dramas have episodic narratives, where stories are resolved in one episode, so that the ‘casual viewer’ can be rewarded. They also feature ‘story arcs’ where a narrative is on-going throughout all the episodes so that loyal viewers who always tune in can be rewarded for their loyalty. In Stranger Things, the on-going narrative arc is the kidnap of Will and the enigma codes that are posed to the audience: Will he survive or die? Will he be rescued from the Upside Down? Will his mum or his friends be the ones to save him? This on-going tension causes viewers to want to watch the next episode after the opening where they are ‘hooked’ in by the disappearance of Will within the first 8 minutes. This dramatic disruption to the equilibrium is not resolved until the last episode so the tension builds and there are lots of cliff-hangers at the end of each episode so that audiences are encouraged to ‘binge watch’ the whole series, which was released all at once. There are also episodic storylines focusing on individual characters, such as flashbacks to Eleven’s sad childhood; the back story where Hopper’s daughter dies of cancer, and the ‘happier times’ memories that Will’s mother has of their time together. Also, Nancy and Steve’s relationship and the death of Barb (Nancy’s friend) are dramatic narratives that develop within an episode and keep the audience watching as they are given some resolution as the story progresses. 

Try answering some of your own C.E.E.A paragraphs using examples from our other case studies: Waterloo Road and Doctor Who. 

Last tip - remember that you MUST talk about at least 2  TV Dramas from our case studies so if you wrote the above answers JUST using Stranger Things, you would limit your marks. Make sure that you are able to say detailed examples from more than one television drama across the three bullet points. 

Good luck!

Miss Fowler