Further textual analysis: The Addams Family

Format: Sitcom
Black Comedy
Created by: Charles Addams
Developed by: David Levy
Producer(s): Nat Perrin
Original run: September 18, 1964 – April 8, 1966



- Black and white scale represents the period of time but also connects with the genre
- Main characters introduced
- Background music used to fit with the genre, 'spooky' for the target audience
- Scenes from the drama used
- Comedic effect added through the character's facial expressions
- Diegetic sound also played in the shot that matches the non-diegetic sound - e.g. clicking of fingers and piano playing
- A family can quite clearly be established; the opening begins with a shot of the family together and also ends with the family together
- Located at one house, again signifies family orientated drama
- Establishing shot of the house at the beginning
- Title represents genre - the font/style adds to the children 'horror'
- Opening long shot of the family together then they are introduced individually, highlighting their separate roles in the drama
- Lyrics from the song (singing) only when characters are being introduced individually

Evaluation of further textual analysis:

At the beginning of my research, I chose to analyse a selection of texts from the children TV drama genre. This gave me an insight into the codes and conventions of children's TV drama, and what must be included to engage the target audience. The analysis of the initial texts was successful; it supplied me with initial ideas for my piece and the type of techniques and codes and conventions I would use and stay honest to. Nevertheless, when it came to deciding on my final piece, and choosing a more specific sub-genre of children's TV drama (sitcom), I felt it was necessary to extend my textual analysis.

I analysed The Addams Family, Malcolm in the Middle and Everybody Hates Chris - I found this extremely helpful in aiding my final decisions and how the sitcom genre is presented to a young audience. Each of these texts underlined the need to present the main characters and use them as the main feature of the intro. Everybody Hates Chris was particularly effective in enabling the audience to engage with the length of time that characters are shown on screen and the type of shot - most shots of the character were a mix of mid-shots and close-ups. Furthermore, Everybody Hates Chris highlighted the use of stereotypes within the sitcom genre; for example, the first character the audience see is wearing a tracksuit and there is a stereo/CD player central in the screen with the main title over. Thus, I was able to recognize the concept of using stereotypes to present the characters, and allow the audience to recognize the type of characters being presented - for instance, with the first character and the main title of Everybody Hates Chris it can quickly be established that the central theme is youth.