For Tuesday (12/3)
Remember, no class Thursday, November 21. Have a great recess!
Vamos a Narcos!
Things to do before we meet again on Tuesday, December 3 (see below for more details):
- Create episode pages for each of your assigned episodes on the class wiki.
- Add a plot summary to each episode page
- Watch Season 1 Episode 1 (“Descenso”) of Narcos and analyze.
Check out the class wiki. There, under the drop down menu labeled “Narcos,” you’ll find workpages for your group along with the Narcos episodes assigned to your group.
First, create a new wiki page for each of your three pages. Title each new page with the season number, episode number, and title of the episode. Make sure these pages are sub-pages of your main page, i.e. that you move them below your main group page.
Ultimately, each episode page will include the following elements: plot summary, main binary oppositions, actors, and sequence of narrative actions. (See the episode sections on this wiki page from a previous English 480 class). For now, by Tuesday, December 3, you only need to add a plot summary to each episode page.
Second, watch Season 1 Episode 1 (“Descenso”) of Narcos. (This is available on Netflix.) After watching the episode:
- write up a plot summary of this episode
- with Propp’s scheme in mind, identify the main actors (Hero, Villain, Donor, Helper, Princess) for this episode
- with Will Wright in mind, identify the main binary oppositions in this episode
- finally, boil down the discourse of this episode into a sequence of narrative actions or “narratemes” (use Propp’s fairy tale sequence as a guide/inspiration – – you probably won’t find all of his 31 narratemes in a Narcos episode); list these core narrative events as Propp does, i.e. a subject plus a verb (“hero is warned,” “villain seeks something,” etc.) and, if possible a name for the action ( per Propp, “Absention,” “Interdiction,” “Trickery,” etc.)
Write all of this up (typed or printed very, very neatly) and bring it to class.
Questions? Let me know!
