UNIT 22- Narratives

Shihab Malik                                            

In productions more specifically movies there is a narrative in which the film follows, a narrative is simply a storyline or plot the film uses as a basis of its story line which has an effect on its audience. There are two main types of narratives which are Linear and Non-Linear. Both are commonly known and are very effective.

Linear

A linear narrative is basically when a film or production follows a chronological order, there is a rough basic beginning, middle and end. The liner narrative is very common and very predictable. The effect linear narrative has on the audience varies. Some people say when a film or production is based on a linear the excitement levels of the piece isn't very entertaining compared to that of non-linear as he audience can pretty much guess and know what'll happen within the next couple of scenes. A few examples of linear productions are:

• Cars
• Cinderella
• Shrek

Uses and gratification Theory 

This is the theory  that most productions (mainly film) have a set of 5 stages. These five stages consist of the beginning, middle ad end but in further detail. The five stages are as followed:

1. Equilibrium
2. Disruption
3. Recognition
4. Repair
5. NEW equilibrium

NUMBER 1:The starting of most films start with everything within the film going as normally as it should, characters are doing their day to day things with no problem and everything is just normal. This is called the Equilibrium as it is the first stage and life within the film is normal at this point in time. For example in Cars it starts off with this race car named Lighting McQueen who is a nas-car, this character is known for his speed and winning mentality. This is how things and life is before any changing in events.



NUMBER 2: As the film goes on further into the story there is a problem which occurs in the film which changes life how it was in the first place like a disturbance to the Equilibrium. This changes everything within the film until further change takes place. In the film Cars the problem occurs when Lighting McQueen accidentally slides off his trailer whilst they were traveling to another racing event. McQueen is then left and oblivious to the fact that his truck has left him and then as he wakes up he is now aware and tries to find his way back to his truck. He then gets lost in an attempt to find his way back but instead finds himself in a small town arrested for destruction of property.

NUMBER 3: The lives of the characters and events are then interweaved which leads to tension being built throughout the section causing a lot of suspense and worry for the plot. This is called recognition. McQueen is then forced to stay in the small town (Radiator Springs) and is then forced to work and repair the road as he was the one who destroyed it. He is then getting wary of how he can get back.

NUMBER 4: Is similar to recognition as suspense is still being  built up which brings tension but in repair this is the highest point of suspense and tension within the film and this may be the most action packed part of a production as most events start to reach their full potential of suspense. McQueen then gets rescued by the News as his disappearance was very serious as he is well known in the city but his bond with the cars that kept him has grown and he has grown a loving towards them however he is still forced to leave in a rush. He then reaches his race and everything is going well but he seems to be distracted as he misses it back in Radiator Springs, this then leads him to continue the race however one of the other characters have a crash which causes McQueen to choose from helping or going on to win the race for himself. He then chooses to help the other character by pushing him over the finish line.

NUMBER 5: This is the new equilibrium where everything has  gone back to the way it was before or the suspense and tension has ended leaving the characters we started off with back to original form. This theory linking to the audience brings suspense and a bit of excitement to us as the viewers, the normal start from the equilibrium moving towards the disruption and then further on to the suspense and tension build up all entertain the audience as it keeps them interested and wanting to find out more, this is a great theory in terms of getting people and the audience watching to find the production quality at a higher standard. Finally at the end of the film Lightning McQueen is offered a contract to sign with a new team but declines this offer as he'd rather be with his new friends and as per usual the story ends happily.



Non-Linear

A non-linear narrative is when the storyline doesn't follow a specific plot or order, the story plot may contain flashbacks or move back and forth between time/scene to create an effect which will link together in the end. This method of narrative is highly enjoyable to the audience as the viewer cannot tell what will happen next, this to me adds the excitement and 'edge of seat' factor an good production needs. A few examples of Non-linear films are:

• The Grudge
• Memento
• Kill Bill

The effect these two types of narrative have on the audience differ from each other, as said before some believe even though a Linear film may be very predictable it still has a very entertaining ora about it. And with Non linear the unexpected is inevitable which also builds up a lot of tension and excitement.

An example of a film that has a non linear structure is the film Focus. Focus is basically a film with a bunch of con artists who scam the society around them earning as much money as possible. within the film there are loads of scenes where the scenes intertwine with others to show how everything links up with the other. This enables the audience to get a better understanding of the film to see as a better picture. An example of this within the film is when they were at the Football game and the main character Nicki (will smith) and his accomplice Jess Barrot (Margot Robbie) are both betting against a wealthy Asian man. As this is going on the two scam stars somehow successfully win over the 4.1 million dollars they lost in the first place, they then explain how this was done by flashing back to clues and evidence showing how the final outcome of the bet was initially made. This was very clever as the audience hadn't seen it before.  

Another example of where the film didn't follow the linear structure is when  Nicki is explaining how he cheated and faked his trust with Jess and there were flashbacks to earlier stages within the film when their friendship was quite intimate and he detailed on all the little things they done which in effect showed up as a big picture and made more sense. This effect on the audience to me was impressive as us the as the viewers were also shocked and wide eyed. However this was all a con to get out of the trap they were in. So the story changes up between good emotions to bad and depressing moments, so there wasn't just the simple one scene sad and the other happy and jolly. The film mixed it up to make the effect that we were being lied to this whole time too.

The effect a film like this has on me is way more interesting than that of a film which follows a plot and always ends in the same way that the audience would expect it to end. Non-Linear and Linear films both are very successful but in terms of entertainment I would say that a film that is Non-Linear has way more variety in terms of excitement. Although both types of narratives are entertaining to watch.