Task 3 - Narrative Structures

Task 3 – Narrative Structure

Linear (Sequential) Narrative

•                    A linear narrative is a story which its events happen in chronological order from the start to finish. The plot of the narrative is usually told without using flashbacks or flash-forwards. A good example of this is Of Mice and Men.

Non-linear (Non-sequential) Narrative

•                    Non-linear narrative narratives don’t run in chronological order and they can flash forward and flashback through the film. It is a disjointed narrative. A good example of this would be 500 Days of summer and Pulp Fiction.

Flashback

•                    Flashback is a scene that takes the narrative back in time from the current point that the story has reached. In television and film, camera techniques and special effects are used to show the viewer that a flashback has occurred. This helps to avoid the viewer becoming confused.

For example ‘How I Met Your Mother’ use flashbacks in every episode, and the TV show ‘Lost’ used flashbacks as a main element. The films ‘Time Travellers Wife’ and ‘Titanic’ were also told in full flashback.

Realist Narrative

•                    Storylines that are believable to the audience, this is because they appear real, or they are based on a true story that has happened in the past. This is often used in horror films as it makes the audience feel more scared if it could have happened in the past. Soap operas are a good example of this as the storylines follow things that would normally happen in real life.

Anti-Realist Narrative

•                    An anti-realist narrative is something that doesn’t happen in real life. For example the Cadbury’s gorilla advert from 2007 is an anti-realist narrative as gorillas don’t play the drums in real life. An example of a film that uses anti realist is Donnie Darko.

Open Narrative

•                    An open narrative is where the story is left wide open, the viewer has to guess what happened. They are often used in crime dramas to keep the audience on their seats and guessing what will happen in the next episode. An example of this would be in a soap opera such as eastenders as normally storylines are left open at the end of an episode.

Closed Narrative

•                    A closed narrative has a beginning, middle and end. Like a story. The audience are aware that they are watching a story and they will expect and ending. Films like this would be Titanic, Of Mice and Men and Sweeney Todd.