Television Attraction as A Dramatic Tool

Section: Television and Radio

The concept of on-screen attraction has been developed by researchers for nearly a century, but there is still no single definition and understanding of the role of this element in audiovisual works. The article explores the historical background of the question, different characteristics and descriptions of the functions of the attraction initially revealed in movie screenings and later obtaining additional specifics with regard to television programs and internet materials of new media. The visual attraction is examined from the standpoint of aesthetics of postmodernism as a universal sign element of the audiovisual language easily overcoming linguistic barriers. Through a historical approach, the article explores the on-screen attraction as a dramatic tool, as a subject of theoretical researches conducted by domestic and foreign theorists in different periods. Particular attention is paid to the provisions of the monograph written by Soviet/Russian media researcher A. Lipkov (1990). Developing the idea of cinema attraction, proposed by S.M. Eisenstein and creatively revised by T. Gunning, he saw the intrinsic value of the attraction in its combination with the narrative and underlined the importance of the so-called “attraction moments” resulting from their ability of capturing the viewer’s attention. The unsettled, multivalued and overly metaphorical terminology of domestic and foreign media studies in the field of the on-screen attraction combined with negative, ironic connotations blur the vector of research neglecting the semiotic nature of the phenomenon.

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