TV NARRATIVE IN ANTHROPOLOGICAL STUDIES

Television wields an enormous influence on the socio-cultural space where contemporary people function all their lives. Multitude of information reaching the recipients through that most important medium of nowadays is classified in the framework of particular genres whose content is included in the form of TV narrative. TV narrative is not identical with any other narrative style. Its specificity (determined by audio-visual character, commercialization as well as promoting particular ideologies) lies in the fact that it reaches for known, well-tried narrative schemes. Series are the most popular media products. Storylines of most of them show characters undergoing internal transformations by the simultaneous occurrence of various threads. Division into installments determine such literary devices as flashback into former events, elaborate dialogues or minimalization of suspense. The characters represent stereotypical models, embodying either good or evil. Melodramatic schemes are preferred, those telling about unhappy love. Appealing to the viewers' emotions have strong effect on them. The audience often identifies with the heroes who, though fictitious, become idols. Analysis of television narrative together with the anthropological research of audience may become a source of valuable information about changing contemporary culture.