Abstract

GARCIA-CATALAN, Shaila; SOROLLA-ROMERO, Teresa  and  MARTIN-NUNEZ, Marta. Reclaiming Detail: Barthesian Subtleties and Catalysis in TV Fiction. Palabra Clave [online]. 2019, vol.22, n.3, e2233. ISSN 0122-8285.  https://doi.org/10.5294/pacla.2019.22.3.3.

This article verifies the importance of catalysts, as formulated by Roland Barthes, to put a value on details in narrative description. We start from his hypothesis that the seemingly insignificant in a narrative is what produces the effect of reality and propose to analyze contemporary television series from what is apparently useless in the story. For this, we explored, from a semiotic perspective, four paradigmatic study cases that have distanced themselves from conventional engagement and show mechanisms and have formally bet on subtlety and attention to detail-the dialogued In Treatment, the hyper-stylish Mad Men, the irreverent Breaking Bad, and the sinister True Detective. Analyses revealed how the catalysts in these TV fictions bring into play what is difficult to explain, giving credibility to the fortuitous, inconsequential, and even inexplicable.

Keywords : Roland Barthes; television; television series; television studies; television production; Mad Men; Braking Bad; True Detective.

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