Band 2: Chapter 7

A. Communal Context

• We not only have a specific mood, but we are located inside a certain cultural situation with its own mood
• We have to look outside of ourselves to our community in order to find out the mood of society
• Our community has its own unique set of perspectives, values, morals that we must become attuned to and to discover
• We not only affect our community, but in return our community affects us
• Interpolation: the institution and structures that surround us and shape our values
• What are the values of our community?

B. High Concept

• Narrative’s premise
• Built using a “what if” scenario
• Concept is high above the rest of the narratives components
• All action is hinged on this one critical point
• One-liner captions

C. Ficelle:

• the strings that connect us to the secondary characters, shift focus off of hero- what’s going on around us?
• Strategy of placing more importance on the supporting cast than the hero of a narrative
• threading/connecting us to the secondary characters; shift focus off of hero.

D. For Example, “Be Kind Rewind”

• Focalization
  -Every story is told from a point of view
  -Point of view taken by the narrative to the dramatic action of events
• Focalization: at the beginning focus solely on Mos Def, but as the story progresses the film starts to focalize on Mike and Jerry, but to the community- the sense of the community
• The movie provides no resolution, but it does provide some closure to the characters and their community
• It not just about Mos Def, it’s not just about Jack Black, but about the community (the building, Fats Waller)
• Becoming part of something that participating in community activities means more than simply “gimme, gimme, gimme”
• Emphasis on community creativity

E.  Syncretism

• Filling in the gap, threading together of at least two different discourses or even languages that exist in our life
• You can’t talk like you are in a brothel when you are at school, so we have to be able
• Switching from tunnel vision to panoramic
• syncrotiscism- filling the gap between two different things
• it’s all about threading different stories together

F. Greimas

• Articulated a structure of narrative in terms of several axis
• Relations of subject and object (the goal or desire of the hero)
• Helpers and opponents (resources to support the quest and obstacles to the goal)
• Sender and Receiver (axis of communication)
• Sender is the source of value(s) in the narrative world
• Extimacy
  -Inside/outside experience
  -The outside disaster or problem forms an image of an interior feeling

• 

• EVOKE

G. Donor

• ”Helper” role in a typical narrative
• Tests the protagonist’s worthiness, desire, and competence so that they make undertake their quest
• Gives the protagonist the tool(s) required to defeat the “villian” or achieve the completion of
• Check out from 1:40 on for good example of Donor
• Riddles of Sense
  -Posed by the donor
  -Tests the hero’s worthiness
• Luke’s Test