2IV077 Media Analysis Lecture 3: Narrative & Genre Analysis Dr James Pamment, 6 November 2012

Required Reading Gillespie ch 2 & 3 Key Themes Genre & narrative are closely related Storytelling as repetition & difference We can identify key formal functions & roles, but at what cost?

Key Terms Genre: the classification of texts into groups Narrative: the devices, strategies and conventions governing the organization of a story into a sequence Narration: the way the substance of the story is told Plot: the substance of a story

What is Genre? Common repertoires Grouping of texts –Maps, classifications, categories Acknowledgement of a common culture Patterns of repetition & difference Intertextuality Hybridity

Why Genre? Studio production system Managing expectations Minimizing risk Advertising Audience segmentation Maintaining hierarchies of cultural status

How does Genre…? Audio-visual elements –Mise-en-scène, locations –Sound effects, music –Camera movements, editing Narrative elements –Formula, expectations Ideology –Governing morality/ethics –Representations of groups

Hybridity & Intertextuality Hollywood, TV, digitization Repeat customers Audience reflexivity Nods and winks Audiences use multiple media for same interests

Case Study: the Western (1) Themes –Wilderness/nature v civilization/progress –Law, order, justice Characters –The loner/outlaw/nomad (hero) –Bandits –Sheriff –Small town settlers Development –1903 ”The Great Train Robbery” –Golden Age (1930s, 40s) –Spaghetti Westerns (1960s)

Case Study: the Western (2) What happened to Westerns from the mid-1970s? Discuss how the genre evolved and which issues emerge e.g. Blazing Saddles (1974), Dances with Wolves (1990), Unforgiven (1992), Desperado (1995), The Quick and the Dead (1995), Wild Wild West (1999), Shanghai Knights (2003), Cowboys & Aliens (2011)

Narrative (1) Has a beginning and end Is a selective sequence of events Implies causality In time and space

Narrative (2) Has a beginning and end Reframes information based on start and end Can make reference outside of this time- frame Is self-contained

Clip: The Fresh Prince

Narrative (3) Is a selective sequence of events Just the important bits Importance determined by perspective of narrator, character or story Ellipsis = clipping of time Divided into plot and narration

Clip: Hamlet just the important bits

Narrative (4) Implies causality Closed narrative system invites simple cause and effect relations Scenes must relate to one another Acceptance of the premise and its logic Diegesis = world of the narrative

Clip: Mitchell & Webb, remain indoors

Narrative (5) In time and space Time structured in narrative –Order of events (flashbacks, non-sequential) –Duration (e.g. montage, High Noon) –Ellipsis –Frequency (repetition, alternative perspectives) Space of diegesis –Potential contra actual locations –Mise-en-scène

Clip: Rocky montage

Consider: time & space narration sequencing & causality distance & nearness ellipsis as an expression of the feeling of jet-lag Clip: Syriana plane landing

Common Narrative Structures (1) Aristotle –Beginning-middle-end –Three-act play Todorov –Equilibrium –Dis-equilibrium, disruption –New equilibrium, resolution

Common Narrative Structures (2)

Common Narrative Structures (3) Case Study Choose a familiar film or literary narrative and determine if it fits structure

Common Narrative Functions (1) Propp ( ) 100 fairy tales 31 narrative functions 8 character types

Common Narrative Functions (2) 1. A member of a family leaves home 8. Villain causes harm/injury to family/tribe member 14. Hero acquires use of a magical agent 16. Hero and villain join in direct combat 25. Difficult task proposed to the hero (trial by ordeal, riddles, test of strength/endurance, other tasks) 31. Hero marries and ascends the throne (is rewarded/promoted)

Common Character Types (1) Protagonist Antagonist / Villain Donor Helper Princess Fool (also false hero & dispatcher) Narrator –Intra- or extra-diegetic

Common Character Types (2) ProtagonistLuke Skywalker AntagonistDarth Vader DonorObi Wan HelperHan Solo PrincessLeia FoolRobots Narratorextra-diegetic

Common Character Types (3) Problems with these kinds of categories? Functionalism Shoe-horning Referential Genre-specific

Sound & Image Clip: music styles

Questions to Consider Is the 3-act narrative applicable to all stories or just certain kinds? Does a character’s function in a narrative tell us all we need to know about them? Is genre simply a style or aesthetic which can be applied onto a narrative? Is hybridity/intertextuality simply a style / aesthetic, or is it a response to changing modes of production & consumption? POSTMODERNISM

Key Themes (1) Genre & narrative are closely related –Many narrative conventions are also genre conventions –Inseparable? Storytelling as repetition & difference –Common structures: genre, narrative, characters –Intertextuality & hybridity the norm? –Iterative difference?

Key Themes (2) We can identify key formal functions & roles, but at what cost? –Square pegs in round holes? –Function over motivation? –Structure over innovation? –Style over substance? –What about film school graduate filmmakers? –Missing the point?