Non-Linear Narrative Structures Have Deeply Influenced How Subjects Are Presented in Visual Culture.
Narrative in visual culture
May 14th 2012
Vis Com 1st Year
Non-linear narrative structures have deeply influenced how subjects are presented in visual culture. Joanne Duff DT545 Vis Com 1st Year
Non-linear narrative structures have deeply influenced how subjects are presented in visual culture.
The first movie I looked at was Irréversible, a French movie written, directed and produced by Gasper Noé. Noé employs a non-linear narrative to force the audience to think about the actions taken by those seeking vengeance before the reasons behind these actions are known. The movie is told in reverse order, beginning with the main character murdering the person he believed brutally attacked his girlfriend. The intention of this film is to unnerve and disgust the viewer, and it achieves this through camera work, sound and music, as well as the grisly subject matter of the film itself.
I also looked at Happiness, a film by Todd Solondz. The story revolves around the lives of three sisters and the people around them. It is told from the point of view of different characters in the movie, with events sometimes overlapping and intertwining.
The two movies are similar in that they both explore disturbing subjects, but deal with it in different ways. Irréversible’s characters are exaggerated, from the main character’s descent into murderous revenge to the disgusting acts carried out by his girlfriend’s attacker. The camera work is stark and the film’s most disturbing and important scenes are created in one continuous shot. In Happiness, it seems to imply that the morally ambiguous and perverted characters aren’t freaks, but could be anyone, even the people we think we know. Irréversible strives to force the viewer into unease, Happiness is more subtle, but also unsettling.
The disturbing nature of Irréversible begins with the opening credits, which tilt as they scroll. The first 30 minutes of the film make use of strange low frequency sound which are
May 14th 2012
Vis Com 1st Year
Non-linear narrative structures have deeply influenced how subjects are presented in visual culture. Joanne Duff DT545 Vis Com 1st Year
Non-linear narrative structures have deeply influenced how subjects are presented in visual culture.
The first movie I looked at was Irréversible, a French movie written, directed and produced by Gasper Noé. Noé employs a non-linear narrative to force the audience to think about the actions taken by those seeking vengeance before the reasons behind these actions are known. The movie is told in reverse order, beginning with the main character murdering the person he believed brutally attacked his girlfriend. The intention of this film is to unnerve and disgust the viewer, and it achieves this through camera work, sound and music, as well as the grisly subject matter of the film itself.
I also looked at Happiness, a film by Todd Solondz. The story revolves around the lives of three sisters and the people around them. It is told from the point of view of different characters in the movie, with events sometimes overlapping and intertwining.
The two movies are similar in that they both explore disturbing subjects, but deal with it in different ways. Irréversible’s characters are exaggerated, from the main character’s descent into murderous revenge to the disgusting acts carried out by his girlfriend’s attacker. The camera work is stark and the film’s most disturbing and important scenes are created in one continuous shot. In Happiness, it seems to imply that the morally ambiguous and perverted characters aren’t freaks, but could be anyone, even the people we think we know. Irréversible strives to force the viewer into unease, Happiness is more subtle, but also unsettling.
The disturbing nature of Irréversible begins with the opening credits, which tilt as they scroll. The first 30 minutes of the film make use of strange low frequency sound which are