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August 1998, Week 4

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Film and TV Studies Discussion List <[log in to unmask]>
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From:
Geoffrey Harrington Eden <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Mon, 24 Aug 1998 14:27:18 -0400
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Lang Thompson wrote:
>
> >I missed this thread.  Can someone briefly summarize?  If I understand your
> >meaning, I believe that "The Opposite of Sex" also has an unreliable
> narrator.
>
> Inspired by "The Usual Suspects," I wondered how many films have the
> equivalent of literary unreliable narrators or indeed what that would
> consist of in a film.  I think specifically it would have to be where the
> viewers actually witness the events described or done in flashback as
> opposed to a speaker or narrator who is simply not telling the truth
> verbally.
>
In the literary version, the reader doesn't need such stark contrasts to
identify an unreliable narrator, so I don't belive we need to tighten
the standards for such when it comes to film.  The literary classic case
is that of _Pride and Prejudice_, and there the reader must infer from
the narrator's descriptions and characterizations that she is not wholly
unbiased and therefore question all of her story.  Certainly, this
concept needs more airing in film  - _Sunset Boulevard_ perhaps?
 
Geoffrey
 
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