The Functions of Narrative

What are we if not a collection of stories? From birth we are impressed by the stories of others till one day we start to gossip, complain about our day, sing songs, write novels, direct films, and string them together our own experiences to form a narrative. In Graeme Turner’s Film Narrative he presents the argument of Lévi-Struass, that narrative itself is used to frame our understanding of the world through the use of two opposing opposites to structure the story and can be proven by its reflection of how we define the world around us, how we reflect with the hero who. This proves to be an accurate description because, quite simply, narrative is as old as humanity itself. In the past narratives served an intense function as being the educators of the world and has been the humanities greatest vehicle in the provision of knowledge. There seems to be something astonishing in our reconnaissance of information when presented in the form of a story; for instance years after one has watched a film he may be able to remember the plot line, morals, and even identify the names of the characters, as opposed to a student coming out of a lecture hall who has to diligently study simply to recall what was told to him a few weeks prior. It seems so appropriate then, that the theme of most (if not all), religions have been to provide knowledge on what we do not know and is often told in the form of a story. To say that these master narratives provide only a list of ideals and rules is to discredit the authors, quite the contrary they present a story full of pathos and entrainment in a relatable way. Christianity, the world’s most subscribed religion for instance is told through a series of stories compiled in the world’s most popular book, the bible. Entertainment and understanding was provided through narratives, even pre-literate societies would speak of myths to give meaning and stability to their lives. The entire survival of narratives throughout the ages can probably be attributed to morals that they impose on us. Macbeth reminds us of the dangers of over-ambition, To Kill a Mocking Bird reminds us that we must not prejudge others and Lord of The Flies reminds us of the importance of society’s rules. Just as we are so willing to learn from stories we are just as eager to tell them, most of us find the need to narrate the journey of how we came to be; to find one without a story to tell is almost to say his life until now has been hollow and devoid of any joy worthy of spreading to others. An often overlooked ability, narratives can symbolically solve what cannot actually be resolved. Narrative can even be seen as therapeutic, and allowing the observer a type of psychological release. Stephen King, a horror writer and author of the best seller Carrie claims how when watching a narrative, we do not only identify with the hero but also with the villain. He would argue when viewing horror for instance we are allowed to enact our hidden evils on victim through the villain thus resolving our own personal resentment of an individual without letting any actual harm befall them. An example of this is the current surge and popularity of superhero films into the market with films such as Iron Man, Dark Knight, and The Avengers allowing us an easy way to fulfill our self-improvement desires and use it to gain a sense of acceptance and affection from others. Another example can be seen in the television show Gossip Girl who’s success could be accurately be attributed by their exploitation of a teenager’s desire of independence and rebellion. Here we see upper class New Yorker high school students (played by people that are obviously in their mid-20s) tangled in a life or sex, thrills and drama among a plentiful of beautiful people. Any teenager will look at this series and will desire in awe what beautiful lives these beautiful mature people have in such a beautifully dramatic world they live in. Some may look at this as tasteless and pointless drama with no planned out story but the effect that it has on the viewers is one that society overlooks, it’s one that keeps us in check; one that stops us from back-stabbing our friends, murdering our adversaries or dressing up as bats and taking justice into our own hands. Lastly Narratives make use of binary opposites, using themes opposing themes reminiscent of how we ourselves define everything we perceive. For example in the 1946’s French film Beauty and the Beast we see an ugly beast and a beautiful maiden; already we see a clear reflection of a separation of good and bad, which is used for the basic setup for the entire play. Arguably one can say this is done for simplicity –dividing everything up into simply one of two oppositions, and they would be right but would be missing the basic understanding that most overlook –that we ourselves divide everything into two opposing thoughts. A part is not a whole, a water is not earth, cold is not hot. This basic setup helps us determine which side to connect and sympathize with, and gives us an understandable framework to use for the rest of the film. In the film Titanic for instance we are presented with Jack, a free spirited heartfelt man who is deeply in love, as such when the end comes near absolutely no one is even remotely shocked by his decision to give his life to save the life of his lover as based on our understanding of him we are able to almost predict his fate

Stories can serve as a source of humor, horror, knowledge, entertainment, and tragedy and can even supplement what said attributes are missing from our own life.