Narrative Film Research Articles

Konstruksi women empowerment dalam film Memoria

Women empowerment is a form of women's resistance to the domination of power and gender-based violence. This research aims to reveal the construction of women empowerment in the film Memoria (2016) by Kamila Andini through analysis of the film's narrative structure and cinematographic elements. The identification of the film's narrative structure uses Gérard Genette's narratology theory through the concept of focalization and the identification of cinematographic aspects using Metz semiotics. The method used in the research is the descriptive qualitative method. Data collection techniques were carried out by reviewing film sequences, literature studies, and identifying cinematographic aspects. The results show that Maria's focalization dominates the story, moves the story, and there are six grand syntagmas, namely descriptive syntagma, parallel syntagma, bracket syntagma, scene, episodic sequence, and insert subjective. Analyzing the narrative structure and the cinematographic aspects of the film through a series of syntagms, both represent the construction of women empowerment continuously. Maria is a woman who survives various life challenges and can heal the trauma within herself. The healing process starts from within oneself (self-healing) and then sharing stories (sharing) with family or trusted people. These things are steps toward freedom, justice, and women empowerment.

Indian Cinema: Bollywood as a Reflection of Social Political Issues

Abstract: Indian cinema, particularly Bollywood, has been a mirror reflecting the intricate tapestry of social and political issues prevalent in the country. This research project aims to delve into the dynamic relationship between Bollywood films and the socio-political landscape of India. Through an interdisciplinary approach encompassing film studies, sociology, and political science, this study will analyze a selection of Bollywood films spanning different eras and genres to explore how they engage with and reflect upon issues, such as gender inequality, caste discrimination, religious tensions, corruption, and socio-economic disparities. By examining the portrayal of these issues in cinematic narratives, visual aesthetics, characterizations, and thematic elements, this research seeks to elucidate the ways in which Bollywood serves as both a reflection and a commentary on the challenges and transformations shaping contemporary Indian society and politics. Additionally, the project will investigate the reception and impact of these films on audiences, considering their role in shaping public discourse, mobilizing social movements, and influencing policy debates. Through this comprehensive analysis, the research aims to contribute to a deeper understanding of the complex interplay between cinema, society, and politics in India

The Use of Religious Identity in the Narrative of "Qorin" (2022): A Study of New Historicism

Qorin (2022) is one of the contemporary Indonesian horror films that incorporates Islamic religious elements as a theme in its narrative. This research aims to examine the use of religious identity both audio and visual in the narratives of contemporary horror films in Indonesia. The research method used is qualitative description with content analysis. The theory used to examine the film is the theory of New Historicism. Through this theory, the film Qorin (2022) will be examined based on 2 things: the interdiscursivity of the film text with texts outside the film and the world or meaning to be depicted in the film. The conclusion of this research shows that the movie Qorin provides an overview of the socio-cultural conditions that occur in Indonesia through religious identity. This can be seen especially in the relationship between religious leaders and their followers.

Breaking the Cult of Masculinity –The Other Lamb, Midsommarand Empowerment on Screen

It is not only cult cinema but also the representation of the ‘cult’ on screen that can provide vital opportunities to de-centre destructive masculinity and ask questions about wider gender power struggles. Female characters that are at the centre of cult cinema, driving the narrative and breaking the rules of masculine control are not a new phenomenon. From Pam Grier’s ferocity in films such as Coffy (1973) and Foxy Brown(1974) to Kurt Russell’s brutal takedown in Tarantino’s Death Proof (2007), cult film has long been a platform for destabilising the notion of traditional gender hierarchies. The notion of the ‘cult’ itself, however, has long been thought of and (represented on screen) as an all-male power trip with disastrous consequences for those that believe. As far back as The Seventh Victim (1943) and Rosemary’s Baby (1968), there have been many manifestations of cult violence towards woman on screen but there is also a cannon of films that use cinematic representations of the cult to change the narrative and bring wider gender politics to the surface. Two such contemporary examples of this are Małgorzata Szumowska’s The Other Lamb (2020) and Ari Aster’s Midsommar (2019). Both films offer nightmarish manifestations of cult mechanisms and control that at first seem to once again place men and masculinity in pole position. This paper will examine how the narrative, character and cinematic language of both films offer a more complex and subversive discourse linked to female empowerment. They use the medium to offer cautionary, and often shocking, on-screen representations that attempt to disrupt traditional, male led power structures and can also be read as a commentary on wider society and not simply the cults that they portray.

An Overview on the Theme of Courage in “The Perfect Storm”

“The Perfect Storm”, directed by Wolfgang Petersen, is a film adaptation of a novel of the same name by Sebastian Junger. The movie narrates the exceptional skills and courage of the six crew members, led by Captain Tyne, as they challenge the treacherous waters and violent storms of the North Atlantic Ocean. Starting with the small obstacles experienced by the sailors at the beginning, the story turns into an adventure that challenged their strength and courage. Despite completing their tasks in the final successfully, the crew is defeated by the great power of nature and sinks into the depths of the ocean. Nevertheless, the courage and skills they demonstrated throughout their journey distinguish them from the rest of the people and make them the heroes of their community. In the context of the cinematic narration, this paper examines how the actors demonstrate courage in the face of challenges, thereby reflecting the theme of bravery. This paper benefited from the philosophical perspectives of Osho and Joseph Campbell. The various stages a hero goes through according to the work titled The Hero With a Thousand Faces by Campbell, discussed as the focal points of the study.

Bereavement And Melancholy in Cinema: A Comparative Review Between Turkish and American Cinemas

Cinema is one of the most vivid and sensational reflection tools in the art world since it reverberates almost all emotions concerning human beings and their experiences. One of these emotions is grief due to the loss of our beloved ones and in the same way as existence and life, it is a striking issue covering lots of films and thus the concept of mourning and sorrow are the most outstanding and common themes having a profound impact on cinema audiences. In other words, despite cultural and social differences all around the world, grief and pain are intense and universal emotions. Understanding and interpreting the contexts in which these emotions are addressed in different cinema cultures is essential to reveal the cultural projections of cinematic narratives. As part of this idea, the main purpose of this study is to illustrate how Turkish Cinema and American Cinema approach the concepts of bereavement and lament. Accordingly, four well-known films, Canım Kardeşim (1973) Babam ve Oğlum (2005), Rabbit Hole (2010) and finally Manchester by the Sea (2016) have been determined via purposeful sampling method and analyzed by focusing on remarkable similarities and differences in terms of loss and death with the aid of descriptive analysis. As a result of reviews of the films, it has been observed that the Turkish approach to death and loss includes melodrama, emotional abuse, and local connotations while the American one involves a more realistic point of view underlying individual crises, mental collapses or devastations.

Black body representation in Get Out (2017) and Us (2019) by Jordan Peele

Black characters soon appeared in Hollywood films such as The Birth of a Nation (1915), Intolerance (1916). They are recognised as criminals, not conceded as human rights. African-American directors created films to change the image of black people. Jordan Peele inherits the efforts of his predecessors and takes the story of black people in cinema to a new level with identity clarification. That is clearly shown in the movies Get Out (2017) and Us (2019). The research aims to identify the black body representation in the above two films by Jordan Peele as an expression of identity. Body denial is the root cause of violence among African Americans. This acts as a form of identity tracing. The research combines the use of cinematic narrative and semiotic approaches with interdisciplinary research methods such as culturology and anthropology. The basic principle of the position of the research is the theory of ethnic identity. The use of comparison, collation, analysis and synthesis will be applied in the process of developing theses.

Study on the Spatial Narrative of Li Changdong's Green Film "Trilogy"

Space is one of the important areas of film industry research. It is not only an important medium to simply understand the relationship between film and social reality, but also an important channel to read artists' thoughts and analyze what artists want to express and how to express them. South Korean director Lee Chang-dong is known as the "poet who asks for life" and his unique spatial awareness builds a personal influence vein full of writing. The space in Lee Chang-dong's films not only records the growth of individuals and the changes of cities, but also becomes a place where various powers compete with each other, showing the painful memories of the oppression of individuals by The Times.First of all, the paper divides the film space of Li Changdong into visual narrative space and auditory supplementary narrative space. By studying different spatial characteristics and presentation ways, it brings people's thinking behind it. Secondly, starting from the narrative function of the film, this paper studies how the space successfully participates in the narrative and becomes the narrative driving force of the film, thus affecting the narrative structure of the film and participating in the character modeling in the film. Thirdly, through some artistic languages such as sound and color, an orderly space environment is created. Finally, the paper combines the realistic point of view to study the unique spatial consciousness of director Li Changdong from his own point of view to analyze the significance behind the spatial narrative.In this paper, the spatial types, narrative functions, narrative techniques and the meaning behind Li Changdong's films are studied. Through the study of spatial narrative, I want to understand the film style and main ideas of director Li Changdong, and understand personal survival mode and living soil behind it through the entry point of space.

Rhythm in Genre Cinema and Cinematic Avant-Garde

The article attempts to outline certain principles and prerequisites for the study of the role of rhythm as the fundamental moment of any film and various approaches (avant-garde and mass cinema) to overcoming, or vice versa, fixation in the film of a given rhythm of the social whole, often associated with and expressed through aspects of industrial production rhythm. General connections between Fordism and classic Hollywood cinema are outlined, as well as between post-Fordism as an economic expression of postmodernism (the cultural logic of late capitalism) and the “cinema of nostalgia” of the 1970s. A comparative study of the approach to the issue of rhythm in the field of the cinematic avant-garde (using the example of the German avant-garde movement of the 1920s (“absolute film”)) and classic genre American cinema is offered. An attempt was made to connect the approach to the rhythm of the cinematic narrative in the film La Palisiada (1923, directed by Philip Sotnychenko) with the above-mentioned moments of the history of cinema, understanding La Palisiada as, at the same time, a study of rhythm and a study of modes of perception of the 1990s years in the current Ukrainian society. It is argued that the research in the realm of rhythm and the nostalgic orientation of films (including La Palisiada) can be closely related manifestations of the same deeply-rooted process — nostalgia for a different rhythm of the social whole, given in this particular case as the 1990s of Ukrainian history

The de-legitimation of Machine Learning Algorithms (MLAs) in “The Social Dilemma” (2020): a post-digital cognitive-stylistic approach

Abstract Released on Netflix, the most popular algorithm-oriented streaming service, The Social Dilemma (TSD) is a vivid manifestation of how the recent advancements in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning Algorithms (MLAs) have turned both to new species of post-digital, semio-cognitive power. Premised on the conception of MLAs as non-human intermediaries, this research endeavor proposes a novel post-digital ethnography of technologically-mediated algorithmic contexts and takes the challenge of examining MLAs as distributed, contested, and unbounded figures in the filmic narrative of this Netflix production. For the purpose, the paper employs post-digital cognitive-stylistic analytical tools, geared by van Leeuwen’s (de)-legitimation strategies, to showcase how MLAs, as socio-technical actors, are semio-cognitively materialized through spatio-temporal, narrative-immersive de-legitimating patterns. The examination of algorithms as socio-technical imaginary agents fully integrated within sociotechnical assemblages yields insightful findings. Delving deep into the multiple “posts” in the post-digital milieu of the film, the analysis affords valuable results that reframe, rename, and de-legitimate MLAs’ performative agency that is not only procedural-computational, but is socio-technical, semio-discursive, and cognitive-stylistic as well.

Unveiling New Feminist Insights into the Inspiring Narrative of Women Pioneering India’s Accomplished Mars Mission in the Film Mission Mangal

The present research article delves into the transformative journey of women in society, with a particular focus on their education and emancipation, as depicted through the lens of cinema. In recent years, women have evolved from traditional roles to multifaceted individuals who actively shape their destinies. This transformation encompasses their education, as they gain access to knowledge and learning, and their emancipation, as they assert their rights and seek opportunities for personal and professional growth. Furthermore, this study explores the representation of these transformations in films, examining how cinema is a potent tool for educating and empowering women. “There are various works that deal with feminism through writings and movies which bring out the nature of women in a way that every woman can relate and reflect it with their daily lives.” (Shalini & Alamelu 2018) It investigates the portrayal of women’s lives and their journey towards self-realization and sheds light on the societal dynamics and challenges they encounter. Through cinematic narratives, women’s stories gain the potential to inspire and mobilize positive change, challenge existing norms and promote gender equality. The present study employs content analysis as the methodological approach, and this study seeks to provide a comprehensive analysis of the representation of women in “Mission Mangal” from a feminist viewpoint, revealing fresh insights into the portrayal of women’s roles and contributions in India’s Mars Mission exploration story.

Transforming Cultural Memory: <i>Inglorius Basterds</i> (2009)

Inglourious Basterds (2009) stands out as an example to the unusual storytelling techniques which have been used by Quentin Tarantino in recent years. It can be classified as Historiographic Metafiction with a postmodern perspective. The film's narrative bends the historical narratives and social traumas ingrained in cultural memories. This study has shown that Tarantino's films are not just a pastiche where the director collaged the concepts, events, and motifs selected from the cinematic history. Instead, Tarantino's films challenge audience's cultural memory, knowledge of history, and ways of seeing them. I think they are metafictions that first reveal the conventional methods of remembering before developing an alternative to these kinds of narratives. In this metafiction, memory is more than just a burden of the past, but rather a tool used to reshape the present.

A Brief Analysis of the Perfect Integration of Narrative Elements and Space-time Construction

As a comprehensive art, film often has the dual attributes of time and space. "Time and space" is one of the most special and free features of film, and it is also the basic element and main content of film narrative, and it is also the necessary condition for the audience to establish the imagination space. From the perspective of narratology, this paper will analyse the text of several domestic films in terms of their thematic narrative space-time construction and the design features of narrative elements, study the specific integration and practical application of lens narrative and space-time construction, and through the examination and analysis of the film's thematic content, reveal the imaging expression and thinking mode of different films, so as to help people better understand and explore the narrative art of different contemporary films. Structure. The construction of film narrative space-time should become a basic instinct of creative practice, conveying the performance of narrative space-time in specific works and clarifying the diverse forms and nature of the film and television means presented, as well as putting forward further effective suggestions on the time-space dimension and elemental shaping of film narrative in line with the requirements of the times, and endeavouring to incorporate this kind of experience into the creation of more specific film narrative practice in the future. The film will also endeavour to incorporate such experiences into the creation of more specific film narrative practices in the future.

Cross-cultural Narrative in Romantic Comedy by Chinese-American Director -- Take the Case of 'The Half of It'

Chinese-American groups have always existed as "marginalized" in the Western cultural context, and this article uses the romantic comedy "The half of it" as the research object to explore its cross-cultural narrative strategy. With the dual cultural identity of director Alice Wu as the entry point, the film narrative space is divided into three parts of family life, campus life and table tennis platform as a cross-cultural intersection of Chinese and Western culture, focusing on the film's character image design and the cultural phenomena behind the film, from Audio-visual design, plot structure and value connotation of three aspects to assist intercultural narrative of the film, explore the background of the cultural differences between China and West. The focus on the marginal groups highlights humanistic care, directs implicit, humorous narrative technique, so that the film shows more inclusive and provides ideas for the cross-cultural narrative of Chinese-American films.

There’s more to life than the monomyth: multiperspectival approaches to teaching narrative and story in university film and media departments

ABSTRACT This article critiques the ongoing dominance of the Hollywood monomyth in the film and television industry, at least in the UK if not more widely. It considers how this is impacting on the teaching of narrative and story in university film and media departments as they move towards stronger collaborations with industry. It argues for the importance of two-way dialogue to help equip students and their future employers for a world facing complex global challenges. Drawing on the author’s extensive experience in teaching and practice-led research, it advocates for a creative problem-solving approach which decentres conflict-driven models of narrative development, such as the Hero’s Journey, placing them alongside alternative models which engage with the relationship between conflict and harmony in a variety of different ways. Considering narrative structures such as Kishōtenketsu, indigenous storytelling methods and the author’s own work with the Polyphonic Documentary project, the need for a genuinely inclusive and expansive approach is brought to the fore. A mixed economy is considered to be essential, with experimental and traditional approaches preparing students for current industry demands whilst also encouraging them to shape future storytelling landscapes. The argument is made that this is crucial to foster a nuanced understanding of narrative and story that can respond creatively and effectively to the demands of a rapidly changing world.

Gathering Despite Scattering

Much of the material related to the first female cine-workers in Iran and Egypt is not centrally curated in an archive but scattered across a variety of platforms, personal collections, books, databases, and other locations. The scattered nature of these sources reflects current practices of official state film archives in Egypt and Iran, and also connects to the lived realities of female cine-workers in the way that their unruly bodies often dissonated with the national film narratives with which they were expected to align and to represent, and experienced stigma as a result. I take this scattering seriously to propose “gathering despite scattering,” a decolonial and feminist method of constructing the archives that form the basis of our historical analysis. Gathering despite scattering embraces the corporeal, learns from provenance, and challenges the national and Eurocentric frameworks that have often strictured the histories of cinema in places like Egypt and Iran.

A Psychological Scientific Exploration of Color in Cinema

This research delves into the intricate relationship between color and its impact on human emotions. It unveils that the way we perceive and respond to colors is not a universal phenomenon, but rather a multifaceted interplay influenced by diverse factors such as language, culture, environmental conditions, and even individual gender. Furthermore, our research uncovers the intriguing connections between color and various external stimuli, including sound and other surrounding colors. It elucidates how color exerts a direct influence on our emotional states, subsequently affecting behaviors, sleep patterns, levels of aggression, and overall energy levels. Notably, we find that bright, vibrant colors with longer wavelengths tend to evoke greater stimulation and arousal compared to their less saturated, darker, and shorter wavelength counterparts. The study also delves into the symbolism of color within the realm of cinema, demonstrating that colors can convey a wide array of seemingly contradictory concepts even within the same cinematic narrative. This underscores the critical role of contextual cues in shaping the interpretation of color. In essence, this research underscores the notion that cinematographers, whether consciously or unconsciously, leverage insights from neuroscience and symbolism to craft compelling visual narratives that profoundly influence the emotional engagement of their audiences.

INTEPRETASI TRADISI ADAT JAWA RUWATAN DALAM FILM PRIMBON KARYA RUDI SOEDJARWO

The increasingly rapid growth of the Indonesian film industry has experienced big leaps to date with many themes and film genre variants emerging for entertainment and conveying messages to its target audience. One of the films that always has a special audience and its own audience is films with the horror genre, and the horror film genre in Indonesian films has experienced a lot of rapid progress apart from the cinematography, setting, and content and stories from discussing religion and myths circulating in the world. society and currently there are more and more horror films highlighting Indonesian culture which is indeed diverse and interesting to discuss in a film's narrative. The aim of this research is to describe the interpretation of 'Ruwatan' from the horror film PRIMBON by director Rudi Soedjarwo. This qualitative research uses content analysis and historical analysis regarding the exact role of 'Ruwatan' in this film which has a big impact on Javanese culture in Indonesia. with the results of the analysis that the film 'Primbon' succeeded in introducing the ruwatan procession as a Javanese culture and custom that is very essential and cannot be replaced, because it is used as an important procession in salvation to eliminate disasters, a wider audience can understand this with the media films and film directors do not need to change the narrative or context to a more cinematic one, the actual procession can be shown as it is. Culture and customs are very relevant as narratives in films not only because of trends or market accommodation but for the broader purpose of introducing culture and customs by using film as a mass medium that can reach a wider audience.

Understanding the Spatial Narratives of Puzzle Films Using Cognitive Maps

Spatial narratives are becoming increasingly significant in contextualizing geographical phenomena. Whereas many studies focus on spatial narratives of real spaces projected from the Earth’s surface, this article examines the imaginary spaces in the narrative of Hollywood puzzle films, arguing that cognitive maps are more effective in understanding and navigating these spaces. Through an analysis of well-known puzzle films, the article demonstrates how cognitive maps can encode imaginary spaces, draw the audience’s attention to key landmarks, and guide both the filmmaker and the audience through the film’s narrative. Beyond films, this study underscores the potential of cognitive maps in decoding complex space–time relationships in real-world context. By bridging the gap between cinematic imagination and geographical exploration, this article aims not only to inspire filmmakers but also to encourage geographers, cartographers, and GIScientists to look beyond their own fields and draw inspiration from other areas, such as cinematography, to envision a terra incognita that extends beyond the real world.

EXPLORING THE INTERPLAY OF MEMORY AND POETRY IN RIVE GAUCHE CINEMA: A STUDY OF MURIEL AND HIROSHIMA MON AMOUR

This article examines the interrelations between memory and poetry, focusing on the films Hiroshima mon amour and Muriel, directed by Alain Resnais. It explores how memory and poetry are intertwined in the narrative and formal construction of these films, using logical principles shared between the two fields. The analysis of fragmentation, invention and associationism present in the cinematic narratives, reveals how memory and poetry influence personal identity and artistic creation. These films serve as outstanding examples of how cinema can explore the depths of human consciousness through the conscious use of memory and poetry.