BordwellThompson/Narrative Form (Discussion)

Avatar plot

From Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avatar_%282009_film%29 .

In 2154, the RDA corporation is mining Pandora, a lush, Earth-like, moon of the planet Polyphemus,[21] in the Alpha Centauri star system.[5] Parker Selfridge (Giovanni Ribisi) heads the mining operation, employing marines for security. The corporation intends to exploit Pandora's reserves of a valuable mineral called unobtanium. Pandora is inhabited by the Na'vi, a blue-skinned species of sapient humanoids with feline characteristics.[22] Physically much stronger and taller than humans, the Na'vi live in harmony with Nature, worshiping a mother goddess called Eywa.

Humans cannot survive exposure to Pandora's atmosphere for very long and must use gas masks. In an attempt to improve relations with the natives and learn about the biology of Pandora, scientists grow Na'vi bodies, modified with human DNA, called avatars, that are controlled by genetically-matched, mentally-linked human operators.[23] Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), a paraplegic former marine, becomes a last-minute replacement for his murdered identical twin brother, a scientist trained to be an avatar operator. Dr. Grace Augustine (Sigourney Weaver), the head of the Avatar Program, considers Sully an inadequate replacement for his brother, and relegates him to a bodyguard role.

Jake escorts Augustine and biologist Norm Spellman (Joel David Moore) into the Pandoran jungle, in their avatar forms, on a mission to reestablish relations with the Na'vi and so to end the threat of violence. The group is attacked by a predator, and Jake becomes separated and lost. Forced to survive the night in Pandora's dangerous jungles, he is rescued by Neytiri (Zoe Saldana), a female Na'vi. Neytiri brings Jake to Hometree, which is inhabited by Neytiri's clan, the Omaticaya. Mo'at (C. C. H. Pounder), the Na'vi shaman and Neytiri's mother, shows interest in the warrior "Dream-walker" (their term for the avatars), and instructs her daughter to teach Jake their ways. Meanwhile, Colonel Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang), leader of the security forces, has enlisted Jake to bring him intelligence about the natives that could help RDA negotiate to safely recover the unobtanium. He promises Jake that he will help him obtain the expensive treatment to restore function to his legs. Jake's unique relationship with the Omaticaya soon yields considerable information that will help RDA to remove the Na'vi from Hometree, which rests above a large deposit of unobtanium.

Over three months, under the guidance of Neytiri, Jake develops the skills of a Na'vi warrior. He grows close to Neytiri and the Omaticaya and develops strong attachments to their lifestyle, his Avatar body, and the forests of Pandora, eroding his loyalty to RDA's agenda. He is initiated as a member of the Omaticaya, and he and Neytiri reveal their love for each other, choosing each other as mates. Jake's change of loyalty is revealed when he disables a bulldozer's cameras as it destroys part of the forest, including the tribe's "Tree of Voices". Col. Quaritch disconnects Jake from his avatar and presents Selfridge and Augustine with a video diary in which Jake admits that the Omaticaya will never abandon Hometree. Selfridge is convinced that negotiations will fail and orders Hometree's destruction.

Augustine argues that the destruction of Hometree could affect the vast bio-botanical neural network that all Pandoran organisms are connected to, and Selfridge gives Jake and Augustine one hour to convince the Na'vi to leave Hometree. When Jake reveals his original mission to the Omaticaya, Neytiri accuses him of betraying them. Jake and Augustine's avatars are taken captive. Quaritch's forces destroy Hometree, killing Eytucan (Wes Studi), Neytiri's father and clan chief, and many others. Jake and Augustine are disconnected from their avatars and detained for treason along with Norm. Trudy Chacón (Michelle Rodriguez), a security force pilot who has also gained a deep knowledge of Pandora and is disgusted by the violence, breaks them out. During their escape, Quaritch shoots Augustine. Jake hopes that the Omaticaya can help Augustine. To regain their trust, he tames a Toruk, a powerful flying beast that only five Na'vi have ever tamed. Jake flies to the Omaticaya, who have gathered at the sacred Tree of Souls, and pleads with Mo'at to heal Augustine. They attempt to transplant her soul into her avatar, but her human body's injuries are too severe, and she dies before the ritual can be completed.

With the assistance of Neytiri and Tsu'Tey (Laz Alonso), the new leader of the Omaticaya, Jake assembles thousands of Na'vi from other clans. Jake prays to Eywa to intercede on behalf of the Na'vi in the coming battle. Quaritch, noting the mobilization of Na'vi clans, convinces Selfridge to authorize a preemptive strike on the Tree of Souls. Because it is a center of Na'vi religion and culture, its destruction would leave the Na'vi too demoralized to resist further human encroachment.

As the corporation's army attacks, the Na'vi retaliate. They have no technology but Jake and their knowledge of their planet give them a strategic advantage. The Na'vi suffer heavy casualties, among them Tsu'Tey and Trudy. When the Na'vi are near defeat, the Pandoran wildlife joins the attack on the corporation's forces, overwhelming them. Neytiri interprets this as Eywa answering Jake's prayer. Jake destroys the main bomber before it can reach the Tree of Souls. Col. Quaritch escapes and finds the avatar interface pod where Jake's human body is located. He attacks it, exposing Jake to Pandora's atmosphere. Neytiri kills Quaritch and saves Jake. With the attack repelled, Neytiri and Jake reaffirm their love as she sees his human body for the first time.

Selfridge and the military personnel are expelled from Pandora, while Jake, Norm, and the scientists studying Pandora are allowed to remain. Jake is seen wearing the insignia of the Omaticaya leader. The clan perform the ritual to transplant Jake's consciousness into his Na'vi avatar permanently with the aid of the Tree of Souls.

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 Avatar:
   1. Group 1: Function: Pick one element from Avatar. What function does it serve?
   2. Group 2: Similarity and repetition: What is one motif that recurs in the film?
   3. Group 3: Difference and variation: How does the film make use of variations?
   4. Group 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 Avatar 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

Group 1: B/T define narrative form as "...a chain of events linked by cause and effect and occurring in time and space." Discuss/define each phrase of this definition, providing examples from Avatar:

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 Avatar. How do they differ?
   1. Group 2: ...in terms of order?
   2. Group 3: ...in terms of duration? (story time vs. plot time vs. screen time)
   3. Group 4: ...in terms of frequency?

Classical Hollywood cinema

1. All groups: List the five or six principal characteristics of classical Hollywood cinema, according to B/T.
   1. Narrative motivated by character's desire; "individual characters as causal agents"
   2. Cause-effect chain
   3. Narrative closure at end
   4. Change in the characters
   5. Goal-oriented narrative, thwarted by an antagonist; opposition creates conflict
   • Does 'Ordinary People or Avatar qualify as a classical film? Why or why not?

Bibliography

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

External links

1. Frame grabs from Ordinary People.