Connor Borden

Date of Award

2019

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Humanities

First Advisor

Myhill, Nova

Area of Concentration

Literature

Abstract

Films that are structured with a nonlinear narrative are able to create a sense of unfamiliarity for the audience watching. This uncertainty can be used to create Bertolt Brecht’s Alienation Effect which is meant to create more critically observant audiences by creating an experience for the audience members that is separated from what is going on in the story. This thesis examines two films which are structured around unique nonlinear narratives and the way that they create the Alienation Effect with their narrative presentation. These films both contain some form of a puzzle in their plot so that audiences will use the heightened analytic state that the Alienation Effect creates in order to engage with the film and be guided to a specific point that the film is trying to make. The protagonists of these films are unique in the way that they are shown to interact with the world around them through actions alone, leading them to be perceived as forces of forward momentum that move through time rather than actual people. These protagonists act as a focal point in these convoluted films as well as an encouragement for audiences to attempt the puzzles in these films.

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