Written Analysis 4 Formulas


 


                In the article about Xena, Buffy and Nikita the author discusses many concepts present in all three shows.  Formulas are used in all three shows in several ways.  The first formula in the three shows is the concept of an action adventure.  To have an action adventure the audience is entertained in a light-hearted way with an adventure that takes place by the characters.  Each episode starts with a problem, the action build-up to build suspense, finished with a solution that leaves the viewer wanting more of the same next week. 

                The show Xena includes a formula with a buddy team. The characters of Xena and Gabrielle are teamed up as a permanent fixture that repeats on the show.  They solve the problems or cause the problems together.  They are there to provide comic relief and emotional investment for the viewer. 

                All three shows provide a female hero.  The hero follows a formula of being good, honest, moral, and human.  This helps the viewer trust and respect the character.  The viewer needs to feel that connection for the hero to want to keep seeing them on the screen.

                A basic formula is the time constraint the show is put into.  One hour a week, with commercials, should fix all the basic elements of the action adventure show.  The shows begin with an event of problem the hero will need to solve.  The next stage is the journey process of how to fix the problem.  This stage can be filled with expense build up for the viewer.  The last phase of the process is the solution.

                Seeing the three shows as a matter of concepts like formulas, helps to understand how the shows work and where they can be improved.  Since the shows all follow standard formulas they would be easy to fix.  The article discussed many problems with the female hero.  The three shows took a formula for a male action adventure and put a female character in the male’s place.  The formula should have been adjusted to appeal to a female audience.  The formula may seem like it would be interchangeable, but it is created with a male target in mind.  Adjustments could be made to the formula without hurting viewership if they were made gradually.  A formula is a guide not an absolute. 


Works Cited




Magoulick, M. (2006). Frustrating Female Heroism: Mixed Messages in Xena, Nikita, and Buffy. Popular Culture, 729.

Browne, R. B., & Browne, R. B. (2005). Profiles of popular culture: a reader. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsin Press.

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