Response - April 28th - Viewing

I believe that “Duck Soup” is a narrative but “The Way Things Go” is not. While “Duck Soup” may seem like a series of gags that just pop up continuously throughout the film. I feel that “Duck Soup” had enough of a loose narrative and story (be it anarchist, chaotic, or interrupted) it still had a semi-logical A to B structure. Yes, the gags interrupt the narrative, but there is a definite beginning, middle, and end. Its intervention from the narrative structure (i.e. gags) is more structured like a cartoon in which anything can happen for any reason. Cartoons still maintain a narrative structure with bizarre, implausible gags why can’t a live action film accomplish the same thing?

I think that “The Way Things Go” however, is not a narrative. I see it structured more like A to B in small segments but not as a whole picture. Why, because there is no pay off at the end of the film. If the film concluded with reasoning and purpose that this Rube Goldberg-like contraption had then I can view it as a structured narrative. Instead it just feels unfinished (no ending). The broad structure of the film starts A but never finishes with B. (Yes, there are A to B segments within the film, but the broad structure never finishes that thought) I don’t see the two films as being very similar because of this broad scheme of structure. If “The Way Things Go” had a pay off ending (more like “Duck Soup”) then I would see them as being more similar.