What is the narrative approach in OCR Film Studies, and how do you analyse how a film organises and tells its story?
The narrative approach. How films organise and tell stories (story and plot, range and depth of narration, structure and order, Todorov's equilibrium, binary oppositions, open and closed narratives), and applying narrative analysis to set films.
An OCR A-Level Film Studies guide to the narrative approach. Covers how films organise and tell stories (story and plot, range and depth of narration, structure and order, Todorov's equilibrium, binary oppositions, open and closed narratives), and applying narrative analysis to set films in the exam.
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What this dot point is asking
The narrative approach analyses how a film organises and tells its story. This dot point covers story and plot, range and depth of narration, structure and order, Todorov's equilibrium, binary oppositions, and open and closed narratives, and applying narrative analysis to set films. Narrative is a core area and a specialist area for several sections.
The answer
Story and plot
The gap between story and plot is where much narrative meaning lives (what is withheld, reordered or implied).
Range and depth of narration
- Range. Restricted narration (we know only what a character knows) versus omniscient (we know more than any character).
- Depth. How far inside characters' minds we are taken.
These control suspense, alignment and irony.
Structure and theory
- Todorov. A movement from an initial equilibrium, through a disruption, to a new equilibrium.
- Binary oppositions (Levi-Strauss). Pairs of opposed values (order and chaos, nature and culture) that carry theme and ideology.
- Open and closed; linear and non-linear. Closed (resolved) versus open (unresolved, ambiguous); linear versus non-linear (flashback, multiple timelines, fragmentation).
Why it matters
These choices are not neutral: restricted narration builds suspense, an open ending invites reflection, oppositions encode ideology. Narrative is a core study area and the specialist area for British film and experimental film.
Examples in context
A strong answer applies narrative concepts to the specific film and recognises where films resist tidy models.
Try this
Q1. Explain the difference between story and plot. [5 marks]
- What the marker wants. Story is all events in chronological order; plot is the selection and arrangement the film shows, in its order (AO1).
Q2. Analyse how the range of narration shapes the spectator's experience in one film you have studied. [10 marks]
- Cue. Show whether the film is restricted or omniscient and how that builds suspense, alignment or irony, reaching meaning and response (AO2).
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of OCR exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
OCR H410/01 202115 marksExplore how narrative structure shapes the meaning of one film you have studied. [15]Show worked answer →
An analysis essay (AO1 and AO2), marked by levels of response. The marker rewards narrative theory applied to the set film.
Method. Identify the structure (linear or non-linear, the order of events, openings and endings) and apply concepts (Todorov's equilibrium and disruption, binary oppositions, range and depth of narration).
Develop. Show how the structure makes meaning and shapes response (suspense from restricted narration, theme from oppositions). Theory applied to the film reaches the top band.
OCR H410/01 202320 marksDiscuss how far narrative theory helps you understand one film you have studied. [20]Show worked answer →
An extended essay (AO1 and AO2), shown at the 20-mark cap (true tariff up to around 35), marked by levels of response.
For. Argue narrative theory illuminates the film: Todorov's structure of equilibrium and disruption, binary oppositions carrying theme, the control of range and depth of knowledge.
Against. Argue some films resist these models (open, ambiguous or non-linear narratives), so theory must be applied flexibly.
Judgement. Reach a view on how far narrative theory explains the film, grounded in its structure. A clear judgement reaches the top band.
Related dot points
- American film since 2005 and spectatorship. Studying a mainstream and an independent American film made since 2005 through film form and narrative, with spectatorship (alignment, allegiance, identification, active and passive response) as the specialist study area.
An OCR A-Level Film Studies guide to American film since 2005 and spectatorship. Covers studying a mainstream and an independent American film made since 2005 through film form and narrative, and spectatorship (alignment, allegiance, identification, active and passive response) as the specialist study area, with the exam skills the section rewards.
- British film since 1995 and ideology. Studying a British film made since 1995 through film form and narrative, with ideology (the values and beliefs the film carries, representations of class, gender, nation and region) as the specialist study area, and the contexts of recent British cinema.
An OCR A-Level Film Studies guide to British film since 1995 and ideology. Covers studying a British film made since 1995 through film form and narrative, ideology (representations of class, gender, nation and region) as the specialist study area, the contexts of recent British cinema, and the exam skills the section rewards.
- The global film comparative study. Comparing two global films, one European and one from outside Europe, through film form, narrative and context, in Section A of Component 02, with attention to cultural specificity and how world cinema differs from Hollywood.
An OCR A-Level Film Studies guide to the global film comparative study in Component 02. Covers comparing two global films, one European and one from outside Europe, through film form, narrative and context, with attention to cultural specificity and how world cinema differs from Hollywood, and the comparative skills the section rewards.
- Experimental film (1960 to 2000). What the study requires, what makes a film experimental (challenging mainstream conventions of narrative and form), the movements and tendencies of the period, and the specialist focus on auteur and narrative.
An OCR A-Level Film Studies guide to experimental film (1960 to 2000) in Component 02. Covers what the study requires, what makes a film experimental (challenging mainstream conventions of narrative and form), the movements and tendencies of the period, and the specialist focus on auteur and narrative.
- Auteur, narrative and choosing critical approaches. How auteur and narrative work as critical approaches, how to match an approach to the question and the set film, combining approaches, and reaching the judgement the higher-tariff levels-of-response essays reward.
An OCR A-Level Film Studies guide to using critical approaches in essays. Covers how auteur and narrative work as critical approaches, matching an approach to the question and the set film, combining approaches, and reaching the judgement the higher-tariff levels-of-response essays reward.
Sources & how we know this
- OCR A Level Film Studies (H410) specification — OCR (2023)