Chapter 1: The Nature of Narrative

Elements of Narrative The fictive stance Structure: story and plot Plot: the way events are sequenced Story: all the events that make up the narrative in proper chronology Plot is a subset of the story Narration and point-of-view

Authorship and Point of View A film does not have a ‘sole’ author Filmmaking is a collaborative act Point of view in cinema is typically third person Subjective shots can create brief, first-person perspective

The Classical Hollywood Narrative The prevalent narrative type in popular cinema A main line of action with subplots The plot is activated by a main character pursuing a goal One plot event follows another, as links in a chain A line of rising interest and tension as characters face obstacles to their goals At the conclusion, all story issues are resolved Example: The Searchers (1956)

Alternatives to the Classical Hollywood Narrative Narratives may emphasize Ambiguity Minimal or implicit causality Nonlinear narratives or ‘anti-narrative’ Alternative designs often found in Independent productions Avant garde cinema European and other foreign film traditions

The Viewer’s Contribution to Narrative The search for pattern Stories activate the viewer’s desire to know ‘what happens next’ Viewers infer connections among story events to complete the pattern ‘Meaning’ is not in the film The viewer helps create it

Film Genres The basic American film genres: The Western The Gangster film The Musical The Horror film

The Western The genre pre-exists cinema, emerging in late 19th century dime novels Puritan captivity narratives the Leatherstocking Tales (1823-1841) painting (ethnographic studies, action scenes) theater

The Western Defined by period, setting, and theme The stories address contradictory cultural values the individual/community violence/law wilderness/civilization The Western resolves these contradictions by suggesting that violence is necessary for the preservation of community

The Gangster Film Emerges as mature genre in early 1930s Little Caesar (1930) The Public Enemy (1931) Scarface (1932) The classical structure portrays the ‘rise and fall’ of a charismatic criminal

Cultural Roots of the Gangster Film the Horatio Alger myth of success classical narrative arc 19th century robber barons the Great Depression Prohibition Sound filmmaking These elements combine to establish a critique of American society

The Musical A new genre tied to the beginning of sound filmmaking ( The Jazz Singer, 1927) Two figures dominate the 1930s: Busby Berkeley (Warner Bros.) kaleidoscopic effects Gold Diggers of 1933

MGM and the Freed unit responsible for the great MGM musicals of the 1940s and 1950s Freed collaborated with Vincente Minnelli, Fred Astaire, and Gene Kelly

Thus, the stories are episodic The genre descended from theater, vaudeville, comedy sketches and songs Thus, the stories are episodic Narrative is slight, and it furnishes basis for song-and-dance of all genres, the musical is least oriented toward narrative Narrative gives way to a stylized fantasy of music, movement, and color in the production numbers

The Horror Film Silent era – Lon Chaney and the German expressionists Sound era: Universal Pictures creates the classic movie monsters: Dracula Frankenstein The Mummy The Wolf Man

Evolution of the Genre Universal Pictures (1930s) Contemporary horror Atmosphere, suggestion, triumph of ‘normality’ Contemporary horror Explicit gore and shock, triumph of the monster

Horror’s Purpose Horror films question ‘normality’ and human identity Reveal doubts & anxieties about what makes us human Deal with the question: What is required to remain human?