Narrative place-making : the narrative-spatial relationship in films made about Johannesburg
Date
2018
Authors
Szentesi, Anita Margaret
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Abstract
This study aimed to explore the narrative-spatial relationship between the construction of mise-enscene and narrative in film form and the architectural considerations of place-making, to offer conceptual insights into how the idea of the human-place connection could be explored in the reading of selected film texts about Johannesburg. Through exploration, the study probed the discursive elusiveness of Johannesburg as place. An exploration was conducted into the notion that, like most cities in the world, Johannesburg cannot be rendered in a singular conceptual register, but allows for multiplicities of readings. An investigation was undertaken regarding how the design of the mise-en-scene in the selected filmic case studies functioned with the narrative structures, in an attempt to offer a coherent reading of a place that spawns multiple and at times diverged identities. The research was conducted through the critical analysis of selected film works that contained a strong sense of context, spatiality, locality and embodiment of characters within places inside the world of the story. A short poetic reflexive documentary film was made to accompany this research, titled Axis Johannesburg, which explored the formation of an artist’s identity in Johannesburg as achieved through his embodied practice of place-making. The construction of this short film, both formally and conceptually, offered an entry point into how to approach the multiplicity of readings and writing the tale of Johannesburg.
Description
A research report submitted in partial fulfilment to the degree of Master of Arts by Coursework and Research Report in Film and Television, University of the Witwatersrand, 2018
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Citation
Szentesi, Anita Margaret, (2018) Narrative place-making: the narrative-spatial relationship in films made about Johannesburg, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, https://hdl.handle.net/10539/27206.