Chapter 7: The Nature of Narrative This multimedia product and its contents are protected under copyright law. The following are prohibited by law: any public performance or display, including transmission of any image over a network; preparation of any derivative work, including the extraction, in whole or in part, of any images; any rental, lease, or lending of the program. Copyright © Allyn and Bacon 2007

Elements of Narrative ä The fictive stance ä Structure: story and plot ä Plot: the way events are sequenced ä Story: all the events that make up the narrative in proper chronology ä Plot is a subset of the story ä Narration and point-of-view Copyright © Allyn and Bacon 2007

Authorship and Point of View ä A film does not have a ‘sole’ author ä Filmmaking is a collaborative act ä Real and implied author ä Point of view in cinema is typically third person ä Subjective shots can create brief, first-person perspective Copyright © Allyn and Bacon 2007

The Classical Hollywood Narrative ä The prevalent narrative type in popular cinema ä A main line of action with subplots ä The plot is activated by a main character pursuing a goal ä One plot event follows another, as links in a chain ä A line of rising interest and tension as characters face obstacles to their goals ä At the conclusion, all story issues are resolved ä Example: The Searchers (1956) Copyright © Allyn and Bacon 2007

Alternatives to the Classical Hollywood Narrative ä Narratives may emphasize ä Ambiguity ä Minimal or implicit causality ä Nonlinear narratives or ‘anti-narrative’ ä Example: last year at Marienbad ä Alternative designs often found in ä Independent productions ä Avant garde cinema ä European and other foreign film traditions Copyright © Allyn and Bacon 2007

The Viewer’s Contribution to Narrative ä The search for pattern ä Stories activate the viewer’s desire to know ‘what happens next’ ä Viewers infer connections among story events to complete the pattern ä ‘Meaning’ is not in the film ä The viewer helps create it Copyright © Allyn and Bacon 2007

Film Genres ä The basic American film genres: ä The Western ä The Gangster film ä The Musical ä The Horror film ä Science Fiction ä The War film ä Film Noir Copyright © Allyn and Bacon 2007

The Western ä The genre pre-exists cinema, emerging in late 19th century ä dime novels ä Puritan captivity narratives ä the Leatherstocking Tales ( ) ä painting (ethnographic studies, action scenes) ä theater Copyright © Allyn and Bacon 2007

The Western ä Defined by period, setting, and theme ä The stories address contradictory cultural values ä the individual/community ä violence/law ä wilderness/civilization ä The Western resolves these contradictions by suggesting that violence is necessary for the preservation of community Copyright © Allyn and Bacon 2007

The Gangster Film ä Emerges as mature genre in early 1930s ä Little Caesar (1930) ä The Public Enemy (1931) ä Scarface (1932) ä The classical structure portrays the ‘rise and fall’ of a charismatic criminal Copyright © Allyn and Bacon 2007

Cultural Roots of the Gangster Film ä the Horatio Alger myth of success ä classical narrative arc ä 19th century robber barons ä the Great Depression ä Prohibition ä Sound filmmaking ä These elements combine to establish a critique of American society Copyright © Allyn and Bacon 2007

The Musical ä A new genre tied to the beginning of sound filmmaking ( The Jazz Singer, 1927) ä Two figures dominate the 1930s: ä Busby Berkeley (Warner Bros.) ä kaleidoscopic effects ä Gold Diggers of 1933 Copyright © Allyn and Bacon 2007

MGM and the Freed unit ä responsible for the great MGM musicals of the 1940s and 1950s ä Freed collaborated with Vincente Minnelli, Fred Astaire, and Gene Kelly Copyright © Allyn and Bacon 2007

The Musical ä The genre descended from theater, vaudeville, comedy sketches and songs ä Thus, the stories are episodic ä Narrative is slight, and it furnishes basis for song- and-dance ä of all genres, the musical is least oriented toward narrative ä Narrative gives way to a stylized fantasy of music, movement, and color in the production numbers Copyright © Allyn and Bacon 2007

The Horror Film ä Silent era – Lon Chaney and the German expressionists ä Sound era: ä Universal Pictures creates the classic movie monsters: ä Dracula ä Frankenstein ä The Mummy ä The Wolf Man Copyright © Allyn and Bacon 2007

Evolution of the Genre ä Universal Pictures (1930s) ä Atmosphere, suggestion, triumph of ‘normality’ ä Contemporary horror ä Explicit gore and shock, triumph of the monster Copyright © Allyn and Bacon 2007

Horror’s Purpose ä Horror films question ‘normality’ and human identity ä Reveal doubts & anxieties about what makes us human ä Deal with the question: What is required to remain human? Copyright © Allyn and Bacon 2007

Science Fiction ä Roots in “trick films” of early cinema. ä Did not emerge as major genre until 1950s ä Cold war emphasis on space travel ä Anxieties about nuclear weapons ä The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (1953) ä Them! (1954) ä Films expressed cold war anxiety ä Invaders from Mars (1953) ä Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1957) ä Popularity diminished in the 1960’s Copyright © Allyn and Bacon 2007

Science Fiction ä Speculative aspects vs. popular serials ä Lends itself to Utopian visions, but few films actually fall into this category ä Reflect back to us our anxieties about the present ä Powerful means for exploring anxieties about where our world is heading ä Grim and pessimistic view ä Decaying environment ä Antidemocratic governmental and corporate control Copyright © Allyn and Bacon 2007

Science Fiction ä Dramatizes contemporary problems in different storylines that remain relevant to modern life. ä Example: I, Robot ä Major Films ä Silent Era ä Metropolis (1927) ä Sound Era ä 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) ä Star Wars series ä Star Trek Series ä Lord of the Rings Series Copyright © Allyn and Bacon 2007

The War Film ä Begins in Silent and early Sound era ä The Birth of a Nation (1915) ä The Big Parade (1925) ä All Quiet on the Western Front (1930) ä Hollywood joins the war effort in World War II ä Flying Tigers (1942) ä Burma! (1945) ä They Were Expendable (1945) ä Sands of Iwo Jima (1949) ä Films show why war is fought, celebrate patriotism, and sacrifice Copyright © Allyn and Bacon 2007

The War Film ä WWII Films usually show clear cut moral focus ä Subsequent wars give birth to ambivalent and critical opinions ä Film portrays this ambivalence ä Apocalypse Now (1979) ä Platoon (1986) ä Ideology in the War Film is tied to the political and social context surrounding a given war Copyright © Allyn and Bacon 2007

The War Film ä Battle Epics ä Bird’s eye view ä Combat Films ä Close-in view ä Concentrate on small group ä Makes politics more distant, less relevant ä Home-front Dramas ä Domestic sacrifice ä Submarine films ä The War film Encompasses affirmation as well as critique Copyright © Allyn and Bacon 2007

Film Noir ä Begins in 1941 ä Citizen Kane ä The Maltese Falcon ä Last classical Noir ä Touch of Evil (1958) ä Classical period of Noir is tied to WWII and cold war. ä Sense of anxiety ä Noir changes with introduction of color ä Neo Noir Copyright © Allyn and Bacon 2007

Film Noir ä Dark, pessimistic films ä Stories of crime, often in urban settings ä Flashbacks and voice-over narration ä Hero is often a victim in a web of crime and betrayal ä Strongly fatalistic, foredoomed ä Hero is menaced by seductive but dangerous woman ä Femme Fatale Copyright © Allyn and Bacon 2007

Film Noir ä Key visual influence is German Expressionism ä Emphasizes shadows and darkness ä Low-key lighting ä Black and white emphasizes contrast and shadows ä Neonoir ä Introduction of color ends classical noir period ä Soften shadows, weaken contrast Copyright © Allyn and Bacon 2007