To be honest, when it comes to post-structuralism, I think that I'd feel more like a teacher who's looking for flaws in the author's tense, continuity, and pronoun agreement rather than a theorist who is unleashing the power of the text itself. Maybe I just haven't gotten my head around the "decentered" universe yet...I'm going to make some serious efforts in that area before my presentation on Tuesday, I promise.
Structuralism makes a bit more sense to me, but truthfully, it's a bit uncomfortable simply because as a lit teacher, I want to analyze the so-called egg! Taking a look at the chicken is great, but I REALLY like the egg and looking at it is so much more natural for me. So, here goes my attempt...feel free to correct and or mock.
In looking at a text from a structuralist point of view, there seem to be a variety of approaches one can pursue. Barthes identified five specific codes that can be used when examining a text: the proairetic code, the hermeneutic code, the cultural code, the semic code, and the symbolic code. These don't seem to be the only way of approaching a text using structuralism, however, and so in looking at Ang Lee's Chosen, I chose to be a bit more general, looking for the "underlying universal narrative structure" while still maintaining the conventions of a car commercial.
In examining Chosen, it is very clear that this is not your "typical" automobile advertisement-the length alone makes that obvious. In addition, you lack the typical "watch-the-car-go-as-the-voice-over-waxes-eloquent-about-its-many-fabulous-features" element. Rather, what you have is a film, and it's one that follows a very typical narrative structure in a very small amount of time.
Basic (VERY basic) narrative structure begins with an exposition, which sets up the characters and setting. In Chosen, once the credits have finished, the exposition takes all of about 23 seconds. Characters: boy and driver. Setting: stock/ship yard of some sort. In typical narrative structure, towards the end of the exposition you get a "call to action" which often introduces the main conflict of the narrative. In Chosen, the boy is handed over to the driver, thus intimating the call to action--get him where he needs to be safely, and the boy hands the driver a box stating that "It’s for later," indicating that what’s inside may be useful at a later time.
The next section, rising action, often consumes much of the rest of the text itself. It is in this section that the texts builds in suspense, the characters facing challenge after challenge, some of which move them toward the goal, and some of which are hindrances to progress. In Chosen, the rising action of the narrative consists of the car chase within the stockyard. The driver is able to maneuver his one (white) vehicle around the three (dark) vehicles of his opponents in his efforts to protect the boy. While they are shot at, it's not until they are completely trapped that one bullet is able to make it inside of the car. (But, he's able to anticipate the shot and tell the boy to duck just in time.) The challenge of being trapped gives the impression of being the ultimate climax, and the driver is able to conquer the opponent by using his BMW as a battering ram.
The climax of a typical narrative structure is the moment in which the culmination of events creates the peak of the conflict--it's the big battle between good and evil. The "I'm trapped; let's use my car as a battering ram" incident may initially seem to be the climax of Chosen, but it is not. This occurs when the driver arrives at the "safe house" to drop off the boy and the boy recognizes (from the black cowboy boots) that this man is not a good guy. So, yet again, the Driver must battle the bad guy--this time with fists, after scaling the outside wall and entering the room just as the boy is about to be shot with some neon pink liquid. THIS is the true climax of Chosen, the rescuing of the boy from the awful fate, in the nick of time.
Falling action shows the result of the climax, in this case, the spinning apparatus and the visual connection between the driver and the boy. And the denoument, or falling action, is the narrative's conclusion. In Chosen, this is done with the driver's return to the car and the box that is sitting in the passenger's seat. By opening the box and finding a bandage, the creator of this text is able to tie up the loose ends regarding the box's contents, as well as demonstrate just how close the driver came to meeting his own doom.
This text, in its limited time, follows the universal narrative structure, and thereby appeals to our sensibilities as consumers of stories. By doing this, Ang Lee and company are still able to sell us their product--the BMW. As you watch the film, it becomes clear that the driver has, by far, the superior vehicle. Not only is it white (a symbol for goodness) while the others are dark, but he is able to drive circles around them (literally), showing off the power of the car. By making the rising action of the narrative consist of mostly car chasing, BMW is able to show off their stuff, much like any other car commercial. Therefore, I, personally, think that while the structure is that of a narrative, this film still maintains advertising conventions. (And why wouldn't it? After all, isn't the ultimate point to sell cars?)
Okay--now I need your feedback...am I way off base on this structuralism thing, or am I on the right track? Again-so sorry for the length.
1 comment:
I think you are on the right track by comparing this particular text with the whole of narrative tradition for a specific purpose. I think it's really easy for us to feel like there's always more to say with Structuralism because it's BIG--you're not just looking at how meaning is created in the film, you're looking at how the film is a manifestation of how meaning is created in our lives, which is a much larger venture.
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