NARRATIVE THEORIESBy Louise, Maria, Joely and Jake

The film starts off seemingly in a state of disequilibrium as a hand is shown holding a Polaroid photograph of a bloody scene. The polaroid photo shows what seems to be the climax of the narrative however we have not yet witnessed the events onscreen. It appears that polaroid pictures seems to be fogging up, but in fact it is reversing as the the scene unfolds backwards. This opening sequence is a hint to the rest of the film due to the reversed linear narrative of the film. The reason why the narrative is structured like this is because it almost represents a puzzle piece that the audience have to piece together; this connects the audience with the genre of the film which is mystery/drama/thriller.

Throughout the film and in the opening sequence there is a constant cycle of disequilibrium and new equilibrium; the original equilibrium of the film is shown throughout however there is a mystery around it.Instead of the film being told from one person’s point of view, it’s told from multiple perspectives; this is significant because the audience is able to know more than the protagonist and that gives them a wider perspective of the events happening in the movie.

Memento Narrative

Cloverfield NarrativeThe film starts off with in a state of equilibrium as the opening begins with a party and we see all the characters happy; however the state of equilibrium is soon to be disturbed as one of the main protagonists is leaving to go to Japan; however this change of events is unable to occur as the monster arrives and starts to destroy the city of New York.

The film begins with the perspective shifting from one person to another to establish the viewer with the different types of characters. As the film progresses, the perspective shifts once again to one specific character who follows the group of friends around the city as they escape the monster, this is done to give a more structured element to the narrative. The handy cam is passed between characters as they are picked off one by one until the camera essentially dies as the main protagonists die.

The majority of the film is in a state of disequilibrium and the film essentially doesn’t stabilize although it could be said that the final characters death could as a balancing equilibrium.