How did Roots and The Cosby Show challenge previous sterotypical representations of black people in TV dramas?
The Roots
More realistic views about slavery, rape and dealing with racial precedence of black people, which started to change in 1984. Not that long in terms of history.
The Cosby Show
It was a show about an upper-class black family and focussed on their everyday advantages.
The black man was a doctor and the children went to private school, it was showing an educated family living in a penthouse with money. It represented a functional black family quietly confident in being black. The show revolved around the day-to-day situations that the family faced. The family was unlike other black families that had previously been seen on television. The father was a respected Gynecologist and the mother was a successful Attorney.
When I played the opening credits of Downton Abbey, without sound, the images suggested that the Tv drama was going to be about the castle, which is shown in the very first moving image that appears in the opening credits.
The credits then go on to show images of parts of the rooms or some of the objects that feature within the castle. These objects or rooms suggest that the family that lives in Downton Abbey is upper class. Whilst the images are playing, the names of the actors and actresses appear so that the audience can see who is in the programme.
In this moving image we can see a bell ring, which implies that someone is ringing it in order to tell someone to come. This is an close up, the camera first of all pans to the left but then it zooms in on the bell ringing. There are lots of signs under the bell which shows which room needs assistance. This particular bell is for the 'saloon' which is a posher word for lounge, which reinforces that the family is upper class.
The camera zooms in on the pot cooking on the stove. Someone dressed in black appears on the right hand side of the screen and takes the pot off the stove.
In this moving image the camera pans to the right however this movement could also be called tracking as the camera is very steady. This image shows someone laying the table. They are measuring the positions of the item to make sure everything is perfect. This shot could also be a point of view shot as the audience is looking down at what the person is doing. It is suggested that the person laying the table could be a butler as we can see that they are wearing a shirt and jacket.
This image is very quick compared to the others as the camera only slightly pans to the left. The lighting is bright which suggests day time. The ornaments look old fashion rather than modern which implies that the programme is a historical drama.
First of all the screen is dark although the audience is able to see the outline of the hand leaning in to turn the light on and you are also able to see the outline of the light. The light is then turned on which helps to create a warm atmosphere and the audience's attention is focused on the light.
The audience can then see a maid going up the stairs in the background of one of the moving images, which confirms that the family is upper class. We know the that the woman going up the stairs is a maid as she is wearing conventional clothing of the time. This shot is a medium shot however, it uses the camera movement of pan to the left.
At the end of the opening credits a drawing of Downton Abbey is shown, this drawing is in the style of a logo. This is also the first time that it is revealed what the programme and the castle is called.
It is implied that the genre of this programme is a costume drama. This is because the music is slow and classical, instead of being upbeat and modern. The narrative that is suggested from these images is that the TV drama may be about the lives of the family living at Downton Abbey. At some points in the soundtrack, the music creates a sense that the drama is going to be serious. However, there is then a contrast as it sounds peaceful.
