Filmic Narrative

Narrative Defined

Narrative vs Fiction

In this course we will define narrative as

a chain of events which is situated in time and space.

We use NARRATIVES to structure our thinking, and even our life. Therefore, we can state that 

Narrative is one of the basic ways in which humans make sense of the world.

The next concept we have to introduce in this first lecture is FICTION.

The word Fiction comes from the latin “fingere”, which etymologically means ( to make up – to invent – to think up. )Fictional narrative, either literary of filmic, can be defined as

a series of events that has been made up or invented.

Another important term in this course is

DIEGESIS (adjective diegetic).

We use the word Diegesis in this course to refer to the

all the elements that define the  FICTIONAL WORLD in any particular story.

Discourse, Story, Narration

This learning unit introduces some important terms that we will be using systematically during the whole course.

We will focus now on three essential concepts in narrative theory:

Discourse, Story, and Narration

Discourse

We can define discourse as the

the spoken, written, or filmic presentation of the events.

The discourse is the structure the narrator uses to construct the narrative.

Story

Story is a very common word with a wide-ranging meaning, but in this course, the term refers to

narrated events and conflicts in narrative fiction, abstracted from their disposition in the discourse and arranged chronologically together with the fictional characters.

Narration

And finally, the concept of narration refers to

how the narrative text is written or the narrative film is constructed. How they are communicated.

Functions of Narrative

In this section, we analyze the different roles of narrative,

Meaning, how we use stories in our lives,

what’s the need of those stories.

These are the basic functions of narrative:

  • Medium of culture
  • Gain knowledge, indirect knowledge, about things, places, people and events we have no direct experience with.
  • Entertainment
  • Ideology
  • Social or political critique
  • Exploration of human life and soul

The Narrative Paradigm

The Narrative Paradigm is a theory developed by theorist Walter Fisher.

Fisher considers humans narrative animals, meaning, the act of communicating through stories makes an essential part of what we call humanity.

From Fisher’s Narrative Paradigm we will just pick up two concepts that can helps us better interpret films: Narrative Coherence and Narrative Fidelity.

Narrative Coherence:

Internal logic of the formal elements of the story. The story elements have to make sense and work together to make a coherent whole.

Narrative Fidelity

Narrative fidelity addresses whether themes, values, and representations are close to what we believe and live. If they are in consonance with our personal experience.

Filmic vs Literary Narrative

Common elements with literary narrative:

  • Basic principles of narrative:
    • Time
    • Space
    • Causality 
  • Plot (storyline)
  • Events
  • Characters
  • Characterization
  • Dialogues
  • Tropes (Rhetorical figures)

Narrative Elements in Film

  • Visual communication
    • Shot as basic unit of meaning
    • Different types of shots (static/dynamic)
    • Camera angles
  • Continuity
  • Mise-en-Scène
  • Sound (diegetic / non-diegetic)
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