After looking at what makes up narrative and story, Daniel showed us a short film by Daniel Askill ‘We have decided not to die’ and asked us whether this can be considered a narrative or not.

My mind automatically want’s more information when watching films like this because I’ve been programmed to be spoon fed. I have to consciously decide to suspend my expectations before I start getting agitated. If I can do this fairly quickly, then I can have a different experience than perhaps what I’m used too.

If I watch with hope that it will resolve the way I’m used to then I will be disappointed. What do I expect to happen? The characters will speak, I’ll understand why they’re there, what they’re doing, how they think, who they are, why they are doing what they’re doing, who’s making them do this, where they are, what’s happening to them. If I don’t expect these questions to be answered for me I can then create the answers myself. I can’t help but crave this information because it’s what I’m used to. So can it be considered a narrative or not?

It’s non-narrative because the characters experience no specific point of conflict rather they seem to be in a constant state of Chaos, there’s no information to set up a reason for the characters to be there or explanation of the world they’re inhabited, there’s no real resolve, there’s no communication or interaction between any of the characters.

It does however include some narrative elements such as thematic links. The characters aren’t linked physically but thematically. They are all stuck somewhere trying to escape and they are all in an element of danger. There is also a high level of suspense throughout the film. There is definitely an argument for both but I would lean towards arguing that it’s not a narrative piece. It’s more of a poetic, metaphorical exploration of certain themes. It’s more in the realm of the music video that represents a mood or certain angst. The title itself sounds more like a song title or a band rather than a film. But still, I like it 😉