Non-narrative films eschew or de-emphasize stories and narratives, instead employing other forms like lists, repetition, or contrasts as their organizational structure. For example, a non-narrative film might create a visual list (of objects found in an old house, for instance), repeat a single image as an organizing pattern (returning to an ancient carving on the front door of the house), or alternate between objects in a way that suggests different fundamental contrasts (contrasting the rooms, clothing, and tools used by the men and the women in the house).

A non-narrative movie may certainly embed stories within its organization, but those stories usually become secondary to the non-narrative pattern.
(p. 263)

Corrigan, Timothy, and Patricia White. The Film Experience: An Introduction, 3rd Edition. Third Edition edition. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2012. Print.

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