Narrative in our Opening Sequence

Narrative in Our Opening Sequence

Tzvetlan Todorov- We will be challenging his narrative structure theory as we will be starting with a disruption. In our opening sequence we will show the wife locked up in the cellar looking very much helpless which is how we are challenging his theory because by starting with this disruption instead of an equilibrium, it will instantaneously grip the audience and make them feel involved which will inevitably encourage them to carry on watching. However the rest of the movie will follow this narrative structure as it will help to communicate our genre (psychological thriller) and will help the audience to understand the storyline.

Roland Barthes- In our opening sequence we will be incorporating an enigma code by not revealing the identity of the husband in the opening sequence. This will add to the sense of mystery in the plot and get the audience questioning and on the edge of their seats as they’ll want to know the identity of this man. This is a genre signifier for a psychological thriller as in many opening sequences of this genre, it is extremely common for the directors to involve enigma codes as they want to get the audience gripped and encourage the audience to watch on and find out the answers to their questions.

The fact the husband (the antagonist) is wearing all black is a significant semantic code, this may convey to the audience what type of roll he will play in the rest of the movie, as black indicates; evil, mystery and death.

Vladimir Propp- In our opening sequence we will clearly display a villain not only by showing the fact he has his wife locked away, defenceless, in the cellar but also the use of the husband’s costume. This character will be wearing all black which immediately connotes to the audience; death, evil and mystery. This also may indicate to the audience right from the start, that he may be the antagonist. This is very effective and conventional for a psychological thriller as mystery is a key theme in many films of this genre.

Back-story- the history behind the situation right at the start of our film (wife stuck in cellar). This deepens the psychological aspect of the story since the audience is able to more fully understand the husband; more specifically, what the husband’s motivations are and how the current situation has shaped his current cognitive and emotional perceptions. We are showing this through the use of a flashback by presenting his thoughts with him talking in the background but not actually to the camera. This will help the audience to further understand the husband’s mind-sets and why he has his wife locked up away in the cellar.

Claude Levi Strauss- states a good story revolves around conflict between binary opposites. This is being displayed in our opening sequence because the two main characters, one being the husband (the antagonist) and the other being the wife (the victim). These two characters are binary opposites, even though they may be married, one is obviously a woman and one is a man. The wife is somewhat vulnerable and helpless and the husband is stronger, more independent and obviously very controlling.