Narrative Global Cinema

In this essay I will be comparing and contrasting the narrative structure of Love Actually directed by Richard Curtis released in 2003 and The tale of Princess Kaguya released in 2013 directed by Isoa Takahata. I will be drawing on the works of Robynn Stilwells 2007 ‘The Fantastical Gap between Diegetic and Nondiegetic’ with the quote ‘…when we are talking about movement through the gap between diegetic and nondiegetic [music], that trajectory takes on great narrative and experiential import.’ (Robynn Stilwell pp.184-202). I will also be drawing on Aristotle 1996 The Poetics With the quote ‘Just as in other imitative arts the imitation is unified if it imitates a single object, so too the plot, as the imitation of an action, should imitate a single, unified action — and one that is also a whole.’ (p.15.)

Music is a major part of the narrative structure of the 2003 film Love actually, whether it is diegetic or non diegetic in the film. Gilbert, L. and Harris, M.W., 2017 define these to be ‘the two basic ways to describe sound in an audiovisual medium’ (P.84). With multiple storylines throughout the film, from following musicians, prime ministers, and newly weds, music is a pivotal part of the storytelling throughout the film. The decision to have multiple storyline this contradicts Aristotle’s theory, where ‘Just as in other imitative arts the imitation is unified if it imitates a single object, so too the plot, as the imitation of an action, should imitate a single, unified action — and one that is also a whole.’ (Aristotle. p.15.) This is as the multiple narrative strings imitate multiple objects, not the ‘single object’ previously stated. 

The scene I will be discussing from love actually, is when Emma Thompson’s  character Karen, realises her husband is cheating on her. She receives a CD from her favourite artist as a christmas present, instead of the necklace she finds in her husband’s coat pocket. This CD is relevant as in a few scenes before when the couple are talking about Joni Mitchell; ‘Harry: I can’t believe you still listen to Joni Mitchell. Karen: I love her. And true love lasts a lifetime. Joni Mitchell is the woman who taught your cold English wife how to feel.’ This explains how the music affects those characters and how important the song later on in the reliastion scene applies to the character. The music in the scene is diegetic, which is explained to be “derived from the word diegesis which means the mode of storytelling and in film making it is used to denote the world created on screen…Diegesis is what can be seen, heard and placed logically within the filmic reality”.(Gilbert, L. and Harris, M.W., 2017. P84). The lyrics are telling the viewer how the character is feeling, with how she is showing her emotions when listening to the lyrics of the song. Having Karen explaining in the earlier scene that the music ‘taught [her]… how to feel’ and how the lyrics expressing how she ‘[doesn’t] know love at all’ explaining that the diegetic music in the scene suggests to the audience the character has realised that she now connects to the song she is listening to, as she has fallen out of love with her husband. The physical CD has made her realise that he has cheated. When opening the present, her husband says he bought it to ‘continue [her] emotional education’ which later on in the scene corresponds with when Karen is seen playing the CD she has just been given. She is crying as the gift brought her the realisation that her husband is cheating. In this sequence the music is diegetic, this choice of sound ensures that ‘the viewer can place the source of the music within the reality of the film.’ (Gilbert, L. and Harris, M.W., 2017. P84). The music changes to Non- diegetic, which “can also help set the scene of time and place by drawing on musical codes of the world depicted on-scene”, when Karen walks back into the room with her family. (Gilbert, L. and Harris, M.W., 2017. P85). Having the music being non- Diegetic suggests to the audience that we can still hear her being emotional as we know that her character was listening to the song but to her family she still feels the same as when she left the room. As the music when played diegetically was only ‘source of the music within the reality of the film.’ In Karen’s bedroom, the audience didn’t see the other family members listen to the music. (Gilbert, L. and Harris, M.W., 2017. P84) 

Diegetic music throughout the 2003 film is important to the narrative. When Billy the rockstar musician scenes are shown, the music is diegetically played. ‘Though he endeavours to bring the worst music to the biggest audience, he’s a truth teller, a kind of Situationist prankster whose blatant, relentless self-promotion is also a 6 public commentary on the vapid, hyper-marketed state of pop in the early 2000s.’ (Anderson, L. P.5) When music is playing around him he is either singing along or listening back, the music is important to the character as that is his story line, he is trying to get back to the Christmas number one. The viewer, when noticing Billy on screen will alway be accompanied by music, if it is playing in the background, or if he is in the studio performing it. Music is pivotal to Billy’s narrative, as it is the root of his character, and is involved with every aspect of his character. 

The Tales of Princess Kaguyas was adapted from an original folklore, where an old bamboo cutter finds a baby inside bamboo, and raises her with his wife after realising that the child was a gift from heaven. They would raise her with help from finding golden nuggets that appeared in the bamboo. After naming her Kaguya she would grow up to be a beautiful woman that attracted multiple suitors, yet she would turn them all away. Kaguya would reveal that she was sent from the moon and that she needed to return home. Though her parents tried to prevent her from leaving, Kaguya leaves with the Moon people and is never seen on earth again. The folklore is adapted for the film to create the tragic events of the story more dramatic. Elise Bottle, 2014 stated that ‘The movie takes the original tragic elements of the story and turns it up to eleven’, keeping the ‘Functions of characters serve as stable, constant elements in a tale’ but adding more tragedy’. (Vladimir Propp. pp.21-22). This film corresponds with Aristotle’s theory ‘Just as in other imitative arts the imitation is unified if it imitates a single object, so too the plot, as the imitation of an action, should imitate a single, unified action — and one that is also a whole.’ (Aristotle. p.15.) as it just follows Kaguya’s life, and one singular narrative strand. 

In the film the father uses the gold found to make Kaguya a princess, he tries to make her a ‘proper’ lady and wants to get her married off to the top highest noble. In the film version of the folklore, Kaguya hates her new ‘princess life’ and the only thing she loves is the countryside. In the establishing shot where Kaguya sees a blossom, upbeat, positive non-diegetic music plays alongside the scene, which can suggest Kaguya’s love for the wide countryside. The scene starts with Kaguya running up to look at the tree saying ‘oh my it’s beautiful’ then the music starts playing. The music plays and Kaguya runs up to the tree. The music plays with a ¾ time signature creating the feel of a waltz, Kaguya spinning around with the blossom. Flutes in the song could represent the blossom falling, creating the feel like it is dancing with her. This connotations of dancing, combined with the use of the adjective ‘beautiful’ clearly implies how the positive music is reflecting her positive mood. Having the music non-diegetic ‘helps set the scene of time and place by drawing on musical codes of the world depicted on-scene’ this is because the scene can imply to the audience that she loves the countryside. Having the song being played in the style of the waltz is important to Kaguya’s character as the ‘waltz is the most popular ballroom dance of the nineteenth century. The waltz is flirtation, passion and love are inherently associated with waltzing’ (Grobler, S. p, 77). This suggests that as she is dancing with the nature around her she is ‘passionate’ and in ‘love’ with her surroundings. Kaguya decides to go back to the moon after one of the suitors comes on to her. In this scene ‘we observe the titular princess playing the toko, a traditional Japanese plucked zither.’(Gilbert, L. and Harris, M.W., 2017. P87) This implying to the audience the ‘rich musical and visual content that opens up potential discussion of Japanese history, folklore, musical and artistic style, (Gilbert, L. and Harris, M.W., 2017. P89) The film modifies the original folklore but ‘The sequence of functions is always identical.’ (Vladimir Propp. 1968, P21-22).

In both films, both diegetic and non-diegetic music is used to represent love, the loss of love or the embodiment of it. In The Tales of the Princess Kaguya, non-diegetic music is shown to suggest to the audience that she loves the countryside, though she might not love the rest of her life, when she is dancing with the falling blossoms she is in love, not with another person but with place. Whereas in Love Actually diegetic music is used to imply to the audience that the character Karen has fallen out of love, by being given a physical copy of the song which sings about falling out of love, then listening to it why crying. Having the diegetic music tells the audience how to feel and what is happening. Where these films differ is that only The Tales of The Princess Kaguya follows Artistroles  ‘Just as in other imitative arts the imitation is unified if it imitates a single object, so too the plot, as the imitation of an action, should imitate a single, unified action — and one that is also a whole.’ (Aristotle p.15.) The film only follows Kaguya, her life and her actions. Whereas in Love Actually the plot of the film doesn’t focus on one main character the film follows the lives of eight different couples. Though some are connected their love stories are all completely separate, here not following Aristotle’s theory. Even though the couples on their own hold to the structure that Aristotle is providing in his text, they aren’t a ‘single object’ or have ‘one plot’, there are multiple different plot lines throughout the movie. 

Plot Segmentation 

The Tales of the Princess Kaguya

• A Bamboo cutter going to work and filming a baby in a bamboo stalk and realising she had was special and taking her in as one of his own.

• Using golden nuggets they found the father built a palace for Kaguya to live as he saw her as a princess. 

• Kaguya gets a tutor to be taught to be a proper woman and gets many suitors trying to marry her, but she declines. 

• After one of the suitors was inappropriate with Kaguya he revealed that she he needs to go back home to the moon.  Though her parents tried to prevent her from leaving, Kaguya leaves with the Moon people and is never seen on earth again.

Love Actually 

• Opening scene introduces Billy the musician singing his song in the studio 

• Juliet and peters wedding 

• Jamey goes to france to write a book 

• Introduced to sarah whos in love with carl 

• David the president meets his new assistant Natalie 

• Harry and karen in a long term marriage 

• Colin Frizzle goes to america to find love with an american girl 

• John and judy are body doubles at work 

Reference list

Anderson, L. (2012). ‘That’s how it’s supposed to make you feel’: Talking with audiences about ‘Both Sides Now And Love Actually’. Participations, 9(2).

Aristotle, Whalley, G., Baxter, J. and Atherton, P. (1997). Aristotle’s Poetics. Montreal ; Buffalo: Mcgill-Queen’s University Press.

DestréeP. (2015). A companion to ancient aesthetics. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley-Blackwell.

Grobler, S. (2007). The Life and Death of the Piano Waltz . (Doctoral dissertation, University of Cincinnati).

Hampton, H. (2019). Low Fidelity, Top of the Pops: Analog vs. Digital Aesthetics in Love Actually..

Propp, V. (2010). Morphology of the Folk Tale. University of Texas Press.

Russell, W.B. and Waters, S. (2017). Cinematic Social Studies. IAP.

Stilwell, R.J. (2007). The Fantastical Gap between Diegetic and Nondiegetic..

Filmography 

Love Actually, 2003, dir. Richard Curtis

The Tales of Princess Kaguya, 2013, dir. Isao Takahata