Narrative - Theories

We used the Kuleschov effect in our film opening to suggest the discomfort and conflict between the character and what he sees. He sees himself at the wall in front of him, banging his head and his hands against it. We used jump cuts to suggest his progression to the wall but then returned to the initial image of him sitting on the bed and looking at the wall. This is a more complex way of suggesting the abstract idea of his inner conflict, as it is not simply two images juxtaposed, but a series of jump cuts between them. However, it was an effective and suggestive way of making the abstract concept of his inner struggle more tangible to the audience.

To some extent, even if “Demure” doesn’t present a complete narrative, it follows the 5 stages of Todorov. He suggested that a story is made up of the same basic components; an equilibrium, a disruption, a recognition of the disruption, an attempt to repair it, and a new equilibrium. The character in our film opening is shown almost directly in the disruption of his equilibrium, and even that is not very stable. He tells the audience that he struggles but that is what he is used to. Then, the images suggest a nightmare or a hallucination of himself, he is woken up by this. The worried expression on his face suggests that he acknowledges that something is not right. After witnessing this disruption in his normality, he manages to get back to his bed and slowly, trembling, returns to his desired and forced equilibrium.

As Strauss explained, narratives present opposing forces or concepts, they are formed around these conflicts. In our As product, we presented a huge conflict that took place inside the character’s mind. This is not an obvious conflict between opposites, but it is a strong discordance between two parts of the character’s mind. Through his dreams and the images of him struggling to know what is real and what isn’t, we showed the opposition between his conscious, rational mind, and his hallucinations.