Narrative Form
Week 7’s reading dealt with the Narrative form and what we consider a narrative to be (A chain of events linked by cause and effect and occurring in time and space). The reading illustrated that although a narrative relies on causality, time and space – other principles are able to govern the film. For example, films can be made up of parallel journeys such as in Julie & Julia – where two women’s journeys are paralleled against each other.
The reading then elucidated the different between plot and story. The story can be described as the series of chronological events that occur within space and time – and the viewers infer the plot from the story.
I found it interesting that due to the fact that narrative relies on cause and effect – characters usually play causal roles within narratives. This is due to the idea that changes occur within the narrative as an effect of the characters’ behaviour and actions within certain situations.
Interestingly, we were then shown that narratives have a certain structure consisting of openings, closings and patterns of development. The opening refers to beginning or the setup of the film. The development sections usually consist of a certain change within the narrative – such as a gain of knowledge or character change and development.
The reading also covered climaxes and closings, which explained that narratives will likely have a climax or a sense of purpose before the narrative unfolds and ends.
The reading then briefly explained segmentation of narratives with the example of Citizen Kane.