Complex Narration and The Fresh Prince of Bel Air

A significant academic highlight during my time at University was writing about one of the best television shows of all time (in my humble opinion) in a third-year Film Studies essay. I explored how Jason Mittel's theory of 'complex narration' (episodic form under the influence of serial narration) enabled The Fresh Prince of Bel Air to subvert certain trivialised tropes of the sit-com genre to discuss progressive social issues predominantly surrounding race. This essay was so interesting to write and research around, so thought I would share a small extract from the essay's conclusion!

'The discussion of contemporary televisual developments is often focused on technological advancements, complex narration evidences the significance in identifying progression within the form and narrative of television. The amalgamation of episodic and serial forms has crafted a creative space for television to achieve new artistic and cultural grounding. Whilst many programmes solely employ ‘narrative pyrotechnics’ to engage the viewer, maintain ratings and expand the transmedia presence of the show, The Fresh Prince also employs complex narration in a more evocative way.[1]The use of temporal displacement and subjective voice-over evoke intimacy with the audience and increase attachment to the show, but the flashback, narrative framing and self-reflexive broken fourth wall all function to express important racial, political and social discourse within a comedic framework. The Fresh Prince discusses institutionalised racism and class hierarchies in a transparent and intimate way, using a complex yet comedic and consequently engaging narrative. Thus, whilst Feuer expects a false sense of social integration, complex narration enables The Fresh Prince to undercut ‘conventional assumptions of returning to equilibrium and situational continuity’, delivering Mittel’s “complex TV” whilst ensuring an open-ended discourse surrounding racial tension, both on and off screen.[2]'

[1]Mittell, 'Narrative Complexity in Contemporary American Television',p.35.

[2]Mittell, Complex TV: The Poetics of Contemporary Television Storytelling, p.21.