Staging and Aspect: stylistic inflections in the mise en scène of Aaron Sorkin's television serial works

Abstract

We propose to apply a heuristic of the analysis of serial television formats, considering systems of textual redundancy and aesthetic reception horizons (consigned by art history as "style marks" of these works). We observe the functioning of elements of the audiovisual staging of serials, in the "aspectual" status that guides the recognition of these works, in the presumed acceptance of these stylistic marks in the narrative and plastic fabrics of the series. As a field of evidence of this aspectual validity of style in television serials, we chose the work of the American playwright Aaron Sorkin, concentrating on the case of The West Wing, in the continued cooperation between him and his directors.