“Once Upon A Time”: The Efficiency of Storytelling in Shaping Drama Series, A Case Study on Bab El Hara

Abstract

We all know the enigma that compels us to dive into the excitement and vivacity of a certain story we are reading or a series we are watching. The characters become a part of us and the streets, café shops, etc., design our thoughts and dreams as they display the ‘vitrines’ of our reality. All is triggered by a simple word “once upon a time.” In this article, we go in-depth by analyzing storytelling and by exploring the significant role of the character as positioned in a text. However, our main concern is the possibility of being able to decipher values transmitted by a text, where the character plays a major role in terms of reflecting empathy/sympathy towards audiences’ perceptions. We, therefore, came with the idea of designing an innovative value analysis framework – based on Pierre Glaudes’s and Yves Reuter’s grid analysis pattern for value depiction – where two studies that analyze the famous series Bab El Hara, are cross referenced. Then, in order to test the validity of the framework, an original qualitative analysis based on a focus group session is conducted on ten Lebanese respondents (aged between 35 and 45) who relate their personal opinions and beliefs in terms of what they perceive in Bab El Hara, giving, therefore, indication to what values they identify with the most. Effectively, the values which respondents did identify with seemed to correspond perfectly with the value analysis framework which has shown to be a suitable base for value depiction.