Non-Linear Narrative: Ziyun

This week’s lecture dealt with non-linear narrative, which is “a storytelling method presented out of chronological order or through other non-linear approaches – aka, my favorite kind of storytelling. Non-linear narratives include storytelling with parallel plot lines, dream sequences, or stories embedded within the main plot, avoiding the typical cause-and-effect sequence of events.” 

I was really interested on the evolution overview of non-linear storytelling as it related to the 20th century cinema. I am curious if there is anything beyond the the 1950s and post-WWII era that relates to non-linear storytelling, but that’s perhaps another day of library research. 

One thing I noticed with all of the short films presented was that while there wasn’t a linear narrative occurring on screen, there was always an encompassing musical melody that tied everything together. The musical melody took over the story or linear narration, and the visuals became secondary to what we were hearing. This was most noticeable with short films like “DADA” (1936) by Mary Ellen Bute. 

I especially enjoyed “The End of the World in Four Seasons” (1995) by Paul Dresden because it breaks the fourth wall and really leans into the strength of animation. It’s an experimental film that utilizes Vivaldi’s Four Seasons as the musical cohesion to create comedy within each seasonal segment. 

I had a similar reaction watching “EMPTY PLACES” (2020) by Geoffroy De Crecy, which manages to find comedy in the dystopia of late-stage capitalism. 

Lastly, I found “The Burden” (2017) by Niki Lindroth Von Baer oddly sweet despite being a dark comedic critique of late-stage capitalism. There is something hopeful and sweet about animals finding ways to express themselves creatively while being crushed by the confines of corporatism and consumerism. 

I was warding off a cold and ended up attending this class remotely, so I had a lot of FOMO when Ziyun introduced the interactive part of her lecture and had our classmates rate a film on the narrative and expressions scales. Nonetheless, I really enjoyed the short films we got to watch. 

Notes:

New Narrative: Jerry and Xiaolong

This past week, Jerry and Xiaolong presented doctoral level theories on narrative and animation, and it was incredibly impressive to see both of my classmates explain and articulate doctorate-level knowledge in their non-primary language. 

“When the Past Lies Ahead and the Future Lags Behind: Backward Narration in Film, Television and Literature” (Brütsch, Matthias)

URL: https://www.zora.uzh.ch/id/eprint/70981/1/Bru%CC%88tsch_Backward_Narration_2012-1.pdf

I was extremely fascinated by Xiaolong’s presentation on new narrative structures, especially when it was broken down into four types as defined by plot vs. events, and episodic vs. sustained. The Brutish theory table that he presented was insightful and interesting, and I am still processing the new concepts. I really enjoyed Jerry’s examples of new narrative structures being incorporated into more mainstream animation, as well as his explanation as to why he chose primarily new American and Japanese animation to showcase this trend. 

Of all the films we watched, I was especially moved by “The Flying Sailor” (2022), and I thoroughly enjoyed the discussion we had on different ways of approaching the story thereafter. 

I did laugh a bit too hard at “A Single Life” (2014), and then it gave me pause on simply enjoying life in the moment instead of trying to skip to the ‘good’ parts. But also, dark comedy for dark times.

This class made me rethink my approach to Nolan’s “Inception” (2010), which I am still deeply critical about because I consider it an inferior derivative of Kon’s “Paprika” (2006) – but I am willing to watch Nolan’s dream heist again just to see how the film could have incorporated new narrative structures instead. 

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