Narration in writing and in media as a whole is an unavoidable feature intrinsically linked with the process of story telling. Although the greater portion of the narration discussed in the tutorials is the literal act of employing dialogue so as to contextualise visuals, I have been turning over the idea of narration as more or less a synonym to story telling. Much of the relationship between narration/the narrator and the story can be considered as a relationship between subjectivity and objectivity, where narration is the vehicle by which a story is transformed from an objective occurrence to the subjective recount of that occurrence. While I am very much interested in the relationship between the subjective and the objective when considering the recreation and representation of a subject/event/observation, the consideration of the act or practice of narration is difficult to address as I find it to be rather complex with respect to its relationship to perspective. When it comes to observational writing in particular, to lend excessive character to the narrator, whether this be achieved in directly acknowledging the point of view and context of the narrator or in indirectly creating this character in the means and language by which the observation is constructed, I am uncertain as to what degree the active inclusion of subjectivity is appropriate. To acknowledge the inevitable bias and subjectivity with which representation and translation of life experiences is intertwined is arguably an important aspect of observational writing as it informs the reader as to the lens through which representation is achieved and therefore may enable a better understanding of the reality of the event, however to allow the bias and subjectivity to become of immediate importance to an observation as a piece of writing arguably also reduces the degree to which it may be considered as genuinely observational by facilitating the dominance of subjectivity and therefore obscuring the objective reality.

The immediate consideration of narration in tutorials, however, and the viewing of the relevant clips in class has shed some light on the balance between subjectivity and objectivity. Of particular interest was the clips from the documentary film, Die Getraeumten (2016). In what was viewed of the film, not only is it the documentary approach and therefore sustained attempt at objectivity seemingly kept central throughout, but what is observed and documented is the relationship between actors and how the audience’s subjective perception of such is defined by the way the dialogue and discourses between a third party frames this relationship. In this, not only is the objectivity maintained to such a degree that the piece may be considered still a documentary, but the impact of subjectivity is both immediately acknowledged and manipulated. I am uncertain at this stage as to how I can make my understanding of this film and the approach to narration within immediately applicable to my own writing process as I continue to grapple with the balance between objective and subjective, however it is comforting to see that both can co-exist as important elements when adopting an observational approach.