Realism in Classical American Film Hollywood Narrative

Table of Contents 1 Realistic Narrative 2 Non-realistic Narrative 3 Purer Form of Realist Narrative

Narrtive Narrative – a structured or constructed chain of stories that tells fictional or non-fictional events. Story and Narrative * Story – an account of an event or related events; a event unit Components of narrative: narrating - the combination and arrangement of stories or event units; narrator - the one who tells a narrative (generally by voice-over in the case of cinema) Narratology - study on narrative, narration and narrator.

Realist Narrative The most important component of Classical American Films is ‘narrative’ (story). The bottom line - their narratives are constructed in such a way that they give the viewer an impression that he/she is watching something plausible and probable - that is, ‘real’ – render ‘reality’ and ‘truth’ effects in story. The first concern plausibility

Realist Narrative The classical Hollywood film creates truth effects by concealing artistry in narration. → Narration, too, like various filming techniques, must be ‘invisible’ and unobtrusive so that most viewers barely notice its narration technique and artificiality. The way in which a story is told – to make narration invisible.

Realist Narrative Narration ‘techniques’ and ‘devices’ employed to create illusion of reality but kept invisible: Formulae - CHRONOLOGICALITY and CAUSALITY CHRONOLOGICALITY - events occur in a order (occasional flashbacks - the only permissible narrative manipulation)

Realist Narrative Chronological realist narrative of Best Years of our Lives Ex-servicemen return to their home town (E/U 1) – they try to re-establish their relationship with their wife or fiancée, while finding it difficult to settle back in their former job (E/U 2).

Non-realist (Formalist) Narrative Formalist Narrative Christopher Nolan’s Memento (2000) The entire story is told in backward (from the present to the past). Leonard, as a result of a blow received on his head in an assault on him, has no short term memory.

Non-realist (Formalist) Narrative He is looking for the real killer of his wife, photographing with his Polaroid camera and tattooing on himself the important facts he finds. Each action the viewer watches is the one taken place earlier than the action she watched it last. (In normal storytelling, the action you have just seen is the one taken place later than the last action).

Non-realist (Formalist) Narrative Opening sequences – Leonard kills Teddy (cs last) - Lenard takes Teddy to the building where the latter killed the former’s wife (cs first before last) – Lenard in a motel waiting for Teddy’s arrival (cs 2 nd before last) – Lenard is told by Teddy on the phone he is coming to see Leonard (cs 3 rd before before) so on. cs – chronlological sequence

Realist Narrative CAUSALITY - actions are joined together as a series of CAUSES and EFFECTS ‘Plot is a careful and logical working out of the laws of cause and effect. The mere sequence of events will not make a plot. Emphasis must be laid upon causality, and the action - reaction of the human will.’ Francis Patterson, ‘Manual for Aspiring Screenwriters’, 1920

Realistic Narrative e.g. A storm isolates a group of characters; a war separate lovers; a lack of care kills tropical fish; a cheat leads to a divorce; a betrayal prompts a revenge.

Realist Narrative Homer lost both his arms in the war (cause) – stress on his engagement to Wilma (effect) Stephenson’s only daughter is found going out with his friend. (cause) – a family conflict in which he opposes that she goes out a married man who is a lot older than her. (effect)

Non-realist (Formalist) Narrative Mulholland Drive (2001) - divided into two main sections: the first, which could be interpreted as a dream (1 hour 56 minutes), and the second, the final 25 minutes, which might be made of real events. Important events in the first section are repeated in the second section, but with significant differences.

Non-realist (Formalist) Narrative A woman involved in a traffic accident (cause) – the woman falls into sleep in a front yard of a house in Sunset Boulevard (effect) A man tells what he seems to have experienced in his dream to another man (cause) – he faints to see a hairy man (effect)

Non-realist (Formalist) Narrative There is not much logic of cause and effect in the actions in the first part. The lack of causality is compensated by the repetition, which gives the film more textual coherence.

Realist Narrative COINCIDENCE According to the Hollywood narrative ‘formulae’, coincidence should be confined to the initial situation. The later in a film a coincidence occurs, the weaker it is - the loss of credibility.

Realist Narrative Acceptable COINCIDENCE A woman and a man separated in Paris and many years later she suddenly walks into the bar he runs in Casablanca. “Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine.” She did not know who owns the bar. Coincidence happens at the beginning of the film.

Less than Realist Narrative Less satisfactory coincidence when it takes place towards the end of the film Undercover police agent, Chan, investigates Triad crimes with little results. While his colleague Lau is out of office, he idly poke round Lau’s desk to find the envelop that is supposed to be in the hands of the gang: a sign that Lau is a Triad mole.

Less than Realist Narrative Deus-ex-machina (god from the machine) – the sudden appearance of god at the end of a play to set things right An extreme variation of COINCIDENCE Some event, character, ability or object solves a seemingly unsolvable problem in a sudden, unexpected way. A bus breaks down and one of its passengers is a car mechanic and fix the trouble. A drunkard spent all his money on drinks and a millionaire suddenly appears to give him money.

Less than Realist Narrative Boys stranded on a desert island become gradually savage and start factional fights. Jacque who fears that his position as ‘lord of the island’ is challenged by Ralph orders his boys to kill him. When boys are hunting down Ralph, a navy officer suddenly appears and his ship rescues the boys. Lord of the Flies (1990) clip clip

Realist Narrative A case in which a coincidence takes place in the middle of a film. People in a local community discussing about the birds’ attack on school children. Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds (1963)

Realist Narrative An action must have a MOTIVATION One must have a good reason for what one does. When an action is unmotivated, it would lose its credulity

Realist Narrative ‘In order that the motion picture may convey the illusion of reality that audiences demand, the scenario writer stresses motivation - that is, he makes clear a character’s reason for doing whatever he does that is important.’ Frances Marion, Scenario Writing, 1938

Non-realist (Formalist) Narrative An example completely ignoring the (realist) narrative formulae developed in classical American films Chronologicality, Causality, Motivation

Non-realist (Formalist) Narrative Surrealist film by Louis Bunuel designed by Salvatore Dali No chronological order, no causality or no motivation Un Chien Andalou (1929) clip

Illusion of Reality in Realist Narrative The film drama is: ‘… LIFE WITH THE DULL BITS CUT OUT’ (Alfred Hitchcock)

Illusion of Reality in Realist Narrative Classical realist narrative is NOT retelling of what happens in reality as it does because it extracts from the world of its characters almost only elements which are relevant to its progress. The realistic narrative in classical American films, which is achieved through various techniques and devices, is the one which gives the viewer truth effects, but is not exactly real.

Purer Form of Realist Narrative Purer form of realism in narrative is found in non-diegetic elements. Diegetic - being relevant to the progress of a story Non-diegetic - being irrelevant to the progress of an imaginary story

Purer Form of Narrative Siegmund Kracauer finds an inverted relation between those images that further the story and those ‘retain a degree of independence of the intrigue and thus succeed in summoning physical reality.’

Purer Form of Narrative Roland Barthes characterizes literary reference to objects that have no discernible narrative function except to give a material, worldly weight to the description as ‘reality effect’.

Purer Form of Narrative A purer form of film realism is found in an incidental or contingent element in narrative. ‘… in the middle of the chase the little boy suddenly needs to piss. So he does.’ (André Bazin) Vittorio de Sica’s Ladri di biciclette (1948)Ladri di biciclette

Purer Form of Narrative Gus Van Sant, Elephant (2003) – about a shooting in an Oregon high school partly base on the Colombine High School massacre. The film mostly follow the lives of several characters but the scenes are not directly related to the main plot – the shooting of students. clip clip

Purer Form of Narrative L’Amore in citta (1953) - a omnibus film about various forms of love and lovers. Dino Risi’s ‘Paradiso per tre ore’ (Three hours of paradise)Paradiso per tre ore Stick to the realist narrative formulae - chronological, causality and motivation Story time is equal to real time. Duration of story is the same to that of reality.

Realism in Classical American Film Do ‘artless’ arts in American films in the classical period still dupe you to take narratives and images for reality? Do those films that the cinema audience in the early half of the twentieth century took realistic or ‘mistook’ as an extension of their reality continue to have the same effect on you now? If not, why do you think they do not?