Fictional Worlds of Spiral Narrative

KOKEŠ, Radomír D. Fictional Worlds of Spiral Narrative. In XIV. Prague Interpretation Colloquium. Thinking and Speaking about Fictional Worlds. 2019.

Basic information

• Original name: Fictional Worlds of Spiral Narrative
• Authors: KOKEŠ, Radomír D.
• Edition: XIV. Prague Interpretation Colloquium. Thinking and Speaking about Fictional Worlds, 2019.

Other information

• Original language: English
• Type of outcome: Presentations at conferences
• Field of Study: 60405 Studies on Film, Radio and Television
• Country of publisher: Czech Republic
• Confidentiality degree: is not subject to a state or trade secret
• WWW: “Fictional world” was one of the most frequent terms in the discussions held within the series of Prague Interpretation Colloquia. This time we propose it as the central topic and invite the participants to discuss the variety of questions it raises.
• Organization unit: Faculty of Arts
• Keywords in English: Hollywood; storytelling; spiral narrative; problem-solving; poetics of cinema; film analysis; fictional worlds
• Tags: International impact

Abstract

The paper aims to explain several features of fictional worlds of so-called spiral narrative in audiovisual cinematic storytelling. The spiral narrative will be identified as a specific pattern of audiovisual storytelling with a character stuck in an iterative segment of space, time and causality. They are not only fully aware of their situation but also try to deal with it. Even though this narrative pattern is known mostly from film GROUNDHOG DAY (1993), there are many other feature films, television films, television episodes or television series. A probable explanation is that these applications of the schema are a result of filmmakers' ambitions to innovate some broadly established models of narrative development from a new perspective. However, this presentation is going to answer somewhat different questions: What kinds of fictional worlds could be designed by the limitations of the schema application? What does the schema application mean for their time, space, causality – or even for their very setting? What roles might the spiral effect play and what functions might the spiral effect fulfil within these worlds and for their inhabitants? Although the presentation will follow several "spiral narrative audiovisual works", as the primary analytical case will be the probably best known and already mentioned movie, GROUNDHOG DAY.

Links

• MUNI/A/0946/2018, interní kód MU: Name: Kinematografie a mediální kultura

Investor: Masaryk University, Category A