Monday, October 26, 2009
"In Medias Res"
This Greek term means “starting in the middle.” A lot of Greek plays and epic poems start right in the middle of a story. The beginning of the story is explained as the story progresses. Movies and books are still written in this fashion. a) Explore an example of this, and/or b) explore what effect this has on story-telling.
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An example of Medias Res would be the movie, the Notebook. In this romance, a man is telling his wife with als timers about a love story. Little does she know that the love story he's telling is the story of them, how they met, and how they fell in love. The man is telling the story as he sits in the senior home and is now a senior citizen. The story is told starting from the beginning, but is told from the end.
This has an effect on story telling because the reader or viewer tries to problem solve as to why the ending is how it is. They ask questions to themselves as to why an event happen, how it happened, and how it effected the ending. This is a unique way of story telling and is very productive way of making the viewer/reader think.
in the movie "Mission Impossible 3" it starts more toward the end of the story, but still has the same effect. the movie starts off with the main character sitting in a chair, being asked a question about where the location of the so called "rabbits foot" is. if he dosn't tell, then his wife will be taken away. then, all of the sudden, it flash a "3 months earlier" screen and goes back to the start.
the effect it had on me was that i knew what was going to come, but i had no idea how the story was going to evolve to get there. Because of "In Medias Res" i was immeanitally hooked into the story, and couldnt wait until the end.
The Greek term "In Medias Res", meaning starting in the middle, is a term used for how a majority of Greek plays and epic poems were written. Movies today are still written like this. For example, the notebook is a movie that was made like this. The story begins with the man telling the entire movie from this notebook of their lives. The movie then goes into the entire story from when the characters were teenagers, but occasionally will go back to the age they are when the story is being told. The way the movie is shown does effect the story. It makes it more meaningful, because it tells the story of their entire life’s, not just their lives as kids. The end of the story, shows that the couple is still together, and the love that they had for each other. Since the story was written and screened the way it was, it defiantly did effect the meaning of the movie itself, as the Greeks did with their plays and poems.
The effect of Medias Res on a story can be for the better or worse. Medias Res starts from the beginning, plunging the reader into a story already in the making. This story must then go back and collect the pieces so the reader understands. Medias Res attracts readers because it makes them question and wonder. Making a reader question and wonder is a very popular to sell books. If a story is interesting enough, the reader will want to learn more and figure out what happens, or happened.
A movie example of Medias Res would be Forrest Gump. The movie starts with him sitting on a bench. It goes to him telling his life story to complete strangers. It starts at his childhood and then slowly works its way back to him sitting on the bench. By that time, we know where he is and why he's there. The movie then proceeds until the end. Forrest Gump is a perfect example of Medias Res.
It makes the reader question and builds their curiosity.
"In Medias Res" is a greek phrase that means starting in the middle. Many different movies and books use this tactic to create a good story. An example of this would be the movie "Pink Panther". In the movie, chief of the police is in his office telling the story of how he met Cluseau. The beginning is a reflection of the whole story. The chief talks about Cluseau and the mystery that he solves. He tells about the mystery and how he tried to use Cluseau for his own benifit. He wanted the medal of honor for his own, and he could only get that by solving the Pink Panther mystery. So he brings Cluseau in to have the media watch him while the chief tries to solve it in the backround. However, Cluseau solves the mystery. That is what the story is about, and the chief is telling it after it happened.
"In Medias Res" has a large effect on the story that is told. It keeps the reader/watcher interested. They want to know how the story got to that point. They want to know the backround information, so they keep reading/watching so that they learn the story. "In Medias Res" is a good story element that keeps the reader/watcher interested
"In Medias Res" means starting in the middle. It can effect the plot and setting of a story or movie. Starting in the middle like the Greeks used to gives the audience a different view of the background or history of the plot. Instead of making the history of the story a part of the plot, the pieces that were left out are filed it along the course of the entire story. This makes the view put the pieces together them self. It allows some guessing a problem solving on the audience's part. This is good because if allows the view to imagine and be creative. In modern story telling the story does not necessarily start in the middle. It can start at the end as well. This lets the viewer see the ending and then watch the events leading up to it. Sometimes, Im Medias Res can be confusing to a reader if they do not put all of the pieces together correctly. It can change the entire story in the eyes of the reader. In Medias res must be used correctly and carefully if it is going to be used at all.
-"In Medias Res" is a classic story telling technique that many people have used in their own stories. This technique is usually used for two primary reasons. One of these reasons is to hook someone onto the story. The author could start off by describing an insane scenario, and then all the reader wants to do is figure out how the characters got into this crazy predicament. It can also be used to create a certain mood that can only be created if you know what is going to happen. If you know that a character dies in the middle of the movie, then everything that character does could have a different meaning or make you feel a way other than what you would normally. Using "In Medias Res" is the only way to touch these feelings without forcing a reader to read over the story a second time.
- Although the technique of "In Medias Res" can add to the quality of a story, it can also detract. This can be seen in a movie such as Duplicity. Duplicity starts off in the middle, but it has far too much back story to effectively do this. Then it is forced to flash back so many times that it is hard to tell when things are happening in the present or the past. Furthermore, it fails to use “In Medias Res” for either of the two previously mentioned reasons. It doesn’t make you want to continue watching, and it doesn’t add any extra emotion, besides confusion and annoyance.
Medias Res was created long ago by the Greeks, but we still use it today in many modern movies or books. When a story starts out in the middle then goes back to the beginning, it makes the reader curious to see how they get back to the climax. The reader is constantly wondering how a character will turn bad, so is able to watch the characters closer then usual. If a movie viewer know who is the bad guy or hero, in the beginning of the movie they are gonna watch that character carefully. It makes the movie more suspensful and keeps the reader paying more attention.
The Greek term "In Medias Res" means "starting in the middle." An example of this would be in the movie Slumdog Millionare. The movie starts out with one of the main characters being tortured. As the story goes on the audience figures out why this is happening and learns his life story as well. An effect that "Medias Res" has on story-telling is that it adds an element of mystery and curiousity, making you want to know what is happening and what is actually going on.
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