Table of contents Introduction 3 Mission 4 Method 4 Theory 5
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Epidemic’s narrative structureEpidemic from 1987 is a film directed by Lars Von Trier who also wrote the screenplay in collaboration with Niels Vørsel. It marks the second film in Von Trier’s Europa trilogy which also includes The Element of Crime (1984) and Europa (1991). The three films are not a narrative trilogy but rather linked by common themes and stylistic explorations. The overall subject of the trilogy can be seen as the social crisis of postwar Europe. Each of the three movies follows a character whose idealistic actions ultimately perpetuate the very problem she seeks to solve. The film’s story revolves around two film writers Lars and Niels, who one day discover that the film manuscript they have been working on for two years has somehow been erased on their computer. They cannot seem to remember the story, which they did not find interesting anyway, so instead they start to write a new last minute-script for their producer: a film about the idealistic Dr. Mesmer, who in his effort to fight a deadly pest epidemic discovers that he in fact is the one who managed to spread the disease. The film follows the writing process as well as scenes from the movie they are writing and as the script develops, it also starts to creep into the real world around Lars and Niels. It becomes apparent to the viewer from the start that Epidemic is far from the typical Hollywood film, which is seen through its narrative structure. The characteristics of a typical Hollywood or mainstream movie is by Rose/Christiansen described to be films, that appeal to our most basic emotions and they will do so through a high level of redundancy, which I will elaborate later on. The first scene begins very abruptly without a title sequence where we instead see Niels making a phone call to Lars informing him that he is about to print out the script they have been working on for two years. The lack of title sequence is replaced with the title, “FØRSTE DAG”39 which functions as a form of chapter that also gives the audience a sense of time. As it turns out the disk containing the script has unfortunately been erased and the two writers are forced to rewrite it all again with only five days left before they have to present it to a representative from the Danish Film Institute. In their attempt to remember the script, they both come to the conclusion that it was a poor one and decide to write a new story. In the scene we see Niels typing the title of the new script on a typewriter, and as he types, the word ‘EPIDEMIC’ also appears in the top left corner of the screen and stays visible for the duration of the movie. This aspect becomes metafictive and is further supported by the following scene where we hear a voice-over telling us the story we are about to see. In addition, the voice-over is narrated during a panoramic view of the aftermath of the last scene of the film which also is a supporting metafictive feature. The element of metafiction within film becomes a central theme in Epidemic and is a subject I will elaborate on. As the story continues, the voice-over appears now and again keeping the viewer informed of the developing epidemic that is spreading throughout the world. Motivation and narrationWhen analyzing the narrative system of a film, it is also appropriate to look at the plot. Within this work, the plot represents a film’s narration and this can be done in different ways, where the distribution of information is an important aspect. The extent of knowledge provided by the plot can be divided in to concepts called limited and unlimited narration.40 As an example, the detective film will often limit the extent of information and our knowledge is therefore tied to the protagonist. In a melodramatic film, however, the audience is often presented with more knowledge than the characters. The latter form, where all information is given is called an omniscient narrative strategy and the former can be described as a personal narrative strategy. In Epidemic there is a use of unlimited narration and the audience is presented with an omniscient strategy, which is seen through the use of the aforementioned voice-over. The difference between the unlimited and limited narration can function as what Alfred Hitchcock exemplified as the difference between surprise and suspense. We are surprised if a bomb which we had no previous knowledge of suddenly explodes, while suspense is created if we see a bomb with a timer in the hands of a child - and thereby has more knowledge than the characters’ plan of action. On the basis of this, the audience would expect Epidemic to display elements of suspense through its omniscient narrative, where the voice-over in the beginning informs us of the fact that an actual epidemic outbreak will collide with the completion of the script that the two main characters are writing. With this information, the film eliminates the notion of surprise as the audience is made aware of the story’s outcome. Nevertheless, as the last scene will prove, the viewer does experience an element of surprise. However, this is not perceived through omniscient narration, but rather created through Epidemic’s sudden change between ironic distance and pathos. Within the narrative structure of a film, it is important, according to Rose/Christiansen, that the audience have an interest in the characters which necessitates their actions to be well motivated.41 Mainstream movies often utilize a high degree of motivation i.e. that the elements emphasized should have reason to be there. In this respect, it is important for the mainstream film that cause and effect make sense, and that both the story and characters create coherence. Within the notion of this, four different types of motivation exist, Bordwell skelner mellem fire forskellige former for motivation, hvor de tre første er de mest udbredte, og hvor den sidste ofte først træder i kraft, når de andre tre ikke er relevante.42 There is the compositional motivation, which is often expressed when a piece of information is given in the beginning of a film and is motivated by the importance of this which is revealed later on. The transtextual motivation is typically practiced when a genre film has related to certain norms, as an example a romantic comedy should have the main characters fall in love in the end. The realistic motivation is always bound to what the viewer perceives to be realistic at a given time. It can be a character trait, an action or technology; in a science-fiction movie it would be realistically motivated to take a spaceship instead of a car. Lastly, there is the artistic motivation, which is somewhat difficult to characterize, but generally is related to stylistic traits which do not have an explicit purpose in regards to the plot, but is to a larger degree present as an atmospheric marker. What is interesting here in regards to Epidemic is the noticeable lack of motivation the film presents. As a viewer it becomes difficult to connect to the characters because their actions do not seem to be clearly motivated. An example of this can be found in the third chapter called “Tredie Dag – Tyskland”, where Lars and Niels drive to Germany in what seemingly is an attempt to find inspiration for their script. As such their actions appear to be motivated, but as the audience follows their visit around Germany, it becomes evident that they do not achieve much from this and the audience is confused about the significance of this. In connection with the aforementioned view on the film’s unlimited narration, the lack of motivation also eliminates an element of suspense and as such Epidemic increases the audiences’ lack of interest. |