Melodrama paternal e identidades em fluxo: estratégias usadas na construção das linhas temporais e a composição narrativa da série this is us

Abstract

This monograph aims to investigate what are the strategies used for the narrative composition of the series This Is Us (NBC, 2016 - 2022), especially with regard to the different timelines that permeate the episodes and their seriality, as well as the melodrama paternalism as a common thread in the telling of everyday stories. The series tells the life of a middle-class American family, the Pearsons, this is done in a non-linear way, moving through the past, present and future. The narrative is conducted from small daily fragments, with intimate and unique questions of the characters, which end up pointing to intersectionalities and human experiences that, to a greater or lesser extent, tend to touch us universally. In the present, the series accompanies the children of the couple Rebecca and Jack, the triplets, who are already adults and deal with their various personal problems. This narrative line is intersected with flashbacks and flashforwards, and at various times it is impossible to identify which is the main line, since the meanings are offered precisely at the intersection of temporalities. Therefore, at first, it is necessary to review concepts related to narrative and temporality. Going through themes like melodrama, audiovisual, streaming, flashback and flashforward. Then, a detailed analysis of six episodes of the series is made, without disregarding the general context of This Is Us. Finally, the author brings her considerations and results found in this research.