the voice of reason
Before I get into it, it appears that Blogger is partially blocked at work. That is, I can read blogspots but I can't post or comment. This is very annoying. It may be temporary, as sometimes stuff gets blocked and then unblocked, but in the meantime, don't think I'm ignoring you.
Somewhat on impulse tonight I purchased the movie Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. Well, my cousin Jo and I wanted to watch something funny and I had recently remembered how much I liked that movie. Very, very funny film.
Key quote:
Perry: If you look up 'idiot' in the dictionary, do you know what you'll find?
Harry: A picture of myself?
Perry: NO. The definition of the word 'idiot'. Which you ARE!
Anyways, apart from the witty repartee, the film is funny because it is narrated by slap-happy thief Harry, who in addition to his more ordinary duties as narrator interjects color commentary, rewinds, pauses, talks to the audience and offers criticism of the film itself. I love it.
And I realized that many of my favorite films feature a narrator, often one who is also the protagonist:
In Fight Club the narrator is our guide through his own strange fall from yuppy-dom and increasingly complicated relationship with the super-heated chunk of id that is Tyler Durden.
Last week I watched Thank You For Smoking, and sure enough, this brilliantly witty and sardonic film strings together its fabulous satire on smoking with the voice of the main character, the head lobbyist for Big Tobacco.
Amelie has a narrator, too, though it's not our heroine in this case. But since Amelie herself is quiet and shy, we need someone to walk us through her marvellous journey out of the shell she lives in.
Intrusive narrators have been out of vogue this century for novels and this is even more true for film. The theory is that hearing a helpful narrative voice takes the reader or viewer out of the moment. But like most things, this is only true when it's done badly. Good narration that really adds something besides a simple catalog of the events on screen feels very natural.
After all, there was a day not many millenia ago when a narrator was all one had, when that helpful voice WAS the story. I think that oral tradition of storytelling is still wired into our brains somehow: the voice speaking directly to us, sharing with us this fantastic thing that happened to them quite recently, and oh if only we were there. The power of this voice to amuse, to move and to engage us should not be underestimated.
Somewhat on impulse tonight I purchased the movie Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. Well, my cousin Jo and I wanted to watch something funny and I had recently remembered how much I liked that movie. Very, very funny film.
Key quote:
Perry: If you look up 'idiot' in the dictionary, do you know what you'll find?
Harry: A picture of myself?
Perry: NO. The definition of the word 'idiot'. Which you
Anyways, apart from the witty repartee, the film is funny because it is narrated by slap-happy thief Harry, who in addition to his more ordinary duties as narrator interjects color commentary, rewinds, pauses, talks to the audience and offers criticism of the film itself. I love it.
And I realized that many of my favorite films feature a narrator, often one who is also the protagonist:
In Fight Club the narrator is our guide through his own strange fall from yuppy-dom and increasingly complicated relationship with the super-heated chunk of id that is Tyler Durden.
Last week I watched Thank You For Smoking, and sure enough, this brilliantly witty and sardonic film strings together its fabulous satire on smoking with the voice of the main character, the head lobbyist for Big Tobacco.
Amelie has a narrator, too, though it's not our heroine in this case. But since Amelie herself is quiet and shy, we need someone to walk us through her marvellous journey out of the shell she lives in.
Intrusive narrators have been out of vogue this century for novels and this is even more true for film. The theory is that hearing a helpful narrative voice takes the reader or viewer out of the moment. But like most things, this is only true when it's done badly. Good narration that really adds something besides a simple catalog of the events on screen feels very natural.
After all, there was a day not many millenia ago when a narrator was all one had, when that helpful voice WAS the story. I think that oral tradition of storytelling is still wired into our brains somehow: the voice speaking directly to us, sharing with us this fantastic thing that happened to them quite recently, and oh if only we were there. The power of this voice to amuse, to move and to engage us should not be underestimated.
posted by braun at 11:46 PM
4 comments
