Assignment 1 - Narrative structure

1. Narrative structures
1. Closed narrative
A Closed Narrativestructureismost commonly found in movies. Movies generally
exist as one uniquestory, and containa beginning, middleand an ending. A story is
unravelled before an audience, and then ultimatelybrought toa conclusion. A closed
narrativeina movie does not necessarilymean no sequels canbe made. There can
be prequels, set beforethe chronology of the first movie, or a sequel that cancreate
an all-new story, with the same characters. But strictlyspeaking, theycanstill be
movies in their own right.
The James Bond movies (1962-1999), which total 19 separate movies involving the same characters,
provide a good example of this.
2. Open narrative
An Open Narrativestructureisusually found in televisionseries, in particular,
ongoing soap operassuch as East Enders/Neighbors. In these narratives, thestory
has no apparent beginning, middleor end, in termsof the actualevents. A familiar
device in open narratives, especiallysoap operas, is a cliffhanger ending to each
episode, from which the next episodecan follow on. As a result, these stories canlast
a long time, and the programmeitselfcancontinuefor years.
An exampleof an open movie narrativewould be Planet Of The Apes (1967), which
leaves CharltonHeston’s character inan ambiguousending, leaving the audience
with questionsthat canbe answered in a sequel. It was, unsurprisingly, followed by
numeroussequels.
3. Multi-stranded narrative
Multi Strand Narrativestructureistelling a story from more thanone person's point
of view. or two storiesof twodifferent people that intervene, for example, a TV Soap
will have Multi Strand NarrativeStructures, becauseit hasmore thanone story. A
Soap can use Multi Strand becauseit canend one.
Sex in the city, the movie, thereforeis one exampleof such a multi strand narrative.
4. POV (Point-of-View) narrative
Third person point of view is told by a narrator who is not part of the story and
generally uses pronouns such as: he, she, it, they, them, him, her, its, etc. There are
three typeof third person narration: omniscient and limited. Third Person
“Omniscient” meansall-knowing.
The Shawshank Redemption isgood exampleof POV narrative. Oneof main
characterstells the whole story from his point of view.

2. Plot devices
1. Plot twist
A plot twist is a radical changeintheexpected directionor outcomeof the plot of
a novel, film, television series, comic, videogame, or other work of narrative. It is
a commonpracticeinnarrationused to keep the interest of an audience, usually
surprising them with a revelation. Some "twists" areforeshadowed.
Examplesof the best plot twists: Fridaythe 13th (1980), The EmpireStrikes Back
(1980), Shutter Island (2010)
2. MacGuffin
In fiction, a MacGuffin(sometimesMcGuffinor maguffin) isa plot device in the
form of some goal, desired object, or other motivator that theprotagonist
pursues, often with littleor no narrativeexplanation. Thespecific natureof a
MacGuffinistypicallyunimportanttothe overall plot. The most commontype of
MacGuffinisan object, place, or person. Other more abstracttypesinclude
money, victory, glory, survival, power, love, or some unexplained driving force.
Usually the MacGuffinisthecentralfocus of thefilm in the first act, and
thereafter declinesin importance. It mayreappear at theclimax of the story but
sometimesis actuallyforgottenbythe end of the story. MultipleMacGuffinsare
sometimesderisivelyidentified asplot coupons.
For example: Lord of the Rings “One Ring”
3. Deus ex machina
The term has evolved to mean a plot devicewhereby a seemingly unsolvable
problem is suddenly and abruptlyresolved by theinspired and unexpected
interventionof some new event, character, abilityor object. Depending on how it
is done, it canbe intended to allow a story to continuewhen thewriter has
"painted himselfintoa corner" and sees no other way out, to surprisethe
audience, tobring the tale to a happyending or as a comedic device.
Deus ex machia wasalso used by Charles Dickens in Oliver Twist, when in the
very peakof climax, Rose Maylieturns out to be the long-lost sister of Agnes, and
thereforeOliver's aunt; and she marriesher long-timesweetheart Harry, allowing
Oliver to live happilywith his saviour, Mr. Brownlow.
4. Red herring
The functionof a red herring is to divert the audience'sattentionawayfrom
something significant. Red herringsarevery commonplot devices in mystery,
horror and crimestories. The typicalexampleisin whodunits in which factsare
presented so that theaudienceis tricked intothinking that a givencharacter is
the murderer, when it is actuallyanother character.

3. The Usual Suspects: This1995 movie featuresKevin Spaceyasthe crippled,
reclusive Roger “Verbal” Kint. He tells a story to detectivesabout what happened
on thenight of an explosion. As the moviegoes on, the story becomesmore
complicated both for the detectivesand for the viewers. Verballeaves the office
after completing thestory, and only then does one detectiverealizethat most of
the namesand detailsfrom Verbal’sstory arefound withintheoffice itself, and
thereforeare all red herrings. In fact, Verbal’sentirepersona was a red herring; in
the last scene we see him leave thedetectiveoffice and drop his limp.
5. In media res
A narrativeworkbeginning inmediasres, opens in the midst of action. Often,
expositionisbypassed and filled in gradually, either through dialogue, flashbacks
or descriptionofpast events. Works that employin mediasres often, though not
always, subsequentlyuse flashbackand nonlinear narrativefor expositionof
earlier events in order to fill in the backstory.
Some storieslike this do beginin mediasres but that is not what makesthem so.
Star WarsIV: A New Hope hasbeen described as in mediasres: what makes this
so is that it opens in the middleof a chaseand battlescene explained bya prose
prologue, not becauseit has subsequent prequels.