Thirteenth International Conference on The Arts in Society

Abstract

Storytelling is regarded as a key concept of art. Aristotle’s theory is regarded by many scholars as the cornerstone of the tradition of narrative composition articulated in three acts (Prince 1974). Additionally, Russian formalists Vladimir Propp and Viktor Shklovsky make a distinction between two correlated concepts: Fabula and Syuzhet (Cobley 2001). In contemporary cinema, this ultimately defines tone and style (Bordwell 1985). But the three-fold paradigm can also be observed in Japanese culture, with the additional element of rhythm, which is of importance in its relation to time. In this regard, filmmaker Andrei Tarkovsky approaches the cinematic experience by manipulating the perception of duration (Tarkovsky 1989), generating intervals in the chronology of the movie. These narrative intervals are the focus of a new approach to storytelling. They create an unspoken language, with the instruments of cinematography, rhythm, and sound as alternate characters of the story. Besides, in Gilles Deleuze’s view, an image is infused with time, and contains present and past (Deleuze 1989). Therefore, a narrative configuration composed of gaps encompasses a different dimension of time and space, allowing contemplation to become the interface between the audience and the film. In this regard, the Japanese concept of Ma describes how hiatuses enable an intensity of vision, thus creating an immersive experience (Arata 1979). The story can operate on a level where the emotional attributes of the images and sound work of the film become quintessential.