JHASS
Aesthetic Continuities and Transformations: A Diachronic Comparison Between Online Short Dramas and Ancient Greek Dramas Using Gérard Genette’s Narrative Theory
TOTAL VIEWS: 250
Abstract
In the age of digital media, online short dramas have emerged as a novel storytelling format characterized by compressed narratives, emotional satisfaction, and fragmented viewing. Although these modern forms appear to deviate from the established norms of traditional theatrical art in terms of creation processes and expression styles, they share similarities in narrative aesthetics, which has not received much scholarly attention. Adopting a diachronic approach and using Gérard Genette’s narrative theory, this paper seeks to investigate the extent to which contemporary online short dramas retain the narrative principles of ancient Greek drama. It focuses on the five core narrative elements, i.e., order, duration, frequency, mood, and voice, in selected examples from both genres. It is found that thematic aesthetics, narrative structure, and narrative speed continue from the traditional theatrical art to contemporary online short drama, although some major transformations in art are also identified. The findings highlight not only the adaptability of classical narrative techniques in modern contexts but also the lasting psychological needs of the audience.
References
Aristotle. (1999). Poetics (S. H. Butcher, Trans.). London, UK: Macmillan.
Euripides. (2005). Medea (I. Johnston, Trans.). Arlington, VA: Richer Resources Publications.
http://www.johnstoniatexts.x10host.com/euripides/medeahtml.html
Genette, G. (1980). Narrative discourse: An essay in method (J. E. Lewin, Trans.). New York, NY: Cornell University Press.
Goward, B. L. (1994). Narrative strategies: Communication in the plays of Aeschylus and Sophocles [Doctoral dissertation, University College London]. London, UK.
Liu, Y., & Chen, Y. (2022). A comparative study on the development of Chinese and Korean online short dramas. Radio and Television Information, 29(9), 23-25.
Pu, Y., Duan, C., Liu, Y., Wu, Y., Fang, Z., & Huang, M. (2024). Research on marketing effectiveness and fans interaction of short dramas based on the SIPS model. IEEE International Conference on e-Business Engineering (ICEBE), (6), 112-116.
Qin, R. (2024). Miniature time: A study on the narrative and communication effects of online mini dramas from the perspective of empathy. Transactions on Social Science, Education and Humanities Research, (7), 163-171.
Schafer, B. L. (1917). A study of the three unities in Shakespeare’s representative plays. The Sewanee Review, 25(1), 65-73.
Schlegel, A. W. (1846). A course of lectures on dramatic art and literature. London, UK: H.G. Bohn.
Shi, T., & Huang, J. (2023). An analysis of narrative time-space characteristics in online short dramas under the context of “social acceleration”. China Television, (2), 62-67.
Sophocles. (2008). Oedipus King of Thebes (G. Murray, Trans.). London, UK: Ruskin House.
Wrigley, A. (2010). Greek drama in the first six decades of the twentieth century: Tradition, identity, migration. Comparative Drama, 44(4), 371-384.
Yang, L. (2023). Analysis of the content production characteristics and problems of network mini dramas in the era of mobile internet. China Cable TV, (11), 168-171.
Zheng, Y. (2024). Analysis of narrative strategies, aesthetic characteristics, and innovation paths of online mini dramas. Contemporary Television, (2), 4-10.
How to cite this paper
Aesthetic Continuities and Transformations: A Diachronic Comparison Between Online Short Dramas and Ancient Greek Dramas Using Gérard Genette’s Narrative Theory
How to cite this paper: Ruojie Chen. (2025) Aesthetic Continuities and Transformations: A Diachronic Comparison Between Online Short Dramas and Ancient Greek Dramas Using Gérard Genette’s Narrative Theory. Journal of Humanities, Arts and Social Science, 9(6), 1092-1098.
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.26855/jhass.2025.06.007
More Articles
- Fluidity of Post-human: Cyborg Images in Western Science Fiction Films of the Alpha Generation Period
- Normative Reconstruction and Collective Memory: Myth Reinterpretation in the Perspective of Visual Anthropology—Taking the Film Ne Zha 2 as an Example
- Estimation of the Population Size in Tanzania from 1967 to 2112 Using Logistic and Exponential Models: A Comparative Analysis
- The Execution Dilemma and Solution Path of Jointly-owned Houses by Couples: From the Perspective of Legal Application and Rights Balance
- Understanding Adolescent Social Media Use: A Computational Modeling Perspective
- Ethical Anxiety of Chinese College Literature Students Toward Artificial Intelligence Poetry Writing: A Qualitative Study Based on Questionnaires and In-depth Interviews