The fourth component we are studying is Component 2d: Experimental Film. This section of the course entails one film of study, Pulp Fiction (Quentin Tarantino, 1994). Throughout this component, the areas of study are the core study areas (including the key elements, contexts, aesthetics and representation) as well as two specialist study areas – Auteurship and Narrative.
Being the french word for ‘author’, the concept of auteurship suggests the that each work of art is produced by a single artist alone. In concept, this auteur possesses full creative and artistic control over the film and thus, their ‘style’ becomes highly distinctive. Auteurs are often defined by specific reoccurring traits and techniques that appear throughout their body of work, placing their name above the film itself.
The second specialist study area, narrative, is centred around the discussion of how the story (the events that occur) is told through the plot (how the events are displayed to the viewer). Narrative is meticulously crafted by filmmakers, with techniques such as flashbacks, time skips and nonlinearity being employed. In effect, a nuanced narrative provides an intriguing and enthralling experience for the viewer.
Otis Morley’s A-Level Film Studies Blog 