Narrative techniques applied to a film: Kill Bill

Kill Bill – Quentin Tarantino

Year: 2003

Countries: USA, Japan

Quentin Tarantino

Technique	Description	Effect (in term of driving forward the narrative of the film)	Example from a film
1. Exposition	Fills in the back of the characters and their situations	Shows interest in the characters and want to see what happens next	Applied when using flashbacks in black and white
2. Dangling cause	Information or actions that leads to no effect of resolution until much later in the film	- You can retain your interest so you watch the film until the end - Allows the story to be told in different levels	The list that first doesn’t seem too important but then it is really important because it is the list of the ones who are going to kill
3. Obstacle	Stands in the way of the characters reaching their goal	- Makes it more interesting/dramatic - With no obstacle nothing interest will happen / leave social norms	The crazy 88: a group of samurais which are going to fight against the main character.
4. Deadline	A time limit placed on a protagonist to accomplish a goal	- Increases tension - Makes film more goal orientated	Has to fly to Japan before Lucy’s character has to fly to Japan
5. Dialogue hook	Creates a link between two consecutive scenes	- Allows the scenes to have a continuity - To have sense between scenes	Main character says needs to go to Japan, next scene is in airplane



Deborah Méndez ©