The aims and objectives of this page is to asses the Narrative of my three chosen researched films and discuss how this relates back to my film.
Define
Narrative is the coherence/organisation given to a series of facts.
Explanation
Narrative is the way a story is related to a series of events and interpretations which form our view. As humans, we need narrative to construct meaning in our lives, in all the things we do, we see a start, middle and ending- this is similar to film narrative structures. In every film we see a start middle and end but it is up to the director to either follow the Linear or Non-Linear Narrative. A Linear Narrative will run in order from start to finish whereas a Non-Linear Narrative will jump in-between. Examples of Non Linear Narrative films are; Natural Born killers and 'Santas Sangre'.
There are different Narrative Structures that we can follow. The most common ones are; Todorov (equilibrium, dis equilibrium, equilibrium), Propp (characters and actions such as hero, protagonist, their are 31) Strauss (constant creating of conflict/opposition within the narrative) or otherwise known as Binary Oppositions.
NATURAL BORN KILLERS
This film follows the Non Linear structure, it uses flashbacks to present this (I Love Mallory scene) and challenges Todorov structure as it does not follow the typical equilibrium, dis equilibrium, equilibrium narrative structure. I would like to replicate this in my film as I do not want to follow the Hollywood style of Todorov, instead I will be taking a realist approach in order to present my ideology.The narrative follows the characters of Mickey and Mallory who travel across Route 666 conducting mass slaughters for fun. This is then magnified in the media and as a result the couple become 'legendary folk heroes'. Each of the stories are told from a character who is left alive after each of there killings.
This film follows the Non Linear structure, it uses flashbacks to present this (I Love Mallory scene) and challenges Todorov structure as it does not follow the typical equilibrium, dis equilibrium, equilibrium narrative structure. I would like to replicate this in my film as I do not want to follow the Hollywood style of Todorov, instead I will be taking a realist approach in order to present my ideology.The narrative follows the characters of Mickey and Mallory who travel across Route 666 conducting mass slaughters for fun. This is then magnified in the media and as a result the couple become 'legendary folk heroes'. Each of the stories are told from a character who is left alive after each of there killings.
THIS IS ENGLAND
This film follows the story of a young boy aged about 11 growing up in working class England in the 80s. The narrative shows him meeting a group of skinheads on his way home from school and joining the gang, getting up to mischief and trouble whilst forming a new identity within the group.
FRIDGE
This film follows a simple narrative of a young boy getting stuck in a fridge. Set in an extremely poverty stricken area in the North each of the characters are shown to have there own battles they have to face as well as helping the boy from out of the locked fridge. It has an extremely realistic feel and follows a standard narrative structure, the beginning starting off with a problem or conflict that needs to be sorted, the second section showing the problem escalating and the last section showing the problem being fixed. This is all presented within 20 minutes, during this time, the audience feels anxious and nervous as the storyline shows to be problematic when the young boy is stuck in the fridge, its presents us with an enigma and keeps the audience gripped throughout.
This film follows a simple narrative of a young boy getting stuck in a fridge. Set in an extremely poverty stricken area in the North each of the characters are shown to have there own battles they have to face as well as helping the boy from out of the locked fridge. It has an extremely realistic feel and follows a standard narrative structure, the beginning starting off with a problem or conflict that needs to be sorted, the second section showing the problem escalating and the last section showing the problem being fixed. This is all presented within 20 minutes, during this time, the audience feels anxious and nervous as the storyline shows to be problematic when the young boy is stuck in the fridge, its presents us with an enigma and keeps the audience gripped throughout.