Final Research Summary - Formative (1st April 2010)

Visual Communication Design

Research and Development

Research Summary

Thursday 1 April 2010

2030 Words

  

Charlotte Corrigall

07016433

Annabelle Archibald

07031084

Introduction

Film Narrative can usually be seen as possessing two main components: the story presented and the process of its telling (or narration). This is often referred to as narrative discourse. From a story perspective, it is defined as a series of represented events, characters and actions out of which an audience can construct a fictional time, place and cause/effect world.

Today, film is beginning to develop from a narrative and dramatic tradition and into an area where storytelling is the central concern.

Stories are invasive in our culture, expressed through the media, cinema and society. We constantly seek to report experience, clarify emotion and define ourselves through narrative. This includes jokes, myths, fairytales, anecdotes, romance, history and folktale (Dunnigan, 2007).  It is argued that stories are forms of consciousness that inspire, heal, inform and empower us; through the actions of the protagonist we are able to imagine other possibilities and deal with the unexpected in our own world. They become a means of escape, an alternate reality where anything can happen.

Joseph Campbell states that every generation must transform myth into their own time in order to create their own road map for how to fit into the world (Campbell, 1990). He often suggested that the decrease in modern myth is an inestimable loss to our culture. Gods have become silent or dead, and traditional symbols have lost their meaning. The “invisible worlds” evoked by mythology have been replaced with political counterfeits (Communism, Capitalism) and mass-market substitutes (Coca Cola). Regardless of this, myth making is still alive in two areas: dreams and films. This paper will explore the process of recontextualising a traditional myth/fairytale into a modern day context, questioning how myths and fairytale narratives inform a construction for cinema narrative.

Myths and Fairytales Overview

Both myths and fairytale narratives exist in every culture and civilization. The myth is pessimistic and tragic, whereas the fairytale is happy and optimistic. Von Franz (1987, p. 1) affirms that myths or legends comment on the basic patterns of the human psyche through an overlay of cultural material. In fairytales, the material is less culturally specific; therefore mirroring the basic patterns of the psyche more clearly. The same story reappears numerously, in different forms – each case serving to make life easier to cope with and providing a universal means of escape. Myth focuses on the perpetual state of adults, the insolvable problems one is faced with. Bettelheim states that these include themes of duty versus inclination, love of family versus the individual, justice versus reason and the foolish behavior of the Gods versus the rational preferences of the individual. The fairytale becomes a childhood refuge, allowing an adjustment to the adult world. “In the myth, there is only insurmountable difficulty and defeat; in the fairytale there is equal peril, but it is successfully overcome” (Bettelheim, 1977).  An example of this is Aphrodite’s Farm, an anecdote about holding tight and letting go, embedded into a fairy tale structure and style. The story focuses on a Taranaki family whose cows produce magical milk. However, when the father dies, the future of the farm is jeopardized by the daughter’s actions. The arrival of farmhand Friday creates even more turmoil, until finally the family’s destiny completes a full circle and everything is good again. This comments on the need to let go in order to proceed. The title references the Greek goddess Aphrodite, the goddess of love, beauty and sexuality. This is an important fundamental aspect of the film, directly linking to the secret of how the magical milk is made.

Myth Context and Precedents

Myths can viewed as forms of sacred narratives that are held with high regard within the culture in which they originate. They are often set in the distant past or completely new worlds depicting prominent and familiar characters such as Gods, Goddesses, Heroes, Demons and beings with superhuman powers. Myths acted as an outline of storytelling (generally in the form of an oral narrative) that articulates how certain characters endure or enact a sequence of events. This results in establishing important values or aspects of a cultures worldview and evidently reflects human nature (Magoulick, 2003).  It wasn’t until the early Fifth century that authors such as Plato, started implying that not all myths about Gods, Goddesses and Heroes should be considered as fact. This resulted in the division between lógos (word) and myths; myths being considered tall tales and lies that only some believed and lógos/word became denoted as positive knowledge (Haase, 2007, pg 652). People began to consider myths as a distinct character within particular cultures. In culture today myths can reference universal patterns that relate to contemporary life and also bridge the ancient culture back into the present. Leitner describes the film The Matrix as “in many ways a modern account of Plato’s Myth of the Cave and the Eastern concept of Maya.”  The Matrix is based around a future time where machines have waged war against humans. Humans are farmed; surviving by being plugged into the “Matrix,” a computer-generated reality that tricks them into believing everything is as it was hundreds of years before. In Plato’s Myth of the Cave he describes men being held captive in a cave, led to believe the shadows in front of them and echoes they hear are the real reality. Leitner comments that the concept of “what our eyes see is not reality” also references the Eastern concept Maya; the illusion that constitutes our ever-changing physical world and prevents all human beings from perceiving the eternal truth. In the film, the Matrix is Maya, the illusion.

Ancient and medieval tales like the Odyssey and Iliad, Chanson de Roland and Gilgamesh all consist of modular elements and plots that, in today’s world, create traditional themes or storyline structure. Familiar themes like “The Hero’s Life, The Journey, The Marriage of the Fertility Goddess, The Epiphany of a God, and the Invention of Technology” are the core or essence of a good film structure (Sowa, 2001). An example of a New Zealand film based on a myth is Whale Rider; this film uses a Maori myth mixed with living traditions within the Maori culture. Eyre (2007) states the film pushes the issues of leadership of a female in a male-dominated society, with consistent reference to the “Whale Rider” myth. This movie, like many, follows the classic structure of ‘The Hero’s Journey’ (Campbell, 1990) mixed with “Epiphany of a God” while also maintaining the myth taken from the Maori culture.

Other movies such as The Silence of the Lambs hold a certain scene that strongly directs back into Greek mythology. Clarice Starling enters the house of a serial killer, who cuts the lights, leaving Clarice in complete darkness. The killer then monitors her with the use of night vision goggles. This scene is virtually identical to when Theseus enters the Labyrinth and having to face the Minotaur - a half-man, half-bull creature that feeds off human flesh. Both Theseus and Clarice are forced to find their way through a maze in total darkness, while being hunted by an opponent who knows his way perfectly with complete control. Theseus was successful due to the help from Ariadne, while Clarice Starling was successful due to the aid of Dr. Hannibal (Stout).  

Fairy Tale Context and Precedents

Folk or fairy tales are viewed as narratives of commencement and salvation with their own unique patterns and formalities, rituals and rules. Dunnigan (2007) states that they define universal plot themes, from Cinderella’s hidden worth being recognized to the theme of re-birth. In agreement, Luthi (1976) finds that the underlying key message that can be taken from many fairytales is the action of overthrowing the old myths of a traditional, static culture into a journey from narcissism to love. By expressing a world full of domestic conflict and social aspiration, a poetic vision of man and his relationship to the world is formed where wishing makes the man move and live. Von Franz (1970) emphasizes the stories are stripped of any definite character or location, therefore allowing fairytales to become the closest stories to the collective unconscious. As fairytales are not directly tied to any one culture they can be molded and reshaped according to the storyteller’s perspective, this results in many different versions of essentially the same story. One of these is The Brother’s Grimm’s Sleeping Beauty. Haase (2008, p.) asserts this is an example of action over reflection, the story portrays the rise and fall of not just one girl, but also all of mankind; the theme of death and re-birth so common in film narrative today.

Myths and Narratives

Film narratives also reference the underlying mythic discourse: the chaotic, demonic, the fall. In the Garden of Eden we first are exposed to good and evil and the consequences of self-awareness: suffering, guilt and the longing for what we once had. Dunnigan (2007) believes we can instead choose an alternative story, the enlightenment one that self-awareness leads towards responsibility for one’s actions and relations in this world. However, when these are “over-interpreted or reduced to a universalizing essence, they lose much of their creative power and charm” (Vogler, 1992).  In this case the section, quotation or the image may be closer to the ambiguous reality of things.

Construction

In order for myths and fairytale narratives to inform cinema narrative they must first contain elements of the seven universal themes of modern myths. These include the Battle of Good and Evil, the Hero, the Master/Mentor, the Prophecy, the Mission, Temptation, Self Mastery, Character Building and developing of virtues (Leitner). This has become ever-present in cinema narrative, through themes and/or scenes that reference traditional ideas. Characters are also dominant portrayers of mythological aspects, drawing from historical characters actions and stories. People have become increasingly aware that myths are universal with a universal function. Today modern technologies such as the Internet, Movies, Telecommunications and Publishing allow fairytales and myths to have a widespread destination. This allows reworked or new myths to reach an extended amount of people, whereas previously myths remained culturally specific. The revival of mythical elements has led to the collection and interpretation of myths and finally towards the established study of mythology.

There are many ways that the traditional ideas and themes from myths/fairytales can be re-contextualized into a modern day context. Through the means of contemporary film making, we aim to apply the story-telling aspect of myths into a reworked mythical fairytale. We are able to use our own version because however heroically secular or sacred tales of origin are, myths in their original forms are bare outlines, therefore perfect stimulus for screen stories and filmmaking. At this current stage, a range of fairytales and myths will be examined in order to find the underlying key theme that we would like to portray. This will reference the above research and focus on our main goal of using a traditional myth/fairytale to form a basis/exploration into an issue surrounding today’s society.

Conclusion

Myths and Fairytales are fundamental aspects of every culture and society throughout history. They have formed the basis of storytelling, originating from oral narratives through to multi-media means of address (such as films, literature and the Internet). Today myths can reference universal patterns that relate to contemporary life, bridging the ancient culture back to the present and also reaffirming specific morals and themes. Fairytales define these universal plot themes by sending the viewer on a journey through key elements and references (such as narcissism and love). Both are important in 20^th Century film development, the notions and ideals within each tale directly informing cinema narrative as we have come to know it today. Many films contain mythological characteristics, expressed through scenes, character development and/or the theme of the film as a whole. Through the use of film, we will construct a short narrative following the guidelines of a selected mythical fairytale with historical reference. This will become an adaptation of a chosen example, removed from the original context and placed within today’s society. This will carry with it the original essence the story portrays, allowing it to become a successful rendition of a modern day mythical Fairytale.

Reference List

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Campbell, J. (2003). The Hero’s Journey. San Francisco. Harper & Row.

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Luthi, M. (1976). Once Upon a Time. United States of America. Indiana University Press

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Vogler, C. (1992). The Writer's Journey. United States of America. Michael Wiese Productions.

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