Narrative
While the term 'narratives' certainly is not used commonly as 'story', most people know that it refers, in some way, to stories; in fact stories are endemic to our lives. Narrative is the structure and organisation of media texts, an example already been mentioned, story. The term 'Narrative chain and cause of effect' means the plotlines in a story that are triggered by action and enigma codes, (something happens that causes something else to happen). Narrative is correlated with genre as some genres have typical storylines.
Narrative Enigmas
Narrative enigmas are codes which limit audience information, a puzzle to be solved for example; 'who' 'what' 'where' 'when' ' why' and 'how'. The purpose engages the audiences attention and maintains curiosity and interest within the narrative chain cause and effect. for example, Crime drama is a type of narrative as it is enigmatic and 'investigative'.
Narrative Themes
Narrative themes include social issues which are explored with the media text for example, family values, social class and sexuality. Narrative themes tend to be explored by the Horror and Crime Drama on a more manifest level because the narrative tends to be more simplistic and encoded with entertainment values.
Narrative Enigmas
Narrative enigmas are codes which limit audience information, a puzzle to be solved for example; 'who' 'what' 'where' 'when' ' why' and 'how'. The purpose engages the audiences attention and maintains curiosity and interest within the narrative chain cause and effect. for example, Crime drama is a type of narrative as it is enigmatic and 'investigative'.
Narrative Themes
Narrative themes include social issues which are explored with the media text for example, family values, social class and sexuality. Narrative themes tend to be explored by the Horror and Crime Drama on a more manifest level because the narrative tends to be more simplistic and encoded with entertainment values.
Narrative Structure and theory
The structure and format of the storyline e.g. closed/open, three act structure, four act structure, linear/non linear, asynchronous, single stranded/ multi-stranded. In Hollywood film, typically many texts have a single stranded, closed or 3 act structure.
- Claude Levi-Strauss: theory related to Binary Oppositions
- Binary Oppositions are a way of understanding the Narrative in media texts
- Crime Drama binary oppositions: Murderer vs. Investigator
Comprehending time
Very few screen stories take place in real time. Whole lives can be dealt with in the 90 minutes of a feature film, an 8 month siege be encompassed within a 60 minute TV documentary. There are many conventions to denote time passing, from the time/date information typed up on each new scene of The X-Files to the aeroplane passing over a map of a continent of Raiders of the Lost Ark. Other devices to manipulate time include
- flashbacks
- dream sequences
- repetition
- different characters' POV
- flash forwards
- real life interludes
- pre-figuring of events that have not yet taken place
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