The three main areas of Narrative structure are story, plot and narrative. the plot is the arrangement of which the story is told e.g. beginning, middle and end. The story is the whole world in which the story takes place in, also known as the whole diegesis. A narrative is the overall arrangement of how the story is told. In films, the narrative includes the following:
- The story Context
- The Plot:
The plot is the way the film is told. Plot refers to the sequence of events inside a story which affect other events through the principle of cause and effect. The causal events of a plot can be thought of as a series of sentences linked by "and so". Plots can vary from simple structures such as in a traditional ballad to complex interwoven structures sometimes referred to as an imbroglio. The term plot can serve as a verb and refer to a character planning future actions in the story. The plot is very similar to the story line.
- Linear
- Non-linear
- Flashback
- Realist
- Anti-Realist
- Open Endings
- Closed Endings
Linear
This is a narrative that runs in a straight line in events of chronological order, a good examples of linear narratives are Soap Oprah. They are aimed at actuality as they want to represent real life as it is experienced. A good example is Eastenders as each episode has a beginning, middle and a end in chronological order. For example, in a episode Phil was trying to find out who had punched him so the episode then developed to Phil finding out who done it and then him confronting them about it. However you would of had to watch the next episode to find out what happened when Phil confronted the person who had punched him.
The linear film example I have chosen in Walt Disney's Frozen as the film starts with the girls at a young age then chronologically follows then through their story which involves a equilibrium, a disequilibrium and finally a equilibrium again.
Children's films are a common example of linear films as they have to be simple for the target audience to understand.
Non-Linear
This is the opposite to an linear narrative as it does not proceed in a straight line, as the narrative does not go in chronological order to add drama for the audience. For example, in a crime plot the writer might start with the beginning to keep the audience engaged. The origin of non-linear films date back to the early days of film with the revolutionary Russian film makers such as Sergei Eisenstein, Vsevolod Pudovkin and Alexander Dovzhenko. In the early 90s however, film director Quentin Tarantino influenced the rise of non-linear films with the most common of his films being Resovouir Dogs (1992) and Pulp Fiction (1994). This then influenced directors of the 21st century to use lon-linear narratives such as Steven Spielberg and Christopher Nolan.
Example: The Grudge (2004)
This is a perfect example of a non-linear narrative as it just throws you into the deep end. For example, the first 10 minutes of the film are about a group of schoolgirls who enter the house and then they are consumed by the Grudge the film then precedes with the movie constantly bouncing back to the origins of the Grudge. They are then explained later on in the film with the use of flashbacks and other filming techniques. Horror film are usually non-linear as they want to keep there viewers on the edge of their seat at all time.
Flashbacks
These are not to be confused with non-linear narratives. They usually begin later on in the story and then return to the beginning of the story and it goes on from there. Flashbacks are normally used by the film maker if they want to explain or back up a story. However, they can also be unreliable. For example, Alfred Hitchcock's Stage Fright from 1950 notoriously featured a flashback that did not tell the truth but dramatized a lie from a witness.
In this hit thriller flashbacks are used to tell the story of con man Verbal Kint and his criminal friends as well as a mysterious hitman called Keyser Söze. The flashbacks makes the audience feel distorted as even though the flashback is showing us what has happened but the fact that is coming from the mind of a convicted criminal it makes us as the audience question weather this man is telling the truth. As we know he was not telling the truth as later in the film we found out he was not telling the truth and his flashback became a puzzle for the story line of the film. Therefore, this is a example of braking the tradition that flashbacks should always tell the truth.
Realist
All films have a certain sense of realism however, there is a difference between realist and realistic Realist narratives try to capture life as they see it an example of this is Social realism as this genre focuses on problem s we have in everyday life. Realistic film however aim to preserve an internal logic in the film. For example, the film cannot include a random sequence as it would break the films logic, films in which do this usually are left with a bad review of they are just not well made by the director.
A good example of a social realist film in the UK was the 2006 hit Kidulthood, this was a social realist film that captures the story of a group of teenagers growing up in a rough area, the story starts with a girl committing suicide and with them getting the day off school, then it shows what they do with their day off. Trevor (main character) also finds out that his ex girlfriend is pregnant and that she thinks they should get back together.
Anti-Realist
This type of narrative has the freedom took break the presentation of life seen in realist films. However, the films still has to be logical or the audiences will be confused and dislike the film. Superhero films even stick to an eternal logic to keep story line to some realism. As well as realism and anti-realism is verisimilitude. Verisimilitude in film is the way to convince the viewers that something is real.
this is a perfect example of a anti-realist setting as the concept of it goes that world we live in is just a illusion created by a alien race who has enslaved the human race, this is a anti-realist because it is completely random however it does not confuse the audience because it is explained in the film so as an audience we believe it is realistic in the film world.
Open Ending
an open ending is when the story teller leaves a major conflict unfinished or unsolved. The ending leaves the audience with the urge to know what happened. It keeps the story unresolved so this means that the audience is still intrigued with the story even after the credits have rolled. The advantage of an open ending is that it keeps the audience guessing and it makes them more intrigued in what is going to happen. The disadvantage of using a open ending is that it annoys some members of the audience as they prefer the conventional story line and they do not wan't to be forced to wait for a ending.
The Italian Job is probably the most famous example of an opening ending. The ending goes as follows, the van with the gold has a accident and is now hanging over a cliff with the gold at risk of falling out of the van, the main character forces the other heist members to the front of the van to stop it from tipping over the edge, he then lays on the floor and shuffles towards the gold it tips to towards the door and just when the tension is reaching its peak the film ends and leaves the audience wondering what happened to the crew and the gold. This annoyed audiences however as there was never a sequel or reference to what happened so this was never resolved leaving the audience wondering what happened.
Closed Ending
These are the opposite to open endings as they leave the story completely resolved and they bring a closure to the story, it leaves the audience with no confusion, meaning they are not wondering what is going to happen next. The advantage of closed ending films is that it leaves the audience not asking questions. This can be a disadvantage however, as it leaves the audiences not looking towards the next part as the resolution has been solved.
This is an example of a closed ending as towards the end of the film the main character Moses played by John Boyega defeats the aliens that have taken over the block of flats by blowing them up. He succeeds however, he is left dangling outside of a window. He climbs back to safety and gets arrested by the SWAT team that stormed the flats, Moses is blamed for what has happened and is taken into custody. This is a closed ending because all questions asked by the audience were answered and there is no tease to a sequel it just ends with Moses being brought into custody, but he is seen as a hero because he saved everyone.
Bibliography:
Plot (narrative) (2016) in Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plot_(narrative) (Accessed: 1 February 2017).
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