A Reality in Question: Negotiating Realism and Storyworld Construction in James Ward Byrkit's Coherence
| dc.contributor.author | Leinonen, Valtteri | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2018-07-24T18:37:29Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2018-07-24T18:37:29Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2015 | |
| dc.description | 16 pages | en_US |
| dc.description.abstract | This paper examines how the film Coherence (2013), directed by James Ward Byrkit, challenges foundational conceptions of its diegetic reality as held by the film’s viewer. The discussion centers around a cognitive narratological analysis of the events that help define the storyworld constructed for the film. Included in the analysis is consideration of Coherence’s realist aesthetic which is used as a contrasting plane to the film’s unfurling science-fiction premise of parallel universes. It is posited that realism is a mode which can be applied in a variety of ways, regardless of a film’s genre, subject matter, or sociopolitical motivation. In Coherence’s case, the mode is used to complicate storyworld construction for the viewer and thus engage him/her more closely in the viewing experience. The paper’s principal contention involves cognitive frame systems which the viewer uses to process Coherence’s diegetic reality. By negotiating opposing theories of Manfred Jahn and Marina Grishakova, the paper argues for a frame system which is defined by a single primary frame, allows multiple conflicting frames, and is generally respectful of the comprehension needs of a narrative. Agreement in frame systems and the basics of narrative comprehension, it is concluded, grounds interpretation and discussion of film altogether in a necessary way. | en_US |
| dc.identifier.doi | 10.5399/uo/ourj.8.1.2 | |
| dc.identifier.issn | 2160-617X | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://hdl.handle.net/1794/23449 | |
| dc.language.iso | en | en_US |
| dc.publisher | University of Oregon | en_US |
| dc.rights | Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 4.0-US | en_US |
| dc.subject | James Ward Byrkit | en_US |
| dc.subject | Framing | en_US |
| dc.subject | Coherence (2013) | en_US |
| dc.subject | Realism | en_US |
| dc.subject | Film analysis | en_US |
| dc.title | A Reality in Question: Negotiating Realism and Storyworld Construction in James Ward Byrkit's Coherence | en_US |
| dc.type | Article | en_US |