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    3 Part 2b

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    The document provides analysis of the narrative elements and themes in the film "Submarine". It discusses how old men in the film seem to represent longevity and anchor the surreal elements. The main character, Simon, is wholly dysfunctional and his life ends in an attempted suicide. There are many narrative enigmas throughout the film that are left unresolved, suggesting multiple interconnected storylines. Questions are also raised about whether other characters are projections of Simon's psyche.

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    3 Part 2b

    Uploaded by

    api-224303452
    231 views7 pages
    The document provides analysis of the narrative elements and themes in the film "Submarine". It discusses how old men in the film seem to represent longevity and anchor the surreal elements. The main character, Simon, is wholly dysfunctional and his life ends in an attempted suicide. There are many narrative enigmas throughout the film that are left unresolved, suggesting multiple interconnected storylines. Questions are also raised about whether other characters are projections of Simon's psyche.

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    The document provides analysis of the narrative elements and themes in the film "Submarine". It discusses how old men in the film seem to represent longevity and anchor the surreal elements. The main character, Simon, is wholly dysfunctional and his life ends in an attempted suicide. There are many narrative enigmas throughout the film that are left unresolved, suggesting multiple interconnected storylines. Questions are also raised about whether other characters are projections of Simon's psyche.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pptx, pdf, or txt
    231 views7 pages

    3 Part 2b

    Uploaded by

    api-224303452
    The document provides analysis of the narrative elements and themes in the film "Submarine". It discusses how old men in the film seem to represent longevity and anchor the surreal elements. The main character, Simon, is wholly dysfunctional and his life ends in an attempted suicide. There are many narrative enigmas throughout the film that are left unresolved, suggesting multiple interconnected storylines. Questions are also raised about whether other characters are projections of Simon's psyche.

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    You are on page 1of 7

    Narrative: anchorage and enigma

    Old men predominate in what appears to be some form of government department Simon
    works for they have a primary role in anchoring the surrealism. In many scenes, corridors
    and doorways the old men are seen blankly staring at Simon who fails in mostly everything he
    does from working the lift, ordering food in a caf to attempting to court Hannah.
    Perhaps Ayoade is making a point about longevity, about notions of existence but their role is
    interesting in how they make the film seem darker, more foreboding and mocking; almost
    predicting that Simon/James will not reach their years. Simon even hears of his old Mothers
    death in a corrupt nursing home through his answerphone message while the suicide
    department has a (too) young detective, alongside an old one. Is age important in this

    film?
    Simons life, and the films diegesis are wholly dysfunctional, ending in attempted suicide in
    the hope that he will rid himself of his doppelganger.
    Use of narrative enigma predominates throughout with the audience constantly asking
    themselves questions, some of which are never resolved. This narrative fragmentation
    suggests that the film has a number of micro narratives that work alongside a more obvious,
    mainstream macro narrative.

    Narrative: opening scenes

    Simon has a series of bizarre encounters on an underground train, neatly setting up


    his psychological alienation. A strange man tells him Youre in my place when the
    rest of the carriage is empty, and Simon moves rather than challenge the absurdity.
    He looks at a metal surface and sees only a blur, not a face. His suit is much too big
    for him. When he gets to work, an officious security guard cuts up his ID card with
    its photograph, for no apparent reason.

    Narrative: Simon versus James

    Although both characters are played by the same actor, body language, facial expressions and
    movement make Simon appear as physically weak, totally lacking in confidence and able to be
    manipulated. James moves through narrative space in a confident, strident way, he is an
    excellent verbal communicator and makes direct eye contact with those he is in conversation
    with.

    Narrative: ongoing enigmas is James a projection?

    From the start, the extent to which other characters (especially, but not limited to James) are
    part of Simons projections of his inner life is put forward as a question, and the film
    continues to examine and re-examine this problem as the narrative develops.

    Narrative: is resolution achieved?

    On this level, there a form of narrative structure in that we are introduced to Simon and his
    surroundings and we do see disruption in the arrival of James. Is there a resolution in the final
    suicide scene or is this more open ended?

    Narrative: themes and links to representation

    Narrative themes include isolation, loneliness, fear of the future and power and
    control. These can be linked to gender, age and the notion of self.

    Other audience appeals:

    dark narrative enigmas


    non-realist, escapist representations
    a timeless appeal
    cine-literate intertextual representations
    construction of genre
    Ayoades impressionistic visual style [auteur?]
    star appeal
    "It's like the future imagined by someone in the past who got it wrong,"
    explains Ayoade. "So the world of the film never existed and never will
    exist but it has that feeling of a bad utopian dream soured. Like in the
    50s, when they thought everyone would have home computers but they
    would be half the size of a room. It's as if that came to pass."

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