When we watch a movie, we do more than just observe. We actively construct meaning by connecting events, predicting outcomes, and imagining what might exist beyond the frame. This makes storytelling in film an interactive process between the filmmaker and the viewer. This week’s readings on narrative form and narration emphasize that films create meaning not only through what they show but also through how and when information is revealed. Chapter 3 explains that narration is the method through which story and plot are presented to the viewer, shaping how the plot delivers the story moment by moment.
It is defined that a film’s story represents the full chain of events in chronological order, while the plot is the filmmaker’s intentional arrangement of those events to control what we experience and when. After reading Chapter 3, I began to think about how films guide our understanding by controlling what we know and when we know it. I recently rewatched Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite (2019) and noticed how this dynamic structure is exemplified.
As the readings explain, the story exists in our minds as a chain of events while the plot shapes how we experience it. Parasite’s story could be told straightforwardly as a poor family infiltrating a wealthy household. However, the plot of the film builds suspense by giving us information slowly through the eyes of the Kim family. Joon-hoo rearranges and reveals information in ways that control how we feel and what we know. Scenes are placed strategically to build curiosity and suspense. For example, at first, the Kim family’s plan seems clever and lighthearted. However, when the hidden basement is revealed, everything we thought we understood about the family’s actions changes. This rearranging of information keeps us engaged, encouraging us to connect causes and effects and to reinterpret what we have already seen.
Techniques such as restricted narration and point-of-view (POV) shots deepen this process. The readings explain that narration determines whether we know more (unrestricted) or less (restricted) than the characters. Parasite relies mostly on restricted narration, as we often know only what the Kim family knows. The POV shot, as the readings describe, is a tool that allows us to see the world through a character’s eyes. Bong uses both of these to heighten tension and align us with the Kims’ limited perspective. For example, when Ki-taek peers out from hiding beneath the table, the camera mimics his restricted view, forcing us to imagine what lies just outside the frame. These moments emphasize that narration is not neutral, but rather it is constructed through selective framing and sound that guide how we process information.
Narrative cinema is a collaboration between what the filmmaker shows and what the audience infers. Through its manipulation of story, plot, point-of-view, and other techniques, Parasite exemplifies that film is not something we simply watch, it is something we build meaning from.
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