The Narrative Structure of the American Feature Film

Most scholars and screenwriting manuals share the same view of what is commonly known as "Classical Hollywood Narrative". A Hollywood film focuses on a single character. This protagonist has a certain goal that he or she wants to reach. The acting of the protagonist impels the story. Everything he or she does is psychologically motivated. The scenes are held together by a chain of cause and effect. Coincidence is only allowed in very small doses at the exposition of the story. This form of narration in feature film, "Classical Hollywood Cinema" became, according to David Bordwell, Janet Staiger and Kristin Thompson`s landmark book, the dominant form of Hollywood films by 1917. It remains dominant until this day. This is, in very short form, today`s standard version of narration in Hollywood. Nevertheless since 1917 many Hollywood films have been made that do not fit into this formula at all. And I am not referring to some obscure B-Pictures, but to big budget Hollywood Classics. These are films without a goal- oriented protagonist, films with a very passive protagonist, films without the classical "unity of action", episodic films, etc. In this project I want to analyse fifty feature films made between 1917 and 1927. This is the period of the American Feature Film. Within this period the films become longer, the narratives more complex. The narrative structure of Hollywood Cinema was developed within these years. The narrative structure of the sample films will be analyzed. The films will be compared to films made before that time. The goal of the project is to gain a more precise understanding of narration in Classical Hollywood films and therefore of narration in film altogether. The project wants to show that narrative structure in films was developed to solve very pragmatic problems. It was not just adapted from other media. The result will be a different look at narration in film, one that includes the actual production process of Hollywood films and therefore look beyond the frontiers of narratology. The results of this project may also help screenwriter to learn from film history and to find a new, more accurate look an narrative structure.

Most scholars and screenwriting manuals share the same view of what is commonly known as "Classical Hollywood Narrative". A Hollywood film focuses on a single character. This protagonist has a certain goal that he or she wants to reach. The acting of the protagonist impels the story. Everything he or she does is psychologically motivated. The scenes are held together by a chain of cause and effect. Coincidence is only allowed in very small doses at the exposition of the story. This form of narration in feature film, "Classical Hollywood Cinema" became, according to David Bordwell, Janet Staiger and Kristin Thompson`s landmark book, the dominant form of Hollywood films by 1917. It remains dominant until this day. This is, in very short form, today`s standard version of narration in Hollywood. Nevertheless since 1917 many Hollywood films have been made that do not fit into this formula at all. And I am not referring to some obscure B-Pictures, but to big budget Hollywood Classics. These are films without a goal- oriented protagonist, films with a very passive protagonist, films without the classical "unity of action", episodic films, etc. In this project I want to analyse fifty feature films made between 1917 and 1927. This is the period of the American Feature Film. Within this period the films become longer, the narratives more complex. The narrative structure of Hollywood Cinema was developed within these years. The narrative structure of the sample films will be analyzed. The films will be compared to films made before that time. The goal of the project is to gain a more precise understanding of narration in Classical Hollywood films and therefore of narration in film altogether. The project wants to show that narrative structure in films was developed to solve very pragmatic problems. It was not just adapted from other media. The result will be a different look at narration in film, one that includes the actual production process of Hollywood films and therefore look beyond the frontiers of narratology. The results of this project may also help screenwriter to learn from film history and to find a new, more accurate look an narrative structure.