The authors mention at the beginning of the chapter how people lined up outside bookstores when the latest issue of Harry Potter came out and started reading it as soon as they got back home. This makes us wonder what is so special that compels people to buy books instantly and makes them unable to wait. This is the narrative and the plot of the story. This is very similar to films that makes the audience feel like a part of the film.
Every film has a story that is conveyed to the audiences with the help of plots and narratives. Narrative are simply events that are connected by a cause and effect relationship. The example I felt was the most apt was about a man unable to sleep and a mirror breaking. This is a an example of a bad narrative as the causes effect relationship is very unclear in this narrative. A narrative should be clear to the audience so they are able make sense of the story with the help of narratives. When we add other details, regarding the man having a fight with his boss thus could not sleep at night, and then he breaks the mirror while shaving as he is angry with is boss. This gives us a much better context of the time and space of these events. This highlights the importance of narrative in capturing the attention of the audience and making them understand the story better.
Similar to the narrative, plot also helps the audience to understand the story of a movie. The plot of the movie is extremely important as it helps the audience to infer situations which are not directly portrayed on scene. For example, when we see a scene of a guy wearing a suit giving people instructions on the phone, sitting in cab surrounded by skyscrapers and the cars are honking. This gives us so much context regarding the life the character lives and the time and space the character is in at the moment. The skyscrapers and the traffic tell us that he is stuck somewhere in New York City and his conversation on the phone tells us that he has people working for him.
This explanation gives us an elementary idea regarding the situation and general storyline that the characters are in. This is a very important part of the film and infuences how the audience oerceives the movie.
The narrative and plot are some of the most important tools that are used by directors in making the movie.