Thea B31 Fall 2008
Chapter 8 - Story Study Guide (revised)
1. Types of fictional narratives
a. mimesis (showing), the province of live theater
b. digesis (telling), the province of the literary epic and the novel, employs a
storyteller)
The Cinema combines both forms of storytelling & therefore is a more complex medium with a
wider range of narrative techniques at its disposal. The story is told visually, with the benefit of
editing sound, music & effects. (none of which is available to the novelist in their book). The
speed with which a film moves (editing, length of shots, number of shots) adds to the essence of
the story
Narratology - storytelling strategies--who tells the story & why? In the cinema, the problem
is determining who the message sender is is more of a problem because of the myriad of ways a
filmmaker can communicate his story. In Cinema, the implied author is the filmmaker, but many
stories are not created by a single storyteller. Multiple authorship of scripts is common-especially in the U.S., where the story is often pieced together by producers, directors, writers
&....stars--truly a joint enterprise.
When a voice-over narrator is used, he or she is often a character in the story & has a ‘vested
interest’ in helping us interpret the events & annnnd....a film’s narrator isn’t necessarily neutral-ie: Verbal Kint, a first person narrator - in “Usual Suspects” who purposely mislead the
police...and *us* with his version of what happened!!
Narration differs according to movie style: realist films, the implied author is virtually invisible.
The events speak for themselves’, as they do in most stage plays. The story seems to unfold
automatically, usually in chronological order.
In Classical narrative structures, we are generally aware of a shaping hand in the storyline. The
‘storyteller’, who keeps a low profile, edits out boring gaps & keeps the action on track, moving
toward a specific destination--the resolution of the story’s central conflict.
In formalistic narratives, the author is *overtly* manipulative, sometimes scrambling the
chronology of the story or heightening or restructuring events to maximize a thematic idea. The
story is told from a subjective perspective.
The story can be defined as the general subject matter, the raw materials of a dramatic action in
‘chronological’ sequence. The plot involves the storyteller’s--method of superimposing a
structural pattern over the story--if told in flashbacks (again, Usual Suspects, What Dreams May
Come--many films told in flashback). The implied author motivates the characters& provides a
cause-effect logic to the sequence of events.
Ch 8 - Study Guide
2.
--Narrative strategies (how the story is told) are often determined by genre. ie: those type of
movies that thrive on suspense (thrillers, police stories, mysteries), the narrative will deliberately
withhold info. forcing us to guess & fill in the gaps. In romantic comedies, we generally know
the outcome in advance. The emphasis in these type of films is on how the boy will win over the
girl, not if he or she wins.
--The prior knowledge of a film’s star also defines its narrative parameters. With personality
stars especially, we can guess the essential nature of a film’s narrative in advance--John Wayne,
Tom Cruise.
--Audiences also judge a film in advance by the connotations of its title: ie - Shanghai Noon is a
play on the 70s revisionist western, High Noon, so that tells us it’s a comedy/parody & that the
far east is somehow involved--unheard of in previous westerns.
--The style of the credits & the accompanying score help us determine the ‘tone’ of the picture
(The Shining)
--The opening ‘expository scenes’ also establish the internal ‘world’ of the story--ie Jack’s
interview at Overlook Lodge. We learned what the family could possibly face taking that job &
what the conflicts might be. Shanghai Noon, the Forbidden City, the Princess Pei-Pei is
kidnapped & members of the Royal Guard are dispatched, Chan Wang is only allowed to go to
carry his uncle’s baggage because the Emperor considers him an idiot.
--The opening exposition scenes of most movies establish the time frame/location of the story-whether it will unfold in flashbacks, in the present, or in some combination.
Many movies are structured around the Grand Hotel formula (so called after the 1932 film
featuring an assortment of characters who are thrown together in a single location or who are
united by a common concern or ‘shared lifestyle’). Longtime Companion centers on a group of
(mostly gay) friends & how they cope with a strange new disease--AIDS. The Poseidon
Adventure, Inferno are other films that follow the Grand Hotel formula.
The classical paradigm is a term invented by scholars to describe a certain kind of narrative
structure that has dominated fiction film production ever since the 1910s. By far the most
popular type of story organization, especially in the U.S., where it reigns virtually unchallenged.
Derived from the live theater, this narrative model is based on a conflict between a protagonist,
who initiates the action, and an antagonist, who resists it. Most films in this form begin with an
implied dramatic question. We want to know how the protagonist will get what he or she wants
in the face of considerable opposition. The antagonist & protagonist are well matched in their
abilities, skills & strengths or it would be easy for one or the other to just roll right over the
other--where’s the exciting story in that !!??!!
Lecture notes Ch 8
3.
It was Aristotle implied the structure of classical drama in The Poetics, but it was not until the
nineteenth century that the inverted “V” structure was diagrammed by the German scholar
Gustav Freytag. This type of structure begins with an overt conflict which is increasingly
intensified with the rising action of the following scenes. To add urgency to the conflict,
filmmakers sometimes include some kind of deadline, thus intensifying the emotion. The
escalation is treated in terms of cause-effect, with each scene implying a link to the next. The
conflict builds to its maximum tension in the climax. Here the protagonist & antagonist clash
overtly. One wins, the other loses.
After their confrontation, the dramatic intensity subsides in the resolution. In the resolution, all
the loose ends of the story are tied up/resolved & life returns to normal with a closing off of the
action. The story ends with some kind of formal closure--traditionally a wedding or a dance in
comedies, a death in tragedies, a reunion or return to normal in dramas. The final shot, because
of its privileged position, is often meant to be a philosophical overview of some kind, a summing
up of the significance of the previous material. Rainman returning to the institution to resume
his most comfortable, familiar life, free of the stress of the outside world, but now connected
with his brother--the best of both worlds for him. Charlie finally having a strong family
connection--with ‘Rainman’ who used to sing to him when he was a frightened small child.
The Shining--pictures on the wall, 1921, with Jack in the center…….he was always the caretaker.
Classical plot structures are linear & often take the form of a journey, a chase, or a search.
ie: a journey “Lord of the Rings”. Even the characters are defined primarily in terms of what
they do. “Action is character”, according to Syd Field, who has written several handbooks
One of the greatest plot points in the history of cinema is found in Buster Keaton’s The
General, a textbook example of the classical structure. P.378 We’re introduced to Johnnie,
our inept hero, his two loves--his train, The General & Annabelle Lee, his somewhat flaky
girlfriend. When the Civil War is declared, our hero, Johnnie Gray (the blue uniforms of the
north/Yankees & the gray of the south/confederates) tries to enlist but is rejected by the
authorities. He is usually the butt of the jokes.
The hijacking of his train, with Annabelle Lee on it, sets off the rising action. Johnnie chases the
train to the north, sneaks into the enemy’s camp & rescues Annabelle Lee single-handedly. The
next day, the second chase begins reversing the patterns of the previous day, taking up the third
quarter of the plot. The rains are now traveling southward. The gag clusters are reversed, now
on the Yankees, most parables of the first chase--telegraph wires, logs on the tracks, a water
tower, a burning bridge & so on.
Johnnie & Annabelle arrive at the confederate camp in time to warn them of the impending
Union attack. Act III a battle sequence between the two great armies. Johnnie shows himself to
be a doggedly perseverant soldier, though not always a successful one. He is rewarded for his
heroism & a commission in the army. He also wins back the love of his girl. All ends happily.
Keaton’s narrative structure follows an elaborately counterbalanced pattern, in which the earlier
humiliations are triumphantly cancelled out on the second day.
Study Guide Ch 8
4.
Though realism is a style, the conventions are less obvious than those used by
expressionists. It is a style which disguises itself
b. loose, discursive plots with no clearly defined beginning, middle, or end;
“slice of life” Episodic structure ie: M.A.S.H.
c. conflict not always clear cut
d. structures often borrowed from the cycles of nature
1. circular
2. cyclical
3. eposodic
e. non-intrusive, implied author
f. antisentimental point of view
Other realistic films are structured around a limited period of time, like summer vacation or a
school semester. Such movies center on rites of passage such as birth, puberty, first love, first
job, marriage-painful separations, death. Risky Business (Tom Cruise).
Formalistic narratives
a. revel in their artificiality
b. often employ intrusive author
c. often use fragmented structure
d. Alfred Hitchcock--obsessed with “doubles” and “the wrong man” motif
e. Lyrical interludes--musicals, sci-fi (hi-fi) & fantasies
f. Biopic films==biophysical The Elephant Man, My Left Foot
GENRE & MYTH
Genre film: a specific type of movie: war, gangster, Sci-Fi film & so on. Many genre films are
directed toward a specific audience. Coming-of-age films generally aimed at teenagers, actionadventure films focus on all-male activities, etc
The most enduring genres adapt to changing social conditions. Genre films often appeal to the
subconscious ‘anxieties’ in the audience of that time period. In the 1950’s, Japanese Sci Fi
films dealt with hideous mutations that resulted from atomic radiation from the atomic bombs
dropped on Hiroshima & Nagasaki during WW II. American Sci fi films of the ‘50s had a
“paranoid style” intensifying the “Red Scare”--the Soviet Union/Communists might take over.
They also had an atomic bomb.
As social conditions change, so do genres. They reflect the anxieties of the audience (Invasion of
the Body Snatchers)
Study Guide Ch 8
5.
Film critics classify genre movies into FOUR MAIN GENRE CYCLES
1. Primitive or Experimental : This phase is usually naive, simplistic, though powerful
in its emotions & impact, in part because of the novelty of the form. Many of the
conventions of the genre are established in this phase. Edwin S. Porter’s The Great
Train Robbery (1903) was the first Western & falls into this category.
2. Classical: This intermediate stage embodies such classical ideals as balance,
richness and poise. The genre’s values are assured & widely shared by the audience.
Most of the genre films between the 30s & 50s belong to this category.
3. Revisionist or Refinement: These genre films are generally less certain in its
values. This phase tends to be stylistically complex, appealing more to the intellect than
to the emotions. The genre’s pre-established conventions are exploited to question or
undermine popular beliefs-- The violence of the 1960s & society’s questioning of
authority & right and wrong influenced the commonly recognized conventions of genres
to be reinvented/revised. Sam Peckinpah’s The Wild Bunch is one such film.
4. Parodic: This phase of a genre’s development is an outright mockery of its
conventions, reducing them to howling clichés & presenting them in a comic manner-High Anxiety, Shanghai Noon, Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein, to name a few.