ER clip - season 13 opening http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9G1l8Viw4I
M – Use of green and black, ER - is an abbreviation for emergency room (term is mainly used in the USA) hence in the UK we use A&E. music is parallel and goes with the fast pace environment. Aims to show doctors lives
Uses a more contemporary font

I -NBC is a well established commercial broadcaster and will therefore have a big budget. Also successful

G – medical/hospital drama

R – Shows a busy hospital, doctors and nurses running down the corridor, helping a patient

A – Young adults and over, those who enjoy watching medical dramas or American dramas in general

I – could represent a patriarchal society as the majority of the cast are male, however there are female doctors shown in the opening which could suggest that women can be equally successful. Multicultural – the cast features ethnic minorities.

N – Chronological order

Essay
In this essay I will be analysing two texts from different decades. The first text is the opening credits to ER, which is a long running hospital drama based in America. The second text is the front page of The Radio Times magazine (1978) and is an established magazine published by the BBC.
The magazine cover aims to attract more readers party because of the institution, which is the BBC and their policy is to inform, educate and entertain. Though both institutions are broadcasters, the BBC is not commercial – the price of the magazine is 10p, the cheaper price reflects society and the poverty that may have occurred during this period of time.
Unlike NBC which relies on successful shows such as ER to generate revenue made through advertising.
The typography used for the masthead is a traditional font which highlights that this is a trusted and established magazine. But it could also mean that the magazine could stand for traditional values, hence the cover picture which is of stereotypical white female nurses, who appear to be dressed in a similar way to nuns, as they are showing little flesh (conservative dress sense). This can be seen as a stereotypical representation as there are no males (doctors) featured in the cover picture, but also nurses had a lower status in hospitals – which would suggest society’s attitudes, that women would not be in a higher position than men.
But their facial expressions indicate that they are happy to be doing this job as this can also be recognised as a positive representation because women are not being sexually objectified, but as educated women in work and during the 1970s many women would have been confined to the role of a housewife.
But the opening credits to ER feature a mixed cast, though predominantly male, the audience can assume that the few women being shown are in fact doctors. This shows that in the 21st century society we live in women can be just as successful as men. The font used is contemporary and not as traditional as the BBC magazine, which could suggest that NBC are trying to reach out to new and younger audiences.
Unlike the radio time’s front cover the cast of ER also consists of ethnic minorities, the broadcaster is conveying a multicultural ideology (lack of diversity on the magazine cover) by featuring a black actor and an Asian actress amongst the line up, which again encourages new audiences to watch the show. Whilst characters are introduced, the opening credits also give audiences an insight into the fast pace hospital drama. The fast pace is built up throughout the sequence by using parallel music in which the rhythm would connote a heart beat, also the use of quick edits and the flashing images of x-rays only add to the drama of hospital life.
The ironic captions on the Radio Times cover questions the accuracy of the representation of nurses in the television drama ‘Angels’, as it could imply good nurses that have gone bad and that nurses may not necessarily have clean image and probably do get up to mischief. Therefore both Angels and ER could have been created for the purpose of diversion, where audiences would be able to escape from everyday problems and routines even though what may be shown may not necessarily depict the lives of doctors and nurses living in the UK or America.
Both have elements of soap opera, the issues and debates remain similar to as they were a few decades ago. For example it highlights the difference in the healthcare system, free healthcare in the United Kingdom whereas Americans have to pay for health care and the NHS is considered to be an important institution in British culture.
The feminist movement would have been popular in both America and the UK as women were fighting for equal rights, both texts draw attention to the differences that have been implemented, from stereotypical white nurses to female doctors. But it most importantly highlights the progress women have made over the years.
The caption featured on the cover creates a narrative enigma, which is used as used as a tool to persuade audiences to buy the magazine. One of the binary oppositions that are created is of the nurses being characterised as heroes and the villain would be the illness – as the hero will do everything in their power to prevent the villain from succeeding, in this case killing the patient. In relation to the picture the oppositions created would be actresses vs. real life nurses, as what is portrayed in a drama cannot be directly compared to real life situations.