Anti narrative and Conventional Narrative

Anti narrative and Conventional Narrative

• 1.
  Conventional Narrative StructureTzvetan Todorov
• 2.
  Narrative structures arethe chronological stages/steps that progress from one to the other throughout the story. It structures how the story is told, not the story itself and helps the viewer understand the story.
• 3.
  The conventional narrativestructure, was shown by Tzvetan Todorov, has five stages although this can be broken down into three stages… 1. A beginning- State of equilibrium 2. A middle- Disruption to the equilibrium 3. An end- Reinstate the equilibrium or new equilibrium Equilibrium meaning a state of balance which the characters normally find themselves in the beginning
• 4.
  Tzvetan Todorov conventionalstructure in 5 stages Stage one- A state of equilibrium is defined Stage two- Disruption to the equilibrium by some action/crisis Stage three- The character (s) recognition that there has been disruption Stage four- The character (s) attempt to repair disruption Stage five- Reinstatement to the equilibrium and conclusion is announced
• 5.
  Conventional narrative structureis the stereotypical structure for a film and can be seen in many films of a wide variety such as avatar, star wars or toy story.
• 6.
  Anti-Narrative / Nonlinearnarrative
• 7.
  What is Anti-Narrative?Anti-narrative is a form of narrative in which events are displayed out of chronological order. This structure is varied in usage and can be used for a variety of purposes, such as mimicking human memory (Christopher Nolan’s Memento ) or showing a series of separate sub-plots that are in some way interlinked (Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction ).
• 8.
  The effect ofAnti-narrative Anti-narrative can be used to help the viewer understand the protagonist’s trail of thought (through flashbacks, or to convey confusion in psychological thrillers). Additionally putting the events out of chronological order can alter the viewer’s opinion on them: in Gaspar Noé‘s Irréversible the portrayal of a vengeance killing before the rape scene that prompts it causes the audience to consider the effects of the murder in more depth than the protagonist’s emotions. Some films following more conventional structures will often employ a form of anti-narrative in which the protagonist is shown in a dilemma closer to the climax of the film before explaining how they reached it, for example in Slumdog Millionaire .
• 9.
  Examples of Anti-narrativeDirectors: Quentin Tarantino, Steven Soderbergh & Christopher Nolan