TCF340/BordwellThompson/Narrative Form (Discussion)

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Form

  1. How do Bordwell and Thompson (B/T) define "form" in its general sense? And how is film a "system"?
  2. Apply B/T's four principles of film form to Day for Night:
    1. Function: What function do Ferrand's dreams serve?
    2. Similarity and repetition: What is one motif that recurs in the film? (And what is a motif, according to B/T?)
    3. Difference and variation: How does the film make use of variations?
    4. Development: B/T note, "Another way to size up how a film develops formally is to compare the beginning with the ending." So, how would you say the beginning and ending of Day for Night signals the film's development?


First shot:
http://www.tcf.ua.edu/Classes/Jbutler/T340/DayForNight-OpenClose/thumbnails/DayForNightqq00_02_29qq00011.jpg (larger image)
Last shot:
http://www.tcf.ua.edu/Classes/Jbutler/T340/DayForNight-OpenClose/thumbnails/DayForNightqq01_54_22qq00023.jpg (larger image)

Narrative form

B/T define narrative form as "...a chain of events in cause-effect relationship occurring in time and space." Discuss/define each phrase of this definition, providing examples from Day for Night:

  1. a chain of events in cause-effect relationship
  2. occurring in time and space

Plot and story

  1. What is the difference between "plot" and "story", as B/T are using those terms?
  2. Describe the plot and the story of Day for Night. How do they differ?

Classical Hollywood cinema

  1. What are the five or six principal characteristics of classical Hollywood cinema, according to B/T? List them.
    • Does Day for Night qualify as a classical film? Why or why not?
    1. Individual characters as causal agents
    2. Desire and goal
    3. Counterforce
    4. Cause and effect chain of events
    5. Deadlines/appointments
    6. Closure

Bibliography

  1. David Bordwell and Kristin Thompson, Film Art: An Introduction, 9th ed. (New York: McGraw-Hill, 2010).

External links

  1. Frame grabs from Day for Night.
  2. Wes Anderson American Express Commercial (Day for Night parody, password protected)