Monday, 29 October 2012

Narrative Theory



Contemporary Cinema by Allan Cameron

Modular Narratives express how time can be manipulated within a narrative. 

Anachronic Modular Narratives

Anachronic uses flashbacks and flash-forwards with no clear dominance between any of the narrative threads. These often repeat scenes through another person’s perspective, an example being Pulp Fiction and Momento.

Forking Path Narratives

Forking-Path Narratives displays alternative versions of a story, showing all possible outcomes which can occur from small changes in a single event. There are a number of plotlines that usually contradict the other. eg. Groundhog Day. 

Episodic Narratives

An Episodic Narrative is an abstract series of narrative anthology. An abstract series type of modular narrative is characterised by the operation of non-narrative formal system which appears to dictate the organisation of narrative elements such as a sequence of number or the alphabet. An anthology consists of shorter tales which are apparently disconnected but have certain similarities. eg. An episode of Survivors. 

Split Screen Narratives 

Split Screen Narratives are different from other modular narratives as they are articulated along events rather than a temporal line. This therefore splits the screen into two or more frames beside events within the same visual field in sustainable fashion. Eg. Timecode.

By Rebecca Gatfield

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