BordwellThompson/Narrative Form (Discussion)

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 Ordinary People:
   1. Function: What function do Conrad's dreams/fantasies 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 Ordinary People signals the film's development?

Conrad's nightmare:

http://www.tcf.ua.edu/Classes/Jbutler/T440/OrdinaryPeople/thumbnails/OrdinaryPeople041_jpg.jpg

First shot:

http://www.tcf.ua.edu/Classes/Jbutler/T440/OrdinaryPeople/thumbnails/OrdinaryPeople001_jpg.jpg

Last shot:

http://www.tcf.ua.edu/Classes/Jbutler/T440/OrdinaryPeople/thumbnails/OrdinaryPeople112_jpg.jpg

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 Ordinary People:

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 Ordinary People. 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 Ordinary People qualify as a classical film? Why or why not?

Bibliography

1. David Bordwell and Kristin Thompson, Film Art: An Introduction, 8th ed. (New York: McGraw-Hill, 2007).

External links

1. Frame grabs from Ordinary People.