Narrative form and patterns of development We all “go to the movies to have a

good time. But that is exactly my point: what we want from the movies is not just distraction diversion or passing amusement. We want satisfaction” (New York Times, 5 June 2005). A. O. Scott (class of ‘88)

Narrative form and patterns of development Some features that all narratives share.

Narrative patterns typical of the classical Hollywood cinema.

How to talk about the narrative structure of individual films.

Most narratives defined by . . . UNITY:

A narrative is a self-contained whole with a beginning, a middle, and an end.

Unity also means that the parts of the narrative strive to contribute to the whole, and that this whole is unfolding in an orderly and systematic way.

CLOSURE: A narrative presents an already completed sequence of

events. The order of events, and the relations of cause and effect

that link them, are fixed and irreversible. “IMAGINARINESS”

The unity, coherence, and predetermined outcomes of fictional worlds.

Diegesis

The diegesis is the fictional world implied by the film. a function both of plot (a self-contained

fictional universe defined by the unity, closure, and “imaginariness” represented on the screen);

and of story (the spectator’s mental or psychological participation).

Realism vs. verisimilitude

Narratives are motivated The film system:

every element contributes to forming an organised whole.

Every element of film form will function to advance the narrative in some way.

Motivation mean that most of what you see or hear in a film is meaningful.

Motifs are basic elements of narrative meaning

A motif is any significant element of film form.

A motif is by definition repetitive. It recurs throughout the film, often in different forms.

A motif can serve multiple narrative functions. parallelism: motifs may cue us to posit

similarities among different narrative elements.

Can you comment on some of the following motifs from The Usual Suspects?

What form do the motifs take?

How do they function to unify the narrative form of the film?

Do they set up parallelisms in the film?

Are there patterns of similarity and/or contrast as these motifs unfold across the film narrative?

Classical Hollywood cinema is . . .

1. Human centred.2. Driven by desire.3. Built on opposition and conflict.4. Linear: actions and events are linked in a

cause-effect chain.5. Clear and complete motivation of action and

events.6. Objective or omniscient narration.7. Strong sense of closure.

Classical Hollywood cinema In what ways does this week’s film

conform to the seven principal conventions of the classical Hollywood cinema?

In what ways does it deviate from this aesthetic norm?

Plot and story The plot refers to the ordering of actions and events

as they actually appear in the film in their closed and irreversible sequence. The plot is organised by various patterns of development.

The story refers to the spectator’s mental reconstruction of those actions and events into a chronological and meaningful pattern. The spectator infers story information and chronology from

the cues offered by plot presentation.

Segmentation of The Usual Suspects (1995) -l - = fade out/in -m- = dissolve italics indicates present time/indented segments are past time -l - 0. Credits -l - 1. San Pedro, CA—night: death and destruction at the docks. -m- 2. Verbal begins his story . . . -l -

New York City—6 weeks ago. • McManus arrested in b .ed • Hockney arrested at his ga .rage -l - • Fenster arr .ested • Keaton ar rested at restaura .nt

’ Verbal s story continues (voice-o )ff :

• The line- & up interrogati .on • In thejail cell: the shakedown & M ’cManus “ .”job

3. , San Pedro CA—present day. Jack Baer observes the crime scene at the d .ock Tw o survi .vors 4. Transiti :on plane landing at San Pedro airp .ort 5. San Pedro police department. Jeffrey Rabin & Dave Kuj :an “Two hou ,rs just ‘till he makes bail.” 6. Hospital: Bae ’r s interrogation of survivi ng sail .or “Keyser Soze!”

Patterns of development in Hollywood Cinema Most Hollywood plots are structured in three

acts.

The three acts of most Hollywood films are further divided into six sections of narrative development.

The typical Hollywood plot follows a canonic form.

The six basic plot sections

1. Exposition

2. Conflicts defined and developed

3. Potential successes and failures

4. Apparent disaster

5. Rapid turn of events

6. Climax and conclusion

1. Xanadu: Kane dies 2. Projection room:

1. "News on the march" 2. Reporters discuss "Rosebud"

3. El Rancho nightclub: Thompson tries to interview Susan 4. Thatcher library:

a. Thompson enters and reads Thatcher's manuscript b. Kane's mother sends the boy off with Thatcher c. Kane grows up and buys the Inquirer d. Kane launches the Inquirer's attack on big business e. The Depression: Kane sells Thatcher his newspaper chain f. Thompson leaves library

5. Bernstein's office:

a. Thompson visits Bernstein b. Kane takes over the Inquirer c. Montage: the Inquirer's growth d. Party: the Inquirer celebrates getting the Chronicle staff e. Leland and Bernstein discuss Kane's trip abroad f. Kane returns with his fiancee Emily g. Bernstein concludes his reminiscence

6. Nursing home:

a. Thompson talks with Leland b. Breakfast table montage: Kane's marriage deteriorates c. Leland continues his recollections d. Kane meets Susan and goes to her room e. Kane's political campaign culminates in his speech f. Kane confronts Gettys, Emily, and Susan g. Kane loses election and Leland asks to be transferred h. Kane marries Susan i. Susan's opera premiere j. Because Leland is drunk, Kane finishes Leland's review k. Leland concludes his reminiscence

7. El Rancho nightclup: 1. Thompson talks with Susan 2. Susan rehearses her singing 3. Susan's opera premiere 4. Kane insists that Susan go on singing 5. Montage: Susan's opera career 6. Susan attempts suicide and Kane promises that

she can quit singing 7. Xanadu: Susan bored 8. Montage: Susan plays with jigsaw puzzles 9. Xanadu: Kane proposes a picnic 10. Picnic: Kane slaps Susan 11. Xanadu: Susan leaves Kane 12. Susan concludes her reminiscence

8. Xanadu:

a. Thompson talks with Raymond b. Kane destroys Susan's room and picks up paperweight,

murmuring "Rosebud" c. Raymond concludes his reminiscence;

Thompson talks with the other reporters; all leave d. Survey of Kane's possessions leads to a revelation of Rosebud,

exterior of gate and of castle; the end

Plot: the “canonic form” The basic pattern (seven phases of action):

Initial state of affairs violence or rupture restoration undisturbed stage disturbance struggle elimination of disturbance.

A double causal structure: two plot lines. Each plot line encompasses a goal, obstacle

and climax. The two plot lines coincide at the climax. Resolving one plot line triggers the resolution

of the other.

Why segment a narrative? The problem of citation: defining large

narrative units. Segmentation help us understand the basic

principles of plot structure and organisation. In narrative films, the primary level of action and

sense is the segment, and the internal organisation of segments, not the shot.

Our global understanding of the film system rests not at the level of the image, but through the association and juxtaposition of images.

The organisation of shots into segments, segments into larger parts, and parts into acts.

How to define a segment1. Beginnings and endings of segments often signalled

by “marks of punctuation”: fades, dissolves, wipes, irises, or “hard” cuts.

2. A segment is often defined by unities of time, place, and action. • A single narrative idea will be followed through from

statement to conclusion.

3. Apprehension of formal unity in the ordering of the shots.

4. Apprehension of formal unity in the context of the film considered as a whole.

Segmentation of The Usual Suspects (1995) -l - = fade out/in -m- = dissolve italics indicates present time/indented segments are past time -l - 0. Credits -l - 1. San Pedro, CA—night: death and destruction at the docks. -m- 2. Verbal begins his story . . . -l -

New York City—6 weeks ago. • McManus arrested in b .ed • Hockney arrested at his ga .rage -l - • Fenster arr .ested • Keaton ar rested at restaura .nt

’ Verbal s story continues (voice-o )ff :

• The line- & up interrogati .on • In thejail cell: the shakedown & M ’cManus “ .”job

3. , San Pedro CA—present day. Jack Baer observes the crime scene at the d .ock Tw o survi .vors 4. Transiti :on plane landing at San Pedro airp .ort 5. San Pedro police department. Jeffrey Rabin & Dave Kuj :an “Two hou ,rs just ‘till he makes bail.” 6. Hospital: Bae ’r s interrogation of survivi ng sail .or “Keyser Soze!”

How to define a segment3 Apprehension of formal unity in the ordering of the

shots. Look for distinct patterns of composition and/or editing. Segments are often spatially closed but causally open. Action in distinct phases:

exposition struggle resolution of prior cause-effect line opening of a new one

One line of action is suspended while another is opened.