BordwellThompson/Narrative Form (Discussion) - Revision history

ScreenAdmin: 17 revisions imported

2019-08-14T21:30:59Z

17 revisions imported

Jeremy Butler: /* External links */ added TVTropes

2012-01-17T23:07:38Z

External links: added TVTropes

Jeremy Butler: /* Ordinary People narrative */ wikilinks

2012-01-17T22:54:24Z

Ordinary People narrative: wikilinks

Jeremy Butler: /* Form */

2012-01-17T22:42:39Z

Form

Jeremy Butler: link to Screenlex

2012-01-17T22:16:14Z

link to Screenlex

Jeremy Butler: added OP plot

2011-01-19T16:11:19Z

added OP plot

Jeremy Butler: /* Plot and story */ added diegesis

2011-01-19T16:08:53Z

Plot and story: added diegesis

Jeremy Butler: /* Classical Hollywood cinema */ removed classical characteristics

2011-01-19T16:00:42Z

Classical Hollywood cinema: removed classical characteristics

Jeremy Butler: revert to ORDINARY PEOPLE

2011-01-19T16:00:10Z

revert to ORDINARY PEOPLE

Jeremy Butler: /* Classical Hollywood cinema */

2010-01-20T17:27:21Z

Classical Hollywood cinema

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 ==External links==
 #[http://www.tcf.ua.edu/Classes/Jbutler/T440/OrdinaryPeople/index.htm Frame grabs] from ''Ordinary People''.
 [[Category:TCF440/540 Discussion]]

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 ===''Ordinary People'' narrative===
-The Jarretts, an affluent family, try to return to normal life after the death of one teenage son and the attempted suicide of their surviving son, Conrad ([[Timothy Hutton]]), who has recently come home following a four-month stay in a psychiatric hospital. Alienated from his friends and family, Conrad chooses to see a [[psychiatrist]], Dr. Berger ([[Judd Hirsch]]), who learns that the boy had been involved in a sailing accident in which his older brother, Buck, died. Buck, more outgoing and athletic than Conrad, came first in everyone's estimation (including Conrad's). Conrad now deals with [[posttraumatic stress disorder]] and [[survivor's guilt]]. Conrad's father, Calvin ([[Donald Sutherland]]), who awkwardly struggles to connect with his surviving son, is tormented by depression, guilt, and the lingering trauma of the accident. Conrad's mother, Beth ([[Mary Tyler Moore]]), who appears to have loved her elder son more, has now grown cold toward Conrad, fixated with maintaining the appearance of perfection and normality. In one telling scene, she overhears her husband telling a friend at a party that their son has been seeing a psychiatrist. Then, on their way home in the car, she berates him angrily for revealing something she thinks should be private.
+The Jarretts, an affluent family, try to return to normal life after the death of one teenage son and the attempted suicide of their surviving son, Conrad ([[wikipedia:Timothy Hutton|Timothy Hutton]]), who has recently come home following a four-month stay in a psychiatric hospital. Alienated from his friends and family, Conrad chooses to see a [[wikipedia:psychiatrist|psychiatrist]], Dr. Berger ([[wikipedia:Judd Hirsch|Judd Hirsch]]), who learns that the boy had been involved in a sailing accident in which his older brother, Buck, died. Buck, more outgoing and athletic than Conrad, came first in everyone's estimation (including Conrad's). Conrad now deals with [[wikipedia:posttraumatic stress disorder|posttraumatic stress disorder]] and [[wikipedia:survivor's guilt|survivor's guilt]]. Conrad's father, Calvin ([[wikipedia:Donald Sutherland|Donald Sutherland]]), who awkwardly struggles to connect with his surviving son, is tormented by depression, guilt, and the lingering trauma of the accident. Conrad's mother, Beth ([[wikipedia:Mary Tyler Moore|Mary Tyler Moore]]), who appears to have loved her elder son more, has now grown cold toward Conrad, fixated with maintaining the appearance of perfection and normality. In one telling scene, she overhears her husband telling a friend at a party that their son has been seeing a psychiatrist. Then, on their way home in the car, she berates him angrily for revealing something she thinks should be private.
-As Conrad works through his minefield of emotions with Dr. Berger and learns to try to control his emotions less, he starts dating Jeannine ([[Elizabeth McGovern]]), a kind and nonjudgmental girl from his school choir. Conrad begins to regain a sense of optimism. However, the suicide of Karen ([[Dinah Manoff]]), a friend from the hospital who he had recently seen at a restaurant, threatens to send him spiraling back into depression.
+As Conrad works through his minefield of emotions with Dr. Berger and learns to try to control his emotions less, he starts dating Jeannine ([[wikipedia:Elizabeth McGovern|Elizabeth McGovern]]), a kind and nonjudgmental girl from his school choir. Conrad begins to regain a sense of optimism. However, the suicide of Karen ([[wikipedia:Dinah Manoff|Dinah Manoff]]), a friend from the hospital who he had recently seen at a restaurant, threatens to send him spiraling back into depression.
 Conrad struggles to communicate and re-establish a normal relationship with his parents and schoolmates. He gets into a fistfight with a loutish schoolmate at a minor provocation, and rejects the overtures from a former friend of his and his brother's because it re-opens the wounds of Buck's death.

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 ##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:
+{{Gallery
+|title=''Ordinary People''
-http://www.tcf.ua.edu/Classes/Jbutler/T440/OrdinaryPeople/thumbnails/OrdinaryPeople041_jpg.jpg
+|width=160
+|height=100
-First shot:
+|lines=1
+|align=center
-http://www.tcf.ua.edu/Classes/Jbutler/T440/OrdinaryPeople/thumbnails/OrdinaryPeople001_jpg.jpg
+|File:OrdinaryPeople041 jpg.jpg|alt1=Frame grab of Conrad's nightmare. He shouts at his brother.|Conrad's nightmare.
+|File:OrdinaryPeople001 jpg.jpg|alt2=Frame grab of the film's first shot--the shoreline of Lake Michigan.|First shot.
-Last shot:
+|File:OrdinaryPeople112 jpg.jpg|alt3=Frame grab of the film's final shot--long shot of the Jarrett house.|Final shot.
+}}
 == ''Narrative'' form==

@@ Line 25: / Line 25: @@
 === Plot and story ===
-#What is the "diegesis" (pronounced "die-eh-gee-sis")
+#What is the "diegesis" (Pronounced "die-eh-gee-sis"; [http://screenlex.org/diegesis/ see ScreenLex])
 #What is the difference between "plot" and "story", as B/T are using those terms?
 #Describe the plot and the story of ''Ordinary People''. How do they differ?

@@ Line 32: / Line 32: @@
 #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 ==

← Older revision	Revision as of 21:30, 14 August 2019
(No difference)

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 == Form ==
 #How do Bordwell and Thompson (B/T) define "form" in its general sense? And how is film a "system"?
-#Apply B/T's four principles of film form to ''Avatar'':
+#Apply B/T's four principles of film form to ''Ordinary People'':
-##'''Group 1:''' Function: Pick one element from ''Avatar''. What function does it serve?
+##Function: What function do Conrad's dreams/fantasies serve?
-##'''Group 2:''' Similarity and repetition: What is one ''motif'' that recurs in the film?
+##Similarity and repetition: What is one ''motif'' that recurs in the film? (And what is a motif, according to B/T?)
-##'''Group 3:''' Difference and variation: How does the film make use of variations?
+##Difference and variation: How does the film make use of variations?
-##'''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?
+##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:
@@ Line 39: / Line 20: @@
 == ''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'':
+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'':
 #a chain of events in cause-effect relationship
 #occurring in time and space
@@ Line 45: / Line 26: @@
 === Plot and story ===
 #What is the difference between "plot" and "story", as B/T are using those terms?
-#Describe the plot and the story of ''Avatar''. How do they differ?
+#Describe the plot and the story of ''Ordinary People''. How do they differ?
 ===Classical Hollywood cinema===
-#'''All groups:''' List the five or six principal characteristics of classical Hollywood cinema, according to B/T.
+#What are the five or six principal characteristics of classical Hollywood cinema, according to B/T? List them.
-##Narrative motivated by character's desire; "individual characters as causal agents"
+#*Actions stem from individual character's desires.
-##Cause-effect chain
+#*Desire sets the story in motion.
-##Narrative closure at end
+#*Plot change develops through cause and effect chain.
-##Change in the characters
+#*Goal oriented.
-##Goal-oriented narrative, thwarted by an antagonist; opposition creates conflict
+#*Appointment/deadline used to motivate character interaction.
-#*Does '''Ordinary People'' or ''Avatar'' qualify as a classical film? Why or why not?
+#*Narrative closure; goal is achieved or definitely NOT achieved.
 == Bibliography ==