Storytelling beyond the template – Open narrative structures in film education and dramaturgy

Abstract by Kathrin Resetarits

Film education and dramaturgy beyond the template

After a long wasteland in which the supremacy of a particular narrative form – propagated by rulebooks and instruction books – was cemented and propagated with almost religious zeal, cinematic narrative forms away from this structural template are once again coming more to the fore. The fact that something is breaking out here certainly has to do with the fact that strictly dramatic or plot-centered films are losing their appeal due to their predictability and over-standardization, and new series formats are becoming increasingly important on the market. Fortunately, this also promotes diversity in content, artistic expression, and the activation of otherwise passively entertained viewers. This liberation is the prerequisite for lively, resonance-generating and socially relevant storytelling.

New approaches are needed to deal with thematically bound and constellative structures in which plot is not a priority. Approaches and recipes can only be simply adopted to a very limited extent, since in many cases they lead to deformations and limitations of the intended content. The unquestioned must be questioned, basic narrative techniques that start before the dogmas of Hollywood production must be worked out or reweighted.

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