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Trauma, Screenwriting and Suffering
  • ISSN: 1759-7137
  • E-ISSN: 1759-7145

Abstract

Conventional linear three-act structure has become the dominant form in anglophone screen industries and creates a particular meaning and viewing experience. Modular structure, a feature of the puzzle film, uses radical non-linearity and complex plot articulations to create a very different viewing experience, and while some films use this approach to create a distanced, analytical effect, and still others seem designed to present a challenge to the viewer in the manner of a mind game, some narratives, such as Lynne Ramsay’s , have been able to leverage this breaking down of linear temporality to expressionist effect, representing the workings of a traumatized mind. This article examines the techniques which Ramsay and co-writer Rory Kinnear used to create that expressionistic effect, focusing on the use of three distinct timelines from different points in the protagonist’s life reordered around a traumatic event and the use of sensory fragments of the trauma in transitions and foreshadowing.

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/content/journals/10.1386/josc_00162_1
2024-12-31
2025-01-18
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  • Article Type: Article
Keyword(s): narrative structure; non-linear; plot; story; trauma; unconventional
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