All books aren't literature. My colleagues who teach Literature have a very simple way to tell the students the difference between any simple book and literature. It isn't a matter of fiction, it isnt' a matter of subject, it's a matter of form. In literature there's a work on the form. Literature is art. Many books may tell interesting stories, either fictional or real, and raise interesting points but they are not art.
I think we can find the same difference on television. Many tv shows don't really care about the form. It's obvious about Soap operas, but also other kind of series. They simply aim to entertain and tell stories by showing characters and actions (romance, adventure etc).
BTVS did work on the form with its metaphorical languages and visual clues. Of course it showed more in episodes like "Hush" or OMWF (or even in FFL with the arty NY flashback sequence) than in other episodes, but the work on the form was part of what the series was.
I don't think we can say the same about many other tv shows.
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branchandroot
no subject
Date: 2006-05-24 02:06 pm (UTC)I think we can find the same difference on television. Many tv shows don't really care about the form. It's obvious about Soap operas, but also other kind of series. They simply aim to entertain and tell stories by showing characters and actions (romance, adventure etc).
BTVS did work on the form with its metaphorical languages and visual clues. Of course it showed more in episodes like "Hush" or OMWF (or even in FFL with the arty NY flashback sequence) than in other episodes, but the work on the form was part of what the series was.
I don't think we can say the same about many other tv shows.