TITTLE An investigation into nonlinear narrative

1 ABSTRACT This dissertation explores w hat nonlinearity is and what elements

are used to engage the public. The term narrative is defined in order to acquire basic knowledge, out of which linear and nonlinear concepts lead. They are defined in the literature review, and the evolution of nonlinearity is mentioned briefly. Qualitative research is used to investigate the project asking 16 people a series of questions about nonlinearity, to find out how they follow a nonlinear film and issues that they have with them. A case study of the film Pulp Fiction(1994) is carried out to complement the interviews. Analysis of these findings leads to a discussion in which the strengths and weaknesses of nonlinear narratives are compared. There appear to be distinct disadvantages in the nonlinear model, yet it is clear that it holds popularity in a wide variety of films. The conclusion is that the most interesting aesthetic element of nonlinear narrative is its unpredictability.

I agree that a film should have a beginning, a middle and an end but not necessarily in that order Godard

2 INTRODUCTION How can you engage the attention of the audience in a story that does not follow a linear path? 1 Roge Mateos MAT08247553 Dissertation BA(Hons)Mayor Project

In order to reach an understanding how to tell an engaging nonlinear story it is necessary to define the different between linear and nonlinear. Roland Barthes, quoted in the Cambridge introduction to Narrative, argues that; The narratives are numberless variety of genres carried

by articulated language, spoken or written fixed or moving images, gestures, and ordered mixture of all these substances; narrative is present in myth, legend, fable, tale, novella, epic. Narrative is present in every age, in every place, in every society, it begins with the very history of mankind and there nowhere is nor has been without narrative.(2008:1) Stories to be told have a hero and a villain and so the narrative intends to instruct or teach through a drama unfolding with a beginning and an end. Jacob Bronowski, explains the Altamira paintings in his book The Ascent of Man(1974) ,suggesting it may be possible that hunters could experience the fear of hunting in the caves and the drawings could be link to the stories about the hunting, these stories had all the basic elements for a drama ,a stage, flickering light ,a story of life and death , and audience and performance. (Hiltunen ,2002,p.1)`In general a narrative is a linear, organized, uniform progression of ideas. Narrative is chain of events in cause-effect relationship occurring in time and space (Bordwell & Thompson, 2005, p.69). These stories as in the past told around the communal fire are now found in theatre, literature and film. It is reassuring that not much has changed in the story of narratives. Or has it? a people

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Paul Auster affirms The childs needs for stories is as fundamental as his need for food 3 LITERATURE REVIEW 1) Defining Narrative Humans have always found the urge to narrate and communicate their experiences to others through various mediums (Thuresson,1998, p.5). When we think about narrative we expect a story to be told. According to Porter, narrative begins at an early age when we start constructing sentences. Narrative is a way to develop memory and individuality, which is central to the human psyche. (2008: 13) Narrative, in culture, is the representation of an event or a series of events however small or largefor example my dog was bitten by a flea. The narrative develops through a serious of seemingly casually related events. Marie Laure Ryan suggest that a narrative has a fuzzy set defined at the center by a solid core of properties, but accepting various degrees of membership Porter (2008:13). Porter continues that typically a narrative begins with one situation, a series of changes occurs according to a pattern of cause and effect and finally a new situation arises that brings about the end. Our engagement with the story depends on our understanding of the pattern of change and stability, cause and effect, time and space. To understand nonlinear narrative, its necessary to define linear narrative. Aristotle, in the fourth century BCE, was the first to analyse the connection between storytelling technique and emotional experience. According to Aristotle all dramas have a beginning, middle and an end, and these parts are in proportion to one another. In tragedy, the storytelling technique is to bring a certain kind of emotional 3 Roge Mateos MAT08247553 Dissertation BA(Hons)Mayor Project

experience called proper pleasure which consisted of pity and fear followed by catharsis. Aristotle believed that drama required correct structure in order to produce the emotional state that includes pity, fear and catharsis. Identification and suspense are necessary for catharsis or the emotional climax of tragedy that brings about the proper pleasure. [Hilt.] Although Aristotle was concerned with tragedies, a three-act structure can be applied to other genres, in which there is audience identification with a character, feelings such as anxiety and fear followed by catharsis, a combination that will result in proper pleasure. Maximizing the amount of proper pleasure in other types of drama, not just in tragedies, by the story having a structure that maintains identification, suspense and catharsis may result in the movie becoming a smash hit. (Hiltunen, 2002:12) (See appendix 1 for explanation proper pleasure) Screenwriting consultants (such as Seeger, Huge,Field and McKee) seem to agree about the importance of the three act structure in successful movies. This structure can be seen in terms of the goal of the main character. (Hiltunen, 2002:47)

2) Linear narrative The linear narrative depends on plot and establishing our involvement with the main character. Dramatic shape is a very important feature in linear narrative; this shape consists of the Aristotelian three-act structure, setup (of the location and characters), confrontation (with an obstacle), and resolution (culminating in a climax and a dnouement), the outcome is the same, a linear narrative, linking film and video narrative to the Aristotelian equivalents in theatre and in the novel. (Dancyger,K,2011:393) In linear narrative the viewer tends to identify with the main 4 Roge Mateos MAT08247553 Dissertation BA(Hons)Mayor Project

character, whether the main character is a hero or a victim, the linear narrative is a safe experience, and the viewer does not make choices. Emotions and feelings depend on identification, and the expectedness of the story form guarantee an exciting but safe arc of experience. The different genres have established dramatic arcs known to the audience when the public chooses a particular genre the viewer knows already how that an experience will be provided. This and the identification with the main character afford effectiveness to the linear film. (Dancyger,k and Rush,J,2007:154) 3) Nonlinear narrative Nonlinear narrative is a process of explaining the story, not by presenting the events happening chronologically. A does not follow B because is not followed by effect .The result is an altered narrative shape sufficiently unpredictable as to create spontaneity that transforms meaning.(Dancyger,2011:394) Nonlinearity has been common to narrative discourse from the earliest recorded instances of story telling. Ancient epics commonly began in the middle of things, and then recovered earlier parts of the story as the narrative proceeded. Nelson Goodman argued that if you twist up the narrative discourse sufficiently a text could pass from being a narrative to being either a study or a symphony, arousing respectively either a state of meditation or state of pure aesthetic enjoyment.(Porter Abbott,2008:33) Genette distinguishes between normal sequence, where story and discourse have the same order (1,2,3,4) and anachronous sequences where the discourse breaks the story-flow through flashbacks recalling earlier events (2,1,3,4), and flash-forward where the discourse leaps ahead to events subsequent to intermediate events. 5 Roge Mateos MAT08247553 Dissertation BA(Hons)Mayor Project

(Chatman,1978:63) 4) Evolution of nonlinear Russian revolutionary filmmakers, particularly Eisenstein, Vertov and Doveshenko, experimented with randomly juxtaposed images in the early 20s, the clash of images and the juxtaposition created new ideas and perception of narrative, opening up the story to new interpretations. (Dancyger,K,2011:395) According to Manovich I will distinguish between two basic techniques. The first technique is temporal montage: separate realities form consecutive moments in time. The second technique is montage within a shot it is the opposite of the first: separate realities for contingent parts of single image.(2001:17) Writing in the language of new media Manovich explained that Vertovs film Man with a Movie Camera(1929) contains at least three levels, the story of a cameraman shooting material for the film, the audience watching the finished film in a movie theatre, and the film itself which consists of footage recorded in Moscow, Kiev and Riga. The process of relating shots to each other, ordering and reordering them in order to discover the hidden order of the world constitutes the film's method in contrast to standard film editing which consists in selection and ordering of previously shot material according to a pre-existent script (2001:240) Luis Bunuel pushed the boundaries in his work with Salvador Dali Un chien Andalou (1929)further taking this principle of nonlinearity, destroying linear narrative. There is not peace of mind for the audience when they view Un chien Andalou(1929) only the unpredictable sense while watching the film that anything can happen next, which is a true nonlinear experience.

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Dancyger,K(2011:395)

Jean-Luc Godard has been an important figure in the evolution on nonlinear film, Godard alters the cinema genres to express his opinions on war, society and capitalism provoking discussions for change, moving us away from character toward ideas, and to achieve this he alters the plot and character in the same way contemporary non-linear storytellers do.(Dancyger,k and Rush,J,2007:154) But it is with Quentin Tarantino (Pulp fiction)( 1994)Milcho macheski (Before the rain)(1994) and Franois Girard (Thirty two short films about Glen Gould)(1993), when the nonlinear aesthetic in full bloom is achieved here , the main character does not drive the story, affiliation with them are much looser, with characters distances from the viewers making impossible for us to feel identified (Dancyger,K,2011:397)

5) Strategies that make nonlinear film connect with its audience. Voice is an important element in nonlinear narrative, Bunuels alteration of the narrative highlighted his voice, Godard used his voice to interpose his political views through the narrative, while the Cohen brothers use irony to free us from our genre expectations, and voice supplants character and alters the structure providing flexibility(Dancyinger,k and Rush,J,2007:162) To energize the narrative, dialog is created in unexpected ways from the conflicted nature of the characters, and exaggerated movements of camera producing a discontinuous effect. The plot is used in the background, it is not a vital narrative device, and it acts flattering the dramatic arc of the nonlineal film.

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Nonlinear narrative may not have a single character with whom to empathize and identify, it may not have characters who are goal directed and it may not have a dramatic shape driving toward resolution. It is not predictable, and here lies its great aesthetic potential because of that unpredictability it may provide an audience with a new expected experience, this is the potential aesthetic upshot of nonlinearity new, unpredictable experiences(Dancyger,K,2011:393)

4) RESEARCH METODOLOGY In o order to investigate how can you engage the attention of the audience in a story that does not follow a linear path?

"Qualitative research is a loosely defined category of research designs or models, all of which elicit verbal, visual, tactile, olfactory, and gustatory data in the form of descriptive narratives like field notes, recordings, or other transcriptions from audio- and videotapes and other written records and pictures or films." (Goezt and LeCompte:1984;54) A qualitative method may be appropriate for analyzing aspects of nonlinear story telling. Qualitative and quantitative researches methods have different and complementary strengths, (meaning versus counting; narrative versus numbers). The first one uses descriptions and categories, uncovering thoughts and opinions. Qualitative questions ask the participant for their views on a subject rather than expecting a yes or no answer. Questions are made in depth trying to obtain an extensive opinion so that the analysis form a specter .The purpose of qualitative research is to understand and explain participant meaning (Morrow & Smith, 2000). More 8 Roge Mateos MAT08247553 Dissertation BA(Hons)Mayor Project

distinctively, Creswell (1998) defines qualitative research as a process of understanding, based on distinct methodological traditions of inquiry that explore a social or human problem. The researcher builds a complex, holistic picture, analyzes words, reports detailed views of informants, and conducts the study in a natural setting Creswell (1998; 15) Applying qualitative methods to my research question is a open way to obtain rich data. Qualitative research is often based on subjective data, which cannot be given a numeric value, for example the attitudes and opinions of individuals on a subject. Furthermore the researcher learns about a situation by being immersed in it. In Contrast to this, quantitative research is based on a positive numeric method. It implies being as objective as possible since numbers speak the truth. Therefore its based on statistics or other measurable, empirical data. Conclusions will be drawn from the analysis of things clearly measured, and the researcher does not participate as and supposedly objective observer. In the context of this study collecting statistics is not the main goal. Qualitative research focuses more on open questions and the use of case studies. Therefore the way in which people appreciate and understand a nonlinear structure according may emerge through a combination of dialogue questions and case studies.

1) Case Study When Pulp Fiction came out it was consider to be as an original way to tell a story; people could not remember a film like it, but this unconventional story telling technique is as old as the feature film itself, Russian filmmakers such as Eissestein,Doveschenko and Vertov had already experimented with juxtaposed images creating a new perception of narrative. Luis Bunuel with An chien Andalou takes the 9 Roge Mateos MAT08247553 Dissertation BA(Hons)Mayor Project

concept on nonlinearity to a extreme destroying linear narrative, while Jean Luc Godard in his film The weekend lacks the required elements of plot or character, instead using satire, allegory, metaphor, and deconstruction he creates several separate paths of interpretation that all lead back to the central comment on the nature of society in the year 1967.

The movie Pulp Fiction stands as an illuminating example of nonlinear narrative in popular film .In a conventional narrative structure one thing happens after the other in a logical pattern of cause and effect, but Pulp Fiction does not follow this structure. The film tells three stories, each based upon specific characters, and its narrative stops and starts, shifts and rewinds, forcing the viewer t o construct the story. It is a circular narrative. In a nonlinear film where the narrative does not follow a chronological order the director has to use different techniques to engage the viewers. Pulp Fictions director Tarantino uses an eclectic mix of humor, violence and sharp dialogues. (See appendix 2)The dialogue takes unexpected turns. Tarantino does not follow the screenwriting rule Dont show, tell, Instead he explodes it and follow Tell, dont show, and the emotion deliberately touches on the edge of comedy, and so the dialogue achieves a high emotional impact. The use of irony and contradiction is constant during the film. When Vincent blows off a mans head it is a terrible act but Tarantino uses it as a comedy spin; this is also true when its harmless and amusing talk most of the time it is contrasted with intensity of the reality, for example Mias overdose and the pumping of adrenaline into her. (See fig. Appendix 3) The narrative is formed by character development, yet none of the characters are introduced initially as main players. Based on what the characters do and how they interact with each other the viewer determines who the characters are as they are defined more by their 10 Roge Mateos MAT08247553 Dissertation BA(Hons)Mayor Project

enviroment than their actions. (See appendix 4).

The characters

link unrelated people into one storyline, each one is distinct in their quirks and idiosyncrasies, as a narrative moves in and out of situations rather than unfolding. To engage the viewer Tarantino uses sounds to affect the tension level in key scenes of Pulp Fiction. (See appendix 4)Choosing an upbeat song for the opening credits only to be juxtaposed with an intense scene, as in contrasting extreme situations with comedy engages the viewer not just visually but also aurally. Therefore, juxtaposition s used as a main aspect of a nonlinear filmic technique to tell the story emotion. (See appendix 5) Tarantinos use of time is ironic and again controversial exploring another facet of time, tense situations are perceived as torturous, and endless, but in Pulp Fiction moments of crisis seem speeded up time .The use of dead time or moments where there are no action to speak of, attracts our attention, this is seen as unexpected reactions from the characters not following the patterns of gangster genres and provoking a burlesque situation. (See appendix 7) With the use of these devices the director permits his audience to focus more on the action through an emotional response, thus allowing them a deeper understanding and following of the story.

2) Interviews Interviews have been done asking different questions about nonlinear 11 Roge Mateos MAT08247553 Dissertation BA(Hons)Mayor Project

narrative, the purpose is to find out how people follow a nonlinear film and issues that they have with them. 3) Questions 1) Think of a nonlinear film that you like, what makes you think it was interesting and enjoyable. Please write at least 3 lines 2) Did you find out the main character of the film during the first 15 minutes, if not how long did it take you (roughly)?

3) Do you think that watching the film more than one time would have given you a better idea of the story? Please explain why 4) Think about a Nonlinear film you watched not being aware that it was before watching it, how did you find out that is was not a lineal film, what elements made you think it was not linear? 5) Think about some 5 or more negative and positive aspects of a nonlinear film you watched. Try to explain why 6) If you watched Pulp fiction, can you remember your first impression and why you liked it or why not? Please write at least 3 lines (See answers in the appendix 8) 5) FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION Combining the analysis of Pulp fiction as a case study with interviews, that consisted of six questions carried out with a group of seventeen people (See research methods chapter), has provided me with rich data to answer the main question: How can you engage the attention of the audience in a story that does not follow a linear path? 1) Findings Interviewees recognize nonlinear film narratives mainly because of the use of flashbacks, changes of places in space and time, 12 Roge Mateos MAT08247553 Dissertation BA(Hons)Mayor Project

characters who die and appear alive intermittently, stories that appear to be totally independent of each other until the characters actions cross in time because the director fills the scenes without beginnings, developments and a conclusive ending, (See appendix question number 4) After the completion of Pulp Fiction, filmmakers began using this genre rediscovered by Tarantino and therefore this particular way to tell a story is mentioned several times as an interesting point by the interviewees. They named the speed and time as main method for grasping the story, this is evidence of that the way of editing enhances the action of the story (See appendix question number 5) another interesting aspect of the success of Pulp Fiction, is the use of dead time, i.e.( moments where there is no action creating unexpected reactions that help the audience keep focused on the plot.) Three interviewees named visual elements as an interesting point (See appendix question number one), 80% of the interviewees agreed that non-lineal films are enjoyable, one mentioning Pans labyrinth as an example of a successful nonlinear film. Pans Labyrinth was made 2009 and as in Pulp Fiction draws heavily on visual elements to guide the viewer. In the case of the latter the environment defines the characters more than the action, therefore proving that visual elements play an important role underpinning narrative in nonlineal films. In Pulp Fiction the narrative is formed primarily by character development and the main character is not introduced in the beginning of the film. The two protagonists arise in the midst of the secondary characters. Additionally, the narrative structure introducing the film story starts from the end, which tended to confuse audiences while trying to pick out characters - many of whom appear in brief scenes- as well as several plot-lines crossing over which add to the initial resistance of the viewer. One interviewee mentioned that the director leaves the audience to decide as to who the main character is . Therefore it appears there is more interactivity 13 Roge Mateos MAT08247553 Dissertation BA(Hons)Mayor Project

in a film with a nonlinear structure. One of the most startling points about the nonlinear films such as Pulp Fiction, Pans Labyrinth, 21 Grams, Bad Education,French Lieutenants Woman mentioned in the interviews is that 80% agree that by watching the films above for a second and even a third time, will make you understand the film better. The remaining 20% didnt think it necessary if you focus on the plot When they were asked about Pulp Fiction dialogues and characters the result was spectation and entertainment, One of the interviewees makes a clear point here seeing the film as confusing at the beginning and was about to stop watching it But because ot the interesting characters and dialogues (See appendix question number 6) he carried on watching the film .The case study of Pulp fiction has already identified the humor, violence and sharp dialogue as techniques to engage the public in the plot of the film. Contrast is something that is found during the film, and links with irony is one of the main characteristics but not everyone liked this, one interviewees mentioning that he hated it because he cant see anything entertaining about peoples brain being splattered around the inside of a car (see appendix questions 6), when these techniques are used to make the spectator follow the plot they can be risky because not everyone can understand that it is not a real situation and see actually this violence as a way to ironize the narrative. A viewers difficulty in following a non linear narrative, according to my findings, are as follows: main characters are not evident immediately due to the non chronological structure as these emerge through the fragmented unfolding of the story (See appendix question 2) characters are interesting and defined but the viewer sometimes is lost, and confused having to watch the film for a second time. If they dont understand the film during the first thirty minutes there is a higher risk to find it boring, and it loses meaning. 14 Roge Mateos MAT08247553 Dissertation BA(Hons)Mayor Project

In general interviewees identify nonlinear film as intriguing, mentioning that makes one think more, and the use of non chronological order keeps the focus on the film while expecting the end to give sense to the plot. Overall the findings demonstrate that a nonlinear film is needed to be seen more than once to be fully understood and 30% think this is a weak point. It is only when the viewers are familiarized with the characters, and the cross over, stories that the film is understood in its entirety. (See appendix question three) 2) Discussion It is clear from the interviewees that following a nonlinear story demands more effort and concentration from the spectator but also generates a more complex and intriguing response, and that this structure seems to hold the spectators attention in a powerful way. To engage the public and help it understand a narrative with anonchronological structure, different techniques have to be developed. Having a beginning, middle and end -in that order- is the structure that traditional linear stories follow, where the plot is clear to understand, emotions and climaxes are much easier to identify, main characters are accessed easily and more quickly and people are able to identify with them. In contrast identifying the main characters in a non-chronological story line takes more time, as characters are usually introduced one at a time at various points in the story. Events are shown from the perspective of the characters and may overlap contributing to the linking of acts. Nonlinear film deconstructs character, complicates events and situations or combines these elements by reordering the time sequence thereby creating a new arrangement of time for dramatic purposes. Spectators may be disorientated but the use of controversial dialogue 15 Roge Mateos MAT08247553 Dissertation BA(Hons)Mayor Project

and action holds the audiences attention until eventually it is able to identify the main characters. The voice of the writer enhances the character offering flexibility and acts as a unifying force weaving together different stories in the narrative. Jean Luc Godard (mentioned in biography) uses this voice creating an enviroment in which we are moving away from character and focusing more on dialogue ideas. One example of this is in his film The Weekend (see appendix 9). In Pulp fiction irony and dialogue are used from the beginning to engage attention. This is a meaningful device to use where the story is told out of chronological order and the director needs sustained attention to keep us watching the film until some sequences begin to cross over and we can start to make sense of the plot. Linear narrative uses a dramatic shape (set up, confrontation and resolution) where the progression of cause and effect leads to a climax. An audience finds it easier to focus on action that develops chronologically than on action that skips around in time. In question five (see appendix) agree and confirm this when they describe, as a negative point of nonlinearity, the confusion and complexity of following non-chronological narrative. Nonlinear storylines usually start with a confusing beginning. This is to force the audience to concentrate and to connect the dots throughout the film. This is usually done by the audience making cause and effect connections as scenes go back and forth and flash backs produce unpredictability (one of the main characteristics of this particular way of telling stories). This unpredictability tends to generate feelings of curiosity and intrigue, hooking the viewer into the story and acting as a powerful element in the narrative. Intrigue(Complication) is also used to lead us through the cause and effect and it plays an important role in organizing the plot of a nonlinear film. Dramatic unity is achieved by the intersection of a 16 Roge Mateos MAT08247553 Dissertation BA(Hons)Mayor Project

theme and a framing action. Finally, the synthesis of thematic ideas and plot movement are crucial elements in successful nonlinear films.

6) CONCLUSION To comprehend nonlinearity we must understand what narrative means, and through the analysis of relevant literature the concept of narrative has been explained and understood. A narrative is a series of events related through causality, temporally and spatially. Aristotle in the fourth century BC mentioned the structure of beginning, middle and end, and this structure is seen by contemporary screenwriters to be important in the success of a linear narrative; Godard agreed with the importance of this but commented that he agreed " that a film should have a beginning, a middle and an end but not necessarily in that order". Narration can be defined as a set of organized representations of the story that needs to be delivered to the audience; the ways that it is delivered leads the viewers through the story, and in nonlinear narratives different techniques are used to make the public able to follow the story; events are presented not in chronological order but broken down into smaller parts and rearranged to offer the audience an exciting experience. Action is an important element; in a nonlinear narrative, however, the action is not concerned with a single goal that the characters pursue, instead it is the theme that leads you through the film experience while the framing action helps to produce a unified flow in a specific plot to achieve the dramatic unity. The use of voice dialogue and irony alter the narrative and provoke in the viewers amusement making the story more entertaining even when in some parts there exists a degree of confusion when trying to identify the plot of the story. Visual elements and environments are used to define characters and function as an easy way to tell the story, furthermore the use of 17 Roge Mateos MAT08247553 Dissertation BA(Hons)Mayor Project

sound and soundtracks increase the tension helping the narrative. The use of nonlinear form is not something new, in fact stories were told in flashbacks in ancient times, while in cinema there was an evolution of the development of the fullyfledged nonlinear form with Russians filmmakers having already experimented with juxtaposed images creating new concepts and ideas. Luis Bunuel with Un chien Andalou (1929), Godard with Week end (1967) and Tarantino with Pulp fiction (1994) are used here as examples of the evolution of nonlinearity with the last one an example of the modern nonlinearity concept as we know it today. During the case study and research some difficulties became apparent; people were not familiar with the term nonlinear, and having to explain the meaning of nonlinear took longer than expected. The structure of the interview questions were changed several times until the proper format was formulated, finding members of the audience willing to participate in the survey was harder than expected, and overall the experience and the result were quite gratifying allowing me to carry out my investigation finding the sources needed to develop some ideas. The most general opinion was that to understand nonlinear films completely you have to watch them for a second time to be able to obtain the whole information of the plot. Findings were that audiences are disposed towards nonlinear films because the story line is mysterious and unpredictable and this confirms the findings in the literature review where Dancyger, k (2011; 393) suggest that the narrative in nonlinear form is not predictable, this being the potential aesthetic of nonlinearity. 7) BIBLIOGRAPPHY

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Block,B(2001).The visual story: Seeing the structure of film,TV,and new media.Boston.Focal press.

Bordwell, D and Thompson, K. (2005) Film Art: An Introduction. 7th ed. Ohio, Mc Graw Hill.

Creswell, J.W. (1998). Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design Choosing Among Five Traditions. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Chatman,S(1978) Story and discourse, narrative structure in fiction , Ithaka NY,Cornell university press.

Dancyger,K(2011) The technique of film and video editing, USA, Focal press.

Dancyger,k and Rush,J(2007)Alternative scriptwriting,USA,Focal press.

Dawson,j(2003) Senses of cinema,Dziga Vertov. [Internet], Available from<http://www.sensesofcinema.com/2003/greatdirectors/vertov/>[Accessed 15 January 2011]. 19 Roge Mateos MAT08247553 Dissertation BA(Hons)Mayor Project

Fuery, P. (2000) New Developments in Film Theory. London, Macmillan Press.

Film Reference (2008) Defining Film Narrative [Internet], Available from: < http://www.filmreference.com/encyclopedia/Independent-Film-RoadMovies/Narrative-DEFINING-FILM-NARRATIVE.html> [Accessed 15 January 2011].

Goezt and LeCompte(1984).Ethnography and qualitative design in educational research,New york,Academic press.

Hiltunen ,A(2002)Aristotle in Hollywood ,Scarborough UK, Intellect books.

Krueger RA. Focus groups: A Practical Guide for Applied Research. 2nd ed. Thousand Oaks, Calif: Sage Publications; 1994.

Morrow, S.L., & Smith, M.L. (2000) Qualitative research methods in counseling psychology. In S.D. Brown & R.W. Lent (Eds.), Handbook of Counseling Psychology (3rd ed.) (pp.199-230). NY: Wiley.

Manovich, L(2001) The language of new media. Cambridge, MIT 20 Roge Mateos MAT08247553 Dissertation BA(Hons)Mayor Project

Press.

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Rayan Marie-Laure (2005) Narrative Across Media: the Languages of Storytelling, Lincoln.

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APPENDIX

Appendix1) Proper pleasure Aristotle in drama : (a) that he was keen on a single plot (i.e. one without many sub-plots); and (b) he was very into catharsis ( before he wrote "Poetics" he had used the word "catharsis" only in relation to medical matters - in other words by meaning a physical purification by, for example, unclean bodily fluids being expelled, what Aristotle meant by "proper pleasure" was the sensation that an audience would have when watching a play (in his case he was probably only thinking about tragedies), and it would be fine to have (ordinary) pleasure being entertained by tension/anxiety/uncertainty/anger (in other words, all those emotions a person can have during the telling 22 Roge Mateos MAT08247553 Dissertation BA(Hons)Mayor Project

of a story), but that it would only be "proper pleasure" if there was at the end of it a cathartic experience - e.g. the release of the tension that will have been built up during the drama. Appendix 2) For instance Hitmen talking about foot massages, and European cultural differences just before a hit, or Captain koons speech about the watch.

Fig 1

Captain Koon's Speechabout the

Watch

BUTCH'S POV We're in the living room of a modest two bedroom house in Alhambra, California, in the year 1972. BUTCH'S MOTHER, 35ish, stands in the doorway leading into the living room. Next to her is a man dressed in the uniform of an American
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Air Force officer. The CAMERA is the perspective of a five-year old boy. MOTHER Butch, stop watching TV a second. We got a special visitor. Now do you remember when I told you your daddy dies in a P.O.W. camp? BUTCH (O.S.) Uh-huh. MOTHER Well this here is Capt. Koons. He was in the P.O.W. camp with Daddy. CAPT. KOONS steps inside the room toward the little boy and bends down on one knee to bring him even with the boy's eyeline. When Koons speaks, he speaks with a slight Texas accent. CAPT. KOONS Hello, little man. Boy I sure heard a bunch about you. See, I was a good friend of your Daddy's. We were in
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that Hanoi pit of hell over five years together. Hopefully, you'll never have to experience this yourself, but when two men are in a situation like me and your Daddy were, for as long as we were, you take on certain responsibilities of the other. If it had been me who had not made it, Major Coolidge would be talkin' right now to my son Jim. But the way it worked out is I'm talkin' to you, Butch. I got somethin' for ya. The Captain pulls a gold wrist watch out of his pocket. CAPT. KOONS This watch I got here was first purchased by your great-granddaddy. It was bought during the First World War in a little general store in Knoxville, Tennessee. It was bought by private Doughboy Ernie Coolidge the day he set sail for Paris. It was your great-granddaddy's war watch, made by the first company to ever make wrist watches. You see, up until then, people just carried pocket watches. Your great-granddaddy wore
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that watch every day he was in the war. Then when he had done his duty, he went home to your greatgrandmother, took the watch off his wrist and put it in an ol' coffee can. And in that can it stayed 'til your grandfather Dane Coolidge was called upon by his country to go overseas and fight the Germans once again. This time they called it World War Two. Your great-granddaddy gave it to your granddad for good luck. Unfortunately, Dane's luck wasn't as good as his old man's. Your granddad was a Marine and he was killed with all the other Marines at the battle of Wake Island. Your granddad was facing death and he knew it. None of those boys had any illusions about ever leavin' that island alive. So three days before the Japanese took the island, your 22-year old grandfather asked a gunner on an Air Force transport named Winocki, a man he had never met before in his life, to deliver to his infant son, who he had never seen in the flesh, his gold watch. Three days later, your grandfather was dead. But Winocki kept his word. After the war was
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over, he paid a visit to your grandmother, delivering to your infant father, his Dad's gold watch. This watch. This watch was on your Daddy's wrist when he was shot down over Hanoi. He was captured and put in a Vietnamese prison camp. Now he knew if the gooks ever saw the watch it'd be confiscated. The way your Daddy looked at it, that watch was your birthright. And he'd be damned if and slopeheads were gonna put their greasy yella hands on his boy's birthright. So he hid it in the one place he knew he could hide somethin'. His ass. Five long years, he wore this watch up his ass. Then when he died of dysentery, he gave me the watch. I hid with uncomfortable hunk of metal up my ass for two years. Then, after seven years, I was sent home to my family. And now, little man, I give the watch to you. Capt. Koons hands the watch to Butch. A little hand comes into FRAME to accept it.

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Appendix 3) Pump imp of adrenaline http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GHkNpbGhgU

Fig 2

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Fig 3

Appendix 4) Lance the drug dealer, his apartment, his wife and the pot-smoking girl that is

Visiting, were all major factors in the scene with lance. Thee setting for his Character contributes to development more than anything says or Does.

Fig 4 29 Roge Mateos MAT08247553 Dissertation BA(Hons)Mayor Project

Fig 5

5) Just after the opening coffee shop robbery is implemented by Pumpkin (Tim Roth) and Honey Bunny (Amanda Plummer), Tarantino chose the funk-disco anthem Jungle Boogie by Kool and the Gang.

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Fig 6 6) The sound of the Pop Tarts in the toaster oven popping up when Butch (Bruce Willis) is in the kitchen and Vincent Vega (John Travolta) opens the Bathroom door and attempts to walk in to the hallway. After Butch guns down Vincent Vega with his own weapon, the smoke alarm is detonated. The Pop Tart popping noise adds a bit of dark comedy prior to one of the most violent Acts depicted in the film, while the sound of the smoke alarm is a perfect Danger or warning (ironic since a warning normally precedes an important Event) metaphor for the act that it follows. 31 Roge Mateos MAT08247553 Dissertation BA(Hons)Mayor Project

Fig 7

Fig 8

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Fig 9

7) Just before they enter the apartment to retrieve Marcellus' briefcase, Jules tells his partner Vincent, "It ain't quite time, let's hang back." While they Kill time, Jules and Vincent return to their earlier conversation regarding foot Massages. Similarly, in the aforementioned scene in Jack Rabbit Slims, Mia calls Our attention to "dead time." "That's when you know you've found someone Special," she explains to Vincent, "when you can shut the fuck up and Comfortably share a silence.

Appendix 8) Interviews: Questions and answers

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1) Think of a nonlinear film that you like, what makes you think it was interesting and enjoyable. Please write at least 3 lines

1) Pulp Fiction is one of the best examples of nonlinear films nowadays. You can see many times the film, but until the end, you wont be able to understand the plot 2) It was all about the story and visual element. I really liked Pans labyrinth. Amazing characters. Maybe it engaged more, as I wanted to understand, the ambient created with visual and the enviroment was mysterious, scaring me most of the time during the film. 3) Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind 4) Pulp fiction, because I discovered another way to tell stories in an unusual way, different from what I used to watch before in cinema. 5) Because there is not order in time, sometimes it is harder to understand until we reach the end. 6) Because the stories are intertwined and the viewers have to be more interactive with the film. 7) Pulp Fiction. Good Featuring and story line. It is Interesting because it goes beyond ordinary narrative telling such as the dancing scene of action then a scene of love for example.I find it a bit complex because too many characters involved and locations, For example some films show a missionary journey on area such as Mexico Pulp Fiction Uses superb areas with Bruce Willis which I find a bit distant

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8)Bad Education. I thought it was interesting because, it jumps from between the current reality, the past, and also the alternate reality which is making a film about the past, so there are 3 stories going on at the same time, alternating in quite a clever way

9) The French Liutenants Woman. There were 2 story lines. One old and one new. The old one helped to explain motives of characters in the new story.

10) Pulp Fiction I like the way the sequences were put in order with violence and irony, I normally enjoy nonlinear films, they are rarely obvious and predictable. Different things are going on constantly, its like a mine of information, a connection between times and events, that can be addictive. 11) I Pulp fiction and Elephant by Gus Van Sant 12) Rashomon. Its marvellous how the director is able to transfer into images stories from the narrative tradition of Japanese literature, doing what Bergman has done in a way with The Seventh Seal: a story set in an age, when people believed in dogmas, but when reality could be not so dogmatic. 13) Mariembad breaking rules of logical narrative, playing with space and time, memories confusion between the present and the pass, the viewers dont understand what is happening, confusion between pass and present, but is not misunderstanding by the viewers its by the character of the film. 14) Kill Bill, I love this film because I remember how it starts with the scene where Uma Thurman is on the floor and her husband about to kill her. Everything is so intriguing that the film hooks you from the beginning to the end. I love the dead list where some characters have 35 Roge Mateos MAT08247553 Dissertation BA(Hons)Mayor Project

been crossed out but the viewer still doesnt know who are they because thats forward in the film. The film is all about revenge, one of Tarnations main theme and its just focus in the first seconds. 15) Amores Perros by Inarritu is a good example of a Non Linear movie. The first scene of the movie takes us already in the story without preliminaries, from there the audience has no clue of what is happening but as long as the story developed, its clear that the audience gets more into and understand the way the movie is presented. The movie heart is set all around a big accident where the all-main characters are involved.The characters have no link between each other, but they are involved in the same road accident creating links between them. 16) Irreversible is very original, in the middle of the film we already know the main character to blame wouldnt pay for what he did, the way that transmit the idea of just one event, if you choose to do one thing instead another can change the way of your life.

1) Did you find out the main character of the film during the first 15 minutes, if not how long did it take you (roughly)?

1) Cant remember... But I found it out quite early. 2) Yes Jim Carrey because he is a main actor in films 3) I think the whole movie was difficult to get until the end, cause where the present was supposed to be, it was the end of the film instead, and so on. 36 Roge Mateos MAT08247553 Dissertation BA(Hons)Mayor Project

4) Difficult because there are many characters and for me I couldnt identify them till pass 50 minutes at least 3) Yes 4) No 5) No, But the Film shows a bit of iconic two legends John Travolta and Samuel Jackson. 6) I didnt find out about the main character right away, it was very clever done (one is playing a movie director and the other one is playing an actor) was actually their current reality, only towards the end it is all revealed.

7) In the first 10 seconds. Meryl Streep standing on the sea wall. 8)No too many stories crossing over to name a main Character 9) In Pulp fiction I think it took me more than 15 minutes. In Elephant I did found the main character during the first 15 minutes. 10) Approximately 20 minutes. 11) Yes it took me more time cause it was not clear even the plot 12) No really n the beginning it could be Bill, Uma Thurman or other but after more than 15 minutes you can tell the main character is her.

13) Yes 14) As the movie is set around few characters, basically there is not a main character after all, however the director leave the audience to decide whom would they like to see as main character. 15) Yes within 15 minutes you find out who are the main characters are. 37 Roge Mateos MAT08247553 Dissertation BA(Hons)Mayor Project

16) The first sequence consist in two people talking each other but they wont appear more, you may think they will be the main characters but they wont, difficult to find main character for me in this film

3) Do you think that watching the film more than one time would have given you a better idea of the story? Please explain why

1) Sometimes I get new things of the film that I didnt catch the first two or three times I saw it. So, I suppose you get a better idea each time a nonlinear film is watched. 2) Yes definitely. First time it is difficult to understand the story (particularly introduction). Even though you dont remember the story when you watch it again, it grasps the content much stronger than first time. 3) Probably but it wont be as funny as the first time 4) Yes this is a very complicated film and I have seen it even 3 times, the first time you certainly miss some details 5) Probably you will be able to get more information the second time 6) Yes 7) No, I think that watching the Film needs concentration and it could be identified if the viewer watched carefully. 8)Yes I did watch the film a number of times and got more out of it, I understood it the first time viewing.

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9) Yes, seeing it more than once would be good. With 2 stories there is a lot of detail you miss the first time. 10) Yes because it is too fast and there are different stories 11)Yes watching the film more than one time would give you a better knowledge of the small details going on. 12) Not about the story, but about the development of characters, yes. Non-linear movies except for the few masterpieces do not have a complicated plot. 13) Yes I think this kind of films need more than one time to understand them better 14) Yes of course, there are some details where the Japanese character, (main enemy of Uma Thurman) is revealed in a comic scene. 15) Yes a second time I would have been able to understand better the film

16) No. To make a movie like Amores Perros you need lots of strengths and talent. The first time you watch it, you, as audience are facing a completely new way to follow a movie, at the beginning you are a bit confused but throughout the movies, when you start to familiarize with the all characters, everything becomes clear and the all story is easy to follow. When you watch the movie the second time, the no linear experience is lost a little because you have already experience that before, nevertheless you are still left with a great movie which you can follow easier because you already know the plot.

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4) Think about a Nonlinear film you watched not being aware that it was before watching it, how did you find out that is was not a lineal film, what elements made you think it was not linear? 1) For instance I saw Memento, and I noticed because of the chaos, I really didnt know if the main character was talking about past, future, if the footage was about his past or it was happening in the present, so I think when I am not aware of that, the film seems chaotic because of the playing with the time-line. 2) Change of location. 3) The flashbacks confused me a bit and the way that reality was mixed with no real 4) In 21 grams I was not aware but I realised when the director showed flashbacks 5) I watched Irreversible without knowing it was no linear. I realized this from the way events were shown backwards, from very brutal scenes about consequences to the calm before the storm, it was shocking and breath-taking in a very clever way...the going backwards trick 6) Each story is told with different chunks out of time until the end of the film, when finally you understand everything because there is a connection

7) Changing places in a quick way, through flashbacks showing one character younger. 8)The Genre, Chronological order of scenes, if systematic and linked well it might have a good indication of the film.

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9) A good Sense of Humor that you dont find normal in other films. For example the Way John Travolta was dancing, it showed competition but at the same time he was showing it is an easy talent. 10) The skips to animation. The changing looks of the actors 11) Situations showed in no chronological order, sometimes the beginning are the end of the film. Just at the end of the film you understand the plot 12) The Mirror by Andrei Tarkovsky, it took me a bit to realise that was going back and forward in the already going back 13) I always get information about a movie before watching it. 14) The mirror but I wasnt aware of it, in fact still I am confused about the story of the film 15) Pulp Fiction 16) I found out when some characters could be still alive if there where dead before, obviously it was a flashback. 17) Because in the first 15 minutes, you have different scenes, in which you perceive that they were not parallel over time and the characters whose stories, theoretically independent, mingle at some point, as the film progresses

18) Federico Fellini 8 is a great and early example of no linear movie. The director plays with the audience in a way, he is like telling them: I dont have any ideas about this movie, so this is what my movie is all about. 19) Memento and it was difficult for me to follow, I found no connection between sequences.

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5) Think about some 5 or more negative and positive aspects of a nonlinear film you watched. Try to explain why

1) Negative: First, the people who go to cinema. If they were not aware of the plot before, they would hate them. A high percentage of the people find this as a total waste of their money and time, cause they want to have things happening so clear, they dont want to squeeze their brains until the solution comes out. You can be confused a whole hour and a half because of that until the film ends, rewatch the film several times until you finally get the movie. Cause the plot of a film has a common way to present a product such as a film: you start the film presenting characters, you move them in a story and then at the end you finish the story leaving the people thinking about it. Positive: Something different is needed nowadays in the cinema business that its so already grinded. Playing with the imagination of the people, making them think is one of the best parts of these films. I really enjoy those kinds of films. I think you can reflect better the inner mind of someone using in these way the films, cause none thinks straight all day long, we use to remember, mix fantasy with dreams with reality everyday of our lifes. Too complicated to follow adding non-chronological flashback narrative too often gets me hard to follow the story

2) Positive surprise, amplify dimension make you think more.The speed of images. Negative: confusion, you need to watch the film again, not been 42 Roge Mateos MAT08247553 Dissertation BA(Hons)Mayor Project

able to understand what is happening until the end.

3) Negative you can get lost very easy, losing interest if you watch all the time this kind of films. Positive intriguing, you have to show more attention, enjoyable, the editing is very fast and funny I really love it. 4) Negatives: can make you lose patience if you get lost and dont find the connections. It may be a trick to make the film look more interesting when the actual script is not good, the story should speak for itself Positives thriller, some behavior from actors is understood better

5) Negatives can be boring, difficult to understand Positives entertainment, thriller,

6) Negatives you have to be focus on the film, high risk of losing the plot Positives Non-linear film goes the way we think. film more lively jumping around When we see

something we dont always know why. We find out later. Keeps the

7) Negatives when overdone the film seems choppy and emotionally hard to relate to, at times its confusing and frustrating, on-linear sometimes used to cover a stupid or boring story (The Ghost Writer) 43 Roge Mateos MAT08247553 Dissertation BA(Hons)Mayor Project

Positives thriller, chronologic order so the scenes make you understand the plot

8)Negative the only negative for me is addictive. The positive, you always want to know what's going to happen. They can surprise you. Non-predictable. Exciting and enjoyable. The speed of the film sometimes with the music gives a good rhythm to the story.

9) Negative it is difficult to perceive the right point of view at the beginnings is very hard to find a non-linear narration well done, now; after the smashing success of Pulp fiction, it has become a sort of fancy trick, a bit boring because easily recognizable and not so easily manageable by all the directors Positives although they are not well done, they usually are entertaining, in the well-done non-linear narrations, suspense is always rather high. 10) Negative Boring Positive Enjoyable, Intellectual, more active during the film

11) Negative: Very confusing probably for kids or older public, maybe not the kind of films for them. It breaks the usual plot what it could be a disaster if the film is not weal explained. Positive: It could have amazing results if the story is develop in a way where the viewer understands even if the film is con complex. That would be an amazing achievement for a director; one example could be Inception, very original way to tell a story in a non-common or 44 Roge Mateos MAT08247553 Dissertation BA(Hons)Mayor Project

usual way.

12) Positive: Usually this kind of films have interesting characters defined but not juts one main or particularly character, what it makes the film more intense and interesting. Focus on the film, so do not miss, you "hooked" from the beginning.

13) Negatives I see only one negative point, that I have see the film again, because I was totally lost, because the argument was too "enmeshed" and finally I could not get the plot.

Positive A Non linear movie gives the director more freedom in creating his movie. A Non linear movie gives the audience a more freedom in understating and enjoying a movie. A non-linear movie is open to all suggestions. A non-linear movie can be watched over and over again and the audience will always find something new and interesting. A non-linear movie sticks more in your mind as it represents a truly real experience. 14) Negative: some people may not understand the movie and find it difficult to follow. A non-linear movie should be introduced to new audience. A non-linear movie not shot properly could not become a successful movie, can be difficult to be played by actors. Positive: its more interesting, can find out more about someone in the film, and add depth to the film 15) Negative: It you can get lost in the film, Its confusing, Too much to remember to keep going back and fourth Positive: have to be more focus on the film, it is challenging to follow, you think more with this kind of films 45 Roge Mateos MAT08247553 Dissertation BA(Hons)Mayor Project

16) Negative you can lost the sense of plot, can be frustrated if you cant follow the film you can miss the plot Positives: makes you focus your attention more, tests you ability to find connections between the stories happening within the film

6) If you watched Pulp fiction, can you remember your first impression and why you liked it or why not? Please write at least 3 lines

1) I already did, but I liked it because it was a fresh way to present a new product. It was something new, not really done by the previous directors, or if it was already done, not really in the way Tarantino did.I liked because of the chaotic situation was very well explained in that way, because of the speed, the action and the feelings of the characters. U wouldnt reflect better with a lineal film, perhaps. 2) I watched Pulp fiction. But I cant remember much 3) Very good way to told a story, its the first one I saw telling the story in this way, and everything was understandable 4) I did enjoy pulp fiction very much, because it is very violent but the dialogues are very funny a clever , the characters are engaging, it is a mad film but it works for all these reasons, it is a very particular way of making movies

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5) Because it is funny and good characters 6) I like Pulp fiction because it has a strong level of controlling the viewers imagination, with a strong image concept. Not only that, The Level of Iconicity that is a part of selling a product is shown. The scenes show active role and interesting content. My Favorite is the last scene about the wallet; Samuel l. Jackson places some good humor and authority, 7) I hated Pulp Fiction. I see nothing entertaining about peoples

brains being splattered around the inside of a car. People who liked it need to examine their cynicism! 8)I like the music and aesthetic the rhythm is also frenetic, but some characters were flat and some parts of the story were not well explain, sometimes you had the feeling of being lost following the stories

9) I remember I loved it, it was like an adrenaline injection, clever and entertaining, I remember thinking it was one of the best films I had seen in years, original and really fresh.

10) I liked it because of the mixture of high-fictional narration and ironic citations; ordinary feelings like sympathy, forgiveness, and cathartic development are banned, projecting the viewer into a notdimensional level of perception.

11) I like the end of the film coming back to the beginning, and flashbacks and dialogues. 12) The first time it was so confusing that I was about to stop it, but because of the interesting characters and the way they talk I liked it so much and after a while I was about to understand it. 47 Roge Mateos MAT08247553 Dissertation BA(Hons)Mayor Project

13) I was impressed! I was hooked from the beginning, by the sensational way to relate to different stories with a "knot" in common. 14) Pulp Fiction has a dark side, for example: while people are getting killed in the movie there is a level of irony in it, and makes the all thing enjoyable. The idea of not having a linear story made the movie more interesting. It looked that the movie could have been easily longer as the situation could have been filled with others events. 15) I loved it, the way that gangster were presented in the film, and how the story change during the film, but for me the most interesting were the dialogues: entertainment and controversial. 16) Pulp fiction, characters and the way it was told, in an original way not seen before.

Appendix 9) Week end Film by Godard Weekend is perhaps the most problematic film of the modern cinema's most problematic (if arguably most important) filmmaker. The problem lies partly in the complexity of the issues involved. There are the difficulties of the film itself, difficulties of obscurity in meaning, but also those arising from the nature of its radicalism, plus the wider difficulties concerning the whole 20th-century political and aesthetic debate centered on "realism" vs. "modernism." The dominant tradition of cinema, since its inception (the Lumire films of 1895), has been "realist" (a better word might be "illusionist"), based on deceiving the audience into believing they are seeing reality instead of an artificial construct. Even documentary and the newsreel are based on principles of selection and juxtaposition; reality in art can never be unmediated. This illusion of reality can 48 Roge Mateos MAT08247553 Dissertation BA(Hons)Mayor Project

easily become (and without awareness, inevitably becomes) a disguise under cover of which the dominant ideology (i.e. bourgeois, patriarchal capitalism) reproduces and reinforces itself: the representation of physical reality becomes the guarantee of a "truth" that is in fact ideological. Hence the first duty of the radical filmmaker is to shatter the dominant modes of representationto destroy the illusion, to overthrow the tyranny of narrative. In our century, the cinema (with "reality" apparently guaranteed by the camera"the truth 24 times a second," as Godard remarked in his earlier days, or "lies 24 times a second," as he subsequently reformulated it) has been the last stronghold of traditional realist art, a tradition long since challenged in literature and painting. Godard's work has been central to the emergence and development of a modernist cinema, and Weekend is one of the key texts in that development. The fundamental rule of a classical cinema is that everything serves the narrative: settings, characterization, realistic detail, style, presentation, etc. The narrative of Weekend might be linked to a clothesline: it is a necessity for hanging the wash, but what is interesting and important are the garments, linens, etc., that it sustains. The rejection of realism/illusionism and narrative dominance is at once achieved by and makes possible (it is difficult here to distinguish cause and effect) a number of strategies. For example: there are references to the film as a film (introductory captions tell us it is "a film found on the scrap-heap" and "film astray in the cosmos," and the male protagonist complains about the craziness of the movie he's in); references to other films (Buuel's The Exterminating Angel, Johnny Guitar, Saga of Gosta Berling , and Battleship PotemkinThe Searchers are code names on the walkie-talkies while the Renoir and Truffaut references are telescoped in the caption "Arizona Jules"); printed captions throughout the film are used as interruptions which are frequently more enigmatic than explanatory; and, finally, Weekend is largely composed of digressions, its plot being capable of 49 Roge Mateos MAT08247553 Dissertation BA(Hons)Mayor Project

summation in a couple of sentences. Other strategies include: the use of direct address to the camera, monologue, and interview ( Weekend contains an interestingand exceptionally distancing variation on this in the "Third World" section where the black African and Algerian garbage-collectors speak for each other, one staring insolently into the camera while the other, off-screen, speaks his thoughts); the foregrounding of camera-technique, as in the celebrated tracking shot along the seemingly interminable traffic jam where the camera moves steadily, imperturbably, refusing to privilege any incident or detail by linering, as well as the three 360degree circular tracks around the farmyard during the lecture on a Mozart piano sonata; and, finally, the intrusion into the film of a number of characters superfluous to the narrative, some historical, some fictitious, and in certain cases played by the same actor (St. Just and the young man in the phone-booth, Emily Brontdressed as Alice-in-Wonderlandand the pianist/lecturer's assistant.) Instead of the closed text of classical narrative, in which an omniscient author (the connection of the term to "authority" is important) leads the reader/viewer step by step towards a position of "knowledge" (which corresponds to the imposition of a value-system), we have the open text of modernism. The author ("enunciator" has become the preferred term) foregrounds himself, and in a sense discredits himself. The lack of coherent narrative frees the viewer, making him the active explorer of an open-ended network of data, references, statements, and positions. The voices that speak within the film are not structured or "placed" in relation to a dominant discourse; we are not told how we must listen to them. So, at least, runs the argument. One can accept it up to a point; certainly, as a challenge to dominant forms and dominant norms, Godard has been salutary and indispensable. Nevertheless, Weekend is a film towards which, as time passes, one 50 Roge Mateos MAT08247553 Dissertation BA(Hons)Mayor Project

feels increasingly less indulgent. When it appeared (after the events of May '68, but made before them), it seemed uncannily prescient, its formal, aesthetic, and political anarchism exhilarating and liberating. Yet there were always doubtsan uneasiness, a squeamishness , which the film itself seemed to define as "bourgeois," and scoffed at one for feeling. Clearly in intention it is a film about the brutalization of contemporary capitalist society, but it is also in effect a brutalizing film. This becomes explicit in one of its final statements, where we are told that the horror of the bourgeoisie must be countered with even greater horror. In practice, the results of the theoretical argument outlined here became increasingly ambiguous. The abdication from "authority" can be read as Godard's somewhat disingenuous denial of responsibility, (" I am not making these statements, voices in the film are making them"voices which Godard has chosen and permitted to speak). The overthrow of "realism" (the blood is obviously red paint, the film is a film) becomes a means of allowing us to find degradation (especially of women), slaughter and cannibalism funny . One cannot resist the suggestion that Godard is using revolutionary politics as an excuse for indulging a number of very unpleasant fantasies of sexuality and violence. The film constructs a position for the viewer just as surely as any classical narrative (true, that position contains a certain ambivalence, but that is a phenomenon scarcely alien to classical cinema). The presentation, in the final third of the film, of the band of revolutionary guerrillas is crucial to this. Godard is careful not to endorse them in any obvious, unequivocal way. Their activities are made to appear largely ridiculous and pointless, unsupported by any coherent body of revolutionary theory. Yet he is plainly fascinated by them; their very emptiness and dehumanization provide the necessary conditions for the fantasies of violence that a constructive radical position could only impede. The attitude found in the later Vent d'Est that could explicitly encourage the placing of bombs in supermarkets and label 51 Roge Mateos MAT08247553 Dissertation BA(Hons)Mayor Project

"bourgeois" any scruples we might feel about this is already fully present in Weekend . Foregrounding the mechanics of cinema and the process of narration by no means guarantees ideological awareness (on the part of either the filmmaker or the spectator): that is just as pernicious a myth as its corollary, that all realist art necessarily reinforces the dominant ideology. Robin Wood

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53 Roge Mateos MAT08247553 Dissertation BA(Hons)Mayor Project