Desperate Housewives is an American comedy-drama serial created by Marc Cherry. After its premiere on October the 3rd, 2004 on “abc” the serial had altogether 111 episodes in six seasons. Desperate Housewives won several awards since its broadcast, like the Emmy, the Golden Globe and the Screen Actors Guild Award. In April 2007 the serial was awarded as most popular show with an audience of over 119 million viewers.
The fictional setting of Wisteria Lane in Fairview is the home of a group of women protagonists: Gabrielle Solis (Eva Longoria), Lynette Scavo (Felicity Huffman), Susan Mayer (Teri Hatcher), Bree Van de Kamp (Marcia Cross), Edie Britt (Nicolette Sheridan) and Katherine Mayfair (Dana Delany) are the main female characters that are more or less friends. All of them have their own specialties and problems in their lives. The plot of each episode follows these struggles they have to deal with in their family lives in domestic surroundings. But with every episode it becomes clearer that even in beautiful and seemingly perfect suburban neighborhoods lots of secrets, crimes and mysteries are buried. The answers to these mysteries are mostly given by another friend of them – Mary Alice Young (Brenda Strong) – who died in the pilot episode of Desperate Housewives because she committed suicide.
Mary Alice Young nevertheless appears in the series – but as the narrator of each episode. Her voice leads the viewer through the happenings and through the plot of Desperate Housewives and structures the series with her pro- and epilogues. The following composition is going to deal with the narration of Mary Alice Young and is based on the presentation to the according topic of Desperate Housewives in the seminar “Serial TV”. This term paper will first concentrate on the tradition of voice-over narration and afterwards on general facts of the voice-over narration in Desperate Housewives. In a final step the narration of Mary Alice Young will be discussed.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Voice-over narration in Desperate Housewives
2.1 The tradition of voice-over narration
2.2 General facts about voice-over narration in DH
2.3 The narration of Mary Alice Young
Research Objectives and Topics
The primary objective of this paper is to analyze the function and stylistic significance of the voice-over narration provided by the character Mary Alice Young in the television series "Desperate Housewives," exploring how her posthumous perspective serves as an omniscient narrative device.
- The tradition and history of voice-over narration in film and television.
- The specific narrative role of Mary Alice Young as a "frame-narrator" and "god-like" figure.
- The intersection of female protagonists, suburban mystery, and oral storytelling traditions.
- Technical implementation of voice-over through camera movements and visual effects.
- The impact of posthumous narration on viewer engagement and plot progression.
Excerpt from the Book
2.1 THE TRADITION OF VOICE-OVER NARRATION
Narration itself is predominantly associated with literature rather than with fictional filmic productions and cinema. But with the development of technical and stylistic elements used for cinema, new possibilities emerged to use narration in different ways. So, the narrative device of voice-over narration became popular in movies. Meanwhile there are more and more TV-series that also make use of this gadget. Typical examples that became known in the past years are the American series Sex and the City and Scrubs. Both of them are known for their narrators Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker) and Dr. J.D. Dorian (Zack Braff) that became to a kind of symbol of the series and without them the whole plot would not make sense at all. Desperate Housewives is another series which now is unthinkable without its narrator Mary Alice Young.
In the history of cinema voice-over narration was predominantly used by classical Hollywood`s film noir movement that is popular for murder mysteries and a high tension in its plot. Furthermore the device of voice-over narration was also used in films of the women`s picture from the 1940s where the plot usually was arranged around female protagonists in a domestic setting. In these kinds of movies women protagonists were given the voice-over in order to lead the narration, as it was for instance in Rebecca (1940) or in A Letter to Three Wives (1949).
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction: This chapter provides an overview of the series "Desperate Housewives," introduces the main characters of Wisteria Lane, and outlines the research focus on Mary Alice Young's narration.
2. Voice-over narration in Desperate Housewives: This section explores the historical use of voice-over as a stylistic device, examines the specific narrative techniques applied in the series, and discusses Mary Alice Young's role as an omniscient, heterodiegetic, and homodiegetic narrator.
Keywords
Desperate Housewives, Mary Alice Young, Voice-over, Narration, Posthumous narration, Television series, Wisteria Lane, Narrative device, Film noir, Women's picture, Omniscient narrator, Homodiegetic, Heterodiegetic, Oral culture, Serial TV
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the central focus of this academic paper?
The paper examines the role and stylistic function of voice-over narration in the television series "Desperate Housewives," specifically focusing on the character Mary Alice Young.
What are the core thematic areas discussed in the work?
The work explores narrative structures in television, the history of voice-over in film noir and "women's pictures," and how these devices create a sense of authenticity and mystery in the show.
What is the primary research question?
The study investigates how the voice-over of a deceased character, Mary Alice Young, structures the series, conveys information to the viewer, and maintains the series' unique suburban mystery aesthetic.
Which methodology is utilized?
The author uses a descriptive and analytical approach, drawing on film theory and existing scholarly commentary on "Desperate Housewives" to evaluate the narrative device of the narrator.
What content is covered in the main body?
The body covers the history of voice-over, the specific application of this device in "Desperate Housewives," and a detailed analysis of Mary Alice Young’s influence on the plot and viewer perception.
Which keywords best characterize this study?
Key terms include Voice-over, Desperate Housewives, Posthumous narration, Omniscient narrator, and Serial TV.
Why is Mary Alice Young considered a "god-like" figure?
She possesses knowledge of all characters' secrets and mysteries despite being dead, and her presence is reinforced by celestial visual effects and high-angle camera movements.
How does the author categorize Mary Alice Young’s narrative position?
The author identifies her as a heterodiegetic narrator who also functions as a homodiegetic narrator because her insights are often linked to her life experiences prior to her death.
- Quote paper
- M.A. Hülya Akkaş (Author), 2009, Voice-over narration in Desperate Housewives, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/146835
