A Modular Trisection of Reality Construction in Films

Abstract

A substantial amount of money is invested in the funding of the film industry and the production of films. Therefore, it is imperative for filmmakers to master the art of filmmaking in all aspects to justify these investments. Based on this perspective, this study presents that there exists a strong likelihood of correlation between what is shown on screen, and what goes on in the mind of viewers particularly during the process of film consumption, thus proposing the ‘off-screen hypothesis”. Film narratives that are masterfully crafted have the extraordinary power to evoke strong feelings and imaginations in viewers about the characters they see on screen. To lend theoretical credence to the proposed hypothesis, this study adopts a triad theoretical framework, and this includes the film structuralism theory, the Classical Narrative and the Three-Acts-Structure and Auteur Theory and Personal Vision. The research adopts the triangulation method. Here 3 filmmakers were conveniently selected to participate in the interview aspect of the study, 82 previous research were selected and screened for the study using the PRISMA criteria and a total of 30 top Netflix films as of November 2023 were purposively selected for the case study aspect of the study. Results collated from the interview shows that film scriptwriters demonstrated an extent of knowledge on the need to meticulously focus on the development of their story and plot (in line with the Classical Narrative and the Three-Acts-Structure), recognizing that on-screen referrals profoundly influence viewers' imaginations. Thus, unshown actions when referred to, by actors on screen, are mentally captured and imagined by the viewers. To demonstrate this, a scene in Vikings Valhalla (a Netflix original series) shows a meeting between Harald and Freydis (two characters in the film) where Freydis tells Harald about a Christian Viking who raped her many times, beat her and called her a pagan whore. While this was never shown on screen prior to this conversation, there is the likelihood of viewers to imagine the extent of sexual violence and brutality that took place even without seeing such actions on screen, thus, establishing the off-screen hypothesis. This perspective is also visible in the other films considered in this study. From these results, this virgin model is illustrated to show Constructed Reality (Film World) where film viewers are trapped during the process of film consumption. This model shows the interplay between the creativity that happened behind the scene, the action that is happening on screen and the imaginations that are going on in the viewers’ minds, thus, giving more meaning to the off-screen hypothesis. Hence, while these two Circles are made of unbroken lines showing that they constant, the off-screen circle is made of broken lines, showing the transformative/differential nature of human imaginations – where different film viewers would imagine unscreened actions differently and such imaginations are subject to changes/erosion during their views.