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PROTAGONIST
The leading character or hero in a film with whom the audience can identify and from whose point of view the action is positioned, often set in binary opposition against the antagonist.

Michael acts as the protagonist in 'Prison Break', as the focus centres around him and his audacious plan to break his brother out of prison

BLAXPLOITATION FILM
Film of the 1960s and 1970s in which black actors featured in principle roles usually associated with whites. The films were original in being directed primarily at audiences and, although seen as exploitive, were in fact part of a changing attitude toward back characters and the representation of black culture.

African American characters in ‘Prison Break’ are central to the whites and Michael in order to for the escape to go ahead, from C-Note acting as a helper and his associates providing Michael with useful tools

GENRE THEORY
An explanation of the role played by genre in differentiating media texts and aligning audiences. Genre theorists consider the relationship between audiences, media texts and media producers and the ways in which genres, particularly in film, can be used by producers to target specific audience groups, with predictable expectations of audience members and responses.

In will look into the relationship between the genre theory and representation of the characters and if there are any links from prior decades

SERIES
A television or radio narrative that presents self-contained weekly episodes, using a recurring set of characters.

Prison Break has filmic qualities but is actually a series devloped into 2 parts. The fact the show is a series has allowed each character to be presented differently and has allowed the audience to identify with each character and the ways they're represented

PRIME TIME
7:30pm - 10:30pm, the period of time with the largest number of television viewers and, on commercial channels, the perios of time when most advertising revenue is earned.

Prison Break is screen during 'prime-time' hours both in the US and abroad thus attracting and appealing a wider target audience

STEREOTYPE
The social classification of a group of prople by identifying common characteristics and universally applying them in an often oversimplified and generalised way, such that the classification represents value judgements and the assumptions about the groups concerned.

In Prison Break, characters and ethnic minorities are stereptyped thus forcing them to be represented in particular ways. For example, T-Bag acts a vehicle for rascism and discrimination against the 'blacks'

SOCIAL REALISM
The representation of characters and issues in film and television drama in such a way as to raise serious underlying social and political issues.

This can be applied to my study because there are many issues that occur in Prison Break which reflect and aim to portray reality from life behind bars, to corruption within the system