What is the relationship between multiform narrative structures and genre?

Abstract

Since the late 1990’s, structural manipulation in cinema has surged in popularity. This manipulation creates confusing and intricate films, the term Puzzle film is used to describe these films which play with time, the presentation of information and narration. These so-called Puzzle films range in genre and some even consider it a genre in itself. But what even is genre and what is its relationship with these new and often confusing and complex ways to tell a story? Is the dynamic between these two hugely multifaced and ambiguous phenomena a mutually constructive one, or do they exist as separate entities? I will analyse In the Mood for Love (Kar-Wai, 2000) and Existenz (1999) and the way the filmmakers use genre categorisation and structure, if they are naturally intertwined, and the reflexive possibilities that this blend of concepts may produce.

What is the relationship between multiform narrative structures and genre?

Introduction

The ‘contemporary puzzle film’ which gained prominence in the 1990’s is an avant-garde method of storytelling which, since then, has grown into a part of the mainstream. Through independent and art-film makers’ desire for new ways to tell intricate and original stories, as well as the rise of the auteur, the idea that a film must abide by a set of genre-defined conventions has been seemingly outdated.

These complex puzzle films have taken many forms within many different genres. They are defined as allowing filmmakers to play and manipulate the structure and presentation of information. In doing so they are also able to play with the audiences pre-existing knowledge and expectations.

In this research project, I will attempt to discover whether this type of film has allowed filmmakers to have a new voice and comment on topics which reach beyond the narrative structures of old through and how different methods of doing so have varying effects of reflexivity. I will do this by analysing the relationship between the structural methods used in accordance with the genre or categorisation that the films are defined in. The idea of genre as a method categorising is one which is loose and can be interpreted in different ways.

The two films I am going to analyse; In the Mood for Love (Kar-Wai, 2000) and Existenz (Cronenberg, 1999) provide me with two different examples of structural manipulation within two distinctly separate genres and I hope this will give me scope to discover a multitude of ideas. By analysing varying and even contradictory definitions of genre in accordance with different methods of structural complexity, I hope to discover the effect that this has on an audience and if the commentary extends beyond the screen.

The idea of such a well-known term being so ambiguous and varied will perhaps allow this research to produce results which provide answers that are multifaceted in their conclusions. Analysing relations between such complex entities within film making could help understand the new and interesting ways that films which dared to introduce different forms of complexity, bounce and collide with each other. I think it is obvious when stating I am not going to cover every instance of relations between genre and structure, because I am only looking at two different films within a few genres. What I hope to discover is just a taste of what is possible.

Literature review

In this literature review I will reiterate and validate the comprehensive studies on the concept of genre as well as the idea of genres as tangible and distinct ‘types’ of film, more specifically, those of the films I am analysing. I will also be explaining my reading on the interplay between genre intention and the spectator, reasons for its prominence as well as the interplay between genre and real life (context) as to understand more about its purpose and effect.  Additionally, I will be detailing research done in the field of the afore mentioned ‘puzzle film’ and more experimental cinema and how it’s used within my chosen films.

Genre and Categorisation

Looking at studies on genre as a concept and defining it produces abstract and inconsistent results, devoid of a specific definition, especially when accepting it’s a term acknowledged by various fields of work and not just film and narrative storytelling. Steve Neale writes in Genre and Hollywood (Neale, 2005) it’s clear that the ‘true’ definition of genre will be actualised when the pitfalls of thinkers such as Tom Ryall, Andrew Tudor, Edward Buscombe and Rick Altman can be rectified by thinking about it as a “ubiquitous, multi-faced phenomena rather than one dimensional entities” (Neale, 2005, 28)

Neale stresses that genre is a concern for all types of cinema, not just Hollywood. This is important because in this research project I am analysing two distinctly different films; one from the USA and other from Hong Kong.

Underscoring the varying factors which construe the very idea of the word, is the fact that genre means ‘type’ in French. Knowing this, the ideas I will mention all feature some relation to the idea that ‘genre’ is a type of film (in our case) that has a refined set of characteristics whilst at the same time is equally and perhaps subconsciously also refining the characteristics of genre itself. Furthermore, it has wider relations with both the auteur and spectator. This idea of type is broad enough to include less blatant and traditional ideas of categorisation, for example ‘Global Art House’ and ‘Puzzle films’ which, by definition, are used to differentiate and describe certain films. However, they could be considered as ‘larger’ than more traditional types of genre as its possible for example Art House to have within it, a Science Fiction or a Romance.

In Film Genre Reader IV (Grant, 2012), Barry Grant argues that the increased fascination with the idea of genre has arisen due to the American studio systems’ conventionalisation and ‘exploitation’ of popular culture: “in its basic assumption that members of a mass mediated society develop and participate in complex systems of unexamined beliefs.” (Grant, 2012: 110). This points out the relationship between audience and auteur on a large scale which, is the basis of the analysis which aims to provide answers to the effect and relations of and between various structural techniques. It condenses the bridge between technique and effect by stating its existence. However it is not a comprehensive study on the reasons.

Never-the-less, this lead me in the direction of reading about the relationship between the two which will be explained further on.

Teaching through Genre (Ryall, 1975) states

is a triangle composed of artist/film/audience. Genres may be defined as patterns/forms/styles/structures which transcend individual films and which supervise their construction by the film maker, and their reading by an audience. (Ryall, 1975:12)

I feel this ‘definition’, whilst accurate in its use of a triangular relationship, leans too much to the side of genre as a ‘contract’ between the three parties rather than something more malleable. Despite much of what stated being true, it omits the opposite idea that genre helps shape the form in which film(s) take and that its purpose exceeds that of film categorisation, Steve Neale notes. Despite this, it is a starting point for allowing discussion regarding affect.  

The Idea of Genre in American Cinema (Buscombe, 1970) Buscombe argues film being a visual medium should dictate that the aesthetic cues are the vital, deciding factor in determining genre through formulaic iconography. The perspective is perhaps a more conservative approach to genre.

Neale buffers by stating only a select amount of ‘genres’ are capable of this categorisation e.g. western, noir, sci-fi, which is true. However, this type of categorisation is helpful and, though limited in its approach, has reason to be considered as a tool for technical analysis and the placement of specific films as they relate to my chosen films. Ideas presented considering audience, such as Ryall’s triangle, limit themselves by perceiving it to be a concept of accepted norms which are to be abided by (or not). The idea of why and how this relationship between film and spectator has occurred and harnessing it is what interests me further, and which has led me to this genre-based examination of the comparison between the effect of contemporary, bizarre structures.

In Theories of Film (Tudor, 1974) Tudor opens up the definition by stating it relies on the role of the audience and the interplay between the them and the spectator, similarly to Ryall, but he develops this into a system of classification which is not determined by internal cues but rather sociologic and structural ones.

Additionally, Cinema and Genre (Altman, 1996), goes even further.

By definition, all films belong to some genre(s)…but only certain films are self-consciously produced and consumed according to (or against) a specific generic model. When the notion of genre is limited to descriptive uses, as it is when serving… classification purposes, we speak of ‘film genre’. However when the notion of genre takes on a more active role in the production and consumption process, we appropriately speak instead of the ‘genre film’, thus recognising the extent to which generic identification becomes a formative component of film viewing. (Altman, 1996: 27)

This point separates the idea of ‘genre’ and the ‘genre film’ which creates routes prime for analysis as it validates the idea that an auteur can use genre as a tool. To add to that, it produces a level of comparison between ‘genre’ and ‘genre film’. Furthermore, the idea of genre as; a tool, a triangular relationship, and a societal system of beliefs provides the basis that the categorisation of films goes beyond that of a the visually recognisable thus justifying the previously mentioned ‘Art House’ and ‘Puzzle Film’ as valid methods of categorisation. This is because these thinkers’ ideas demonstrate systems of categorisation which society constantly develops in order to organise and label cinema, sometimes in more complex ways.

‘Genres’

The very idea of a relationship between genre and audience implies a level of self-reflexivity within the film making as reflexivity implies awareness which then triggers purpose through creativity. Therefore, what are the historical purposes and manifestations behind the categories of films I’m looking at? To compare the effects of structure with genre and reflexivity I’d need to understand purpose and context of specific ‘types’ of films before the addition of the complex structure.

The following genres and categories were specifically chosen because, upon initial viewing, and subsequent reading, they were the most obvious forms of categorisation.  As an avid consumer of cinema, I was able to associate the stylistic choices within In the Mood for Love with noir and melodramatic film making. This is also backed up within Puzzle Films (Buckland, 2009). Existenz follows the conventions of a Science Fiction film. With both films initial categorisation will be justified in full within the analysis.

Noir

Both Genre and Hollywood (Neale, 2005) and Genre and Contemporary Hollywood (Neale, 2002) explain that noir, similarly to genre, is more abstract in nature with conflicted views regarding its actuality. Initial inspection allowed me to confirm the features associated with it which were present within the Puzzle Films analysis; visually, thematically and tonally. Conflicting ideas of whether it is a movement, idea, mood or genre provide scope when filtering its effects on an audience. Furthermore, it quotes Dark Cinema: American Film Noir in Cultural Perspective (Tuska, 1991) which states “both a screen style… and a perspective on human existence and society”(Tuska, 1991: 15). The idea that it’s a reflection of society provides the path to compare noirs ability to be self-reflexive and representative.

Noir is a comment on gender and sexuality according to many other commentators, according to Neale. He explains how prominent thinkers such as E. Ann Kaplan, Frank Krutnik and Deborah Thomas are all in agreement about the representations of toxic masculinity and the ‘problem’ that is the female characters, usually characterised by the idea of the femme-fatale, playing on male desires. It also has an aptitude for delving into the psyche of those involved in trauma.

These thinkers also all cite similar sociological and cultural factors as the conception for this which include both World Wars, displacement of men and women, disruption of domesticity with slight differences of opinion on minor gender representation within this.

Melodrama

A type of film born from the “social, ideological and contemporary issues of a time which was an era of massive social change”, according to Genre and Hollywood (Neale, 2005: 161), has its roots stemming from a system which required ‘correcting’, patriarchy. The sexist system of post war America resulted the coinage of the contested term ‘woman’s film’. Film In Genre Reader (Shumway, 2012) David Shumway argues cinema from the second half of the century (the period of Kar-Wai’s upbringing) features light-hearted, comedic romance films which aimed and failed to represent the idea of (re)marriage on a complex level. Like noir, it seems to be a reactionary comment on domestic society and a response to the way it was changing. The similarities between noir and genre are evident in its inception and contextual position but its reaction to those elements are the factors of differentiation which conceivably provide comparison.

Science Fiction

In Science Fiction Cinema (King, 2000) Geoff King says that the genre is a device in which societies may use to work out imaginary issues which may be seemingly impossible to resolve in real life, an ‘imaginary resolution’. Whilst the semantics of the genre are otherworldly, that the usual conflict between humanity its antagonist is a social-cultural comment which audiences may find more reassuring than fiction grounded in reality, which explains the success at the box office. The subject matter within the film can either can be deduced as bad or good which in turn provides the backdrop for a conflict of large scale philosophical, metaphorical debate and/or reflection upon our own being. This perhaps suggests Existenz is attempting to convey large ideas though this type of categorisation, as well as its structural manipulation, which could perhaps place the film within the puzzle film bracket too.

The investigation into genres as separate and individual entities, as well as the concept as an entirety, has repeatedly enhanced the idea that storytelling’s function is to say something broader than what is occurring on screen, whether that is through an individual or through a wider lens. It is no surprise that reading up on required genres that I find that they all have connection with societal (or sometimes largely philosophical) issues surrounding the time of their conception which relate back to the sociological reasons for its creation. Defined as genre or not, the type of story told and how it is told reflects outwards more than what is initially perceptible. The intentions covered in this review are not either definitive or exclusive but instead is justification of that.

The Puzzle Film and Structure

Puzzle Films analyses the methods and techniques used with films which it identifies as the ‘Contemporary Puzzle Film’. These are a cycle of films from the 90s which reject traditional storytelling techniques in favour of more complex ones. In the book, Gary Bettinson identifies Wong Kar-Wai’s In the Mood for Love as an example of the type, as he does with 2046. (Wong Kar-Wai, 2004)

The chapter on In the Mood for Love highlights the storytelling techniques of Wong Kar Wai. Bettinson argues that Wong Kar Wai uses adventurous and ‘retarded’ structure as a complex way to engage with genre without explaining reason or outcome. He explains the deformed and genre combining structure and why it is used to such an extent that the film can sometimes be considered incomprehensible and ambiguous. He details how the film uses the tropes of the detective genre to create a disorientating film which subverts audience expectations, not synoptically but how information is presented, as well as the contradictions to the subversions.

Using specific examples throughout he briefly touches upon the how the audience would perceive these structural contradictions in both films on a basic level (e.g. confusion, curiosity) and more specifically if and how they would initially understand them at face value, but does not engage further beyond the specific techniques used, which is where the differences and comparisons lie. The purpose of structure in conjunction with genre and reflexivity is not touched upon. The book also defines what constitutes a puzzle film. He explains that it is a film that plays with it’s narrative and structural presentation in a complex way.

Methodology

As the nature of my research attempts to uncover relations between methods of film making which are more contemporary. It is beneficial to study the afore mentioned thinkers, who vary in date, with an open eye. I will include specific parts of several ideas in order to give myself the chance for a comprehensive analysis, whilst also being wary of the possibly that the theory’s stated are redundant due to the puzzle film not being created as if its inception. This being the case, my methodology will outline the process of analysis and the definitions which will be considered. In order to not appear beneficially selective when applying ideas to my analysis I will justify its inclusion in conjunction with its purpose in my analysis.

The reason why analysis on structural manipulation is important is due to the way it links with the vague and conflicted yet extensive writing on genre. Ryall’s triangle, Altman, Tudor and Grant, whilst all condemning the definition to different delineations, all in some way link the word with a self-reflexive and socially aware style of storytelling where the film maker is able to use it as a tool. One which through repeating aspects of films that precede it, it has the ability to say something greater than the sum of its parts because of the relationship between audience and auteur (not exclusive to auteurs but the films being used are).

Melodrama, noir, and sci-fi (not exclusive of these genres) all relate to the idea that they provide different stances and methods of self-reflexivity with varying contextual factors. I believe that by adding structural complexity to the films, the idea and messages behind these films have the possibility to change the contextual and reflexive meaning.

The method of my analysis and comparison will manifest through dissecting each film’s individual use of complex structural manipulation in order to find the function and how the genre of that specific film harnesses it to create meaning, or for other reasons. In order to do this I will examine or extract the filmic techniques, using examples discovered from my reading and my own analysis in In the Mood for Love, whilst extrapolating what I have learnt from this type of analysis onto my other film Existenz, as the academic writing and analysis I have found surrounding the film is more limited. From there, I’ll apply the theories of genre which have relevance to each film (e.g. Existenz with Science Fiction) and compare how/if the film maker has adopted a reflexive approach through the structure of the film in accordance with the various notions of how genre can manifest itself.

I will develop these comparisons and differences (if they exist) by extracting the individual conclusions and seeing if the effects of the structure are different across genre and type. Further comments will be made by relating this analysis to the broader terms of Art House and Puzzle Films which may have the capacity to explain the larger ideas of categorisation and its ambiguities.

From my research on the individual genres, their historic purpose, development and cycles to explain if/how, by using similar (or even the same) structural retardations, the films can be compared using the specific techniques that I find in my analysis. Simply, I will be comparing if the different structures create new and different levels of reflexivity and meaning for the film makers across multiple genres and types of film.

Analysis

Existenz

Existenz is a Science Fiction film about the testing of an immersive, futuristic video game called Existenz. The game mimics reality, in that it feels real, and is played through an organic console which connects via an ‘umbilical cord’. Over the course of the film, the lead characters must use this device to ascend and descend into levels of reality in order to win.

Buscombe’s idea of visual categorisation firmly cements the film in the Sci-Fi bracket as it has classic iconography/tropes for example alternate realities and futurist technology.  But does it engage with genre further? Altman suggests it’s possible to for a film to engage further by using genre as a formative component of viewing, which he says is a genre film. Ryall’s idea of a triangular relationship between audience, auteur and film explains this idea which is based on assumption of prior consumption of film.

Existenz ends with two major twists; the first is that the seeming reality at the beginning of the film is in fact a part of the game, and the level above that may not be real too. Also, the two lead characters intentions are only discovered at this point when it is revealed they are assassins.

The concept of the structure the film presents is named mise-en-abyme, which Snow says in Into the Abyss (Snow, 2016) is the infinite reoccurrence of an image within itself. He reiterates that this repetition implies reflexivity through endless meaning. Existenz climaxes with the questioning of the reality that is being observed therefore leaving the audience pondering entire film – again, and therefore the intentions of the characters, the world they exist in and what is real.

As a genre, science fiction tends to present larger philosophic themes and scale them down, or up according to Science Fiction Cinema (King, 2000) and many others. In the Reality Effect (Black, 2002) Joel Black argues that contemporary Sci-fi has adopted the older trope of ‘it was all a dream’ but has reversed it due to technological advancements in society. “the convention of the abrupt awakening from a dream has been reversed: the dream is reality”. (Black, 2002: 215)

He continues to say that movies, especially fantastical ones, are ‘kinds of dreams’ and that society’s consumption of them is representative of the individuals desire for something more (exciting) than their own existence – escapism. He follows this with the fact that movies are mass mediated and widely consumed, so people are essentially consuming mass mediated dreams. Combining these ideas, I say that there are at least two options for structural commentary within the Existenz via its genre.

The first is that David Cronenberg is commenting on the mass consumption of media. Science Fiction Cinema explains the method of exploring thematic oppositions within Sci-fi.

“Are science, technology and rationality depicted as being generally ‘good’ things, offering promise or a better future, or not.” (King, 2000:13). The elements of futurism in Existenz, I would say are unarguably negative, due to the previously mentioned revelations of violence and deception in the finale, which in itself revolves around technology designed to enhance the experience of escapism.

Considering this negative portrayal of both technology and the consumption of mass mediated dreams/film/escapist fiction with the structure which emphasises endless meaning, I argue the film is a reflexive and masochistic take on itself and Science Fiction. The film attempts to condemn peoples increased fascination with shallow, mass produced and unfulfilling ways of being immersed or transported in order to ‘escape their own reality’.

Secondly, the questioning of our own reality. The concluding scene has the characters vocalise their thoughts on their own characters within the game, commenting on their role and the way they have portrayed themselves. At this point of reflection and re-evaluation, I interpreted this as an admission of the fragile layers of fiction, perception and reality – outwardly. It’s as if the actors/characters/players are speaking about the film, the tropes and the roles we are still watching, for example Willem Dafoe comments on his portrayal as the villain.

The second structural commentary uses the consciousness of the characters to plant doubt into our own mind about our own reality. In the Philosophy of David Cronenberg (Riches, 2012), Simon Riches says that the two protagonists suffer from the idea of ‘Radical Scepticism’ which he succinctly summarises “Radical scepticism is the worry that we don’t have any adequate basis for distinguishing appearance from reality”. (Riches, 2012: 69).

Throughout the film, the characters comment on their inability to distinguish which layer of the game they are in. The final words of the film are “We’re still in the game, right?”. This is a question begged throughout the film. The mise-en-abyme structure is successful at creating this Radical Scepticism due to the idea of imperceptibility of the consciousness they are unable to transcend on a psychological and physical level, as well as the implication of endless meaning. This is further emphasised by the link to the body from which the basis of scepticism builds.

The games ability to override perceptions of reality forces them to question everything, simply down to the mere existence of a tool able to surpass human perception and physical confirmation, infinitely.

Relating back to the idea of endless meaning, Cronenberg forces us to ask the question “is this real?”. He is, in my opinion, justified to ask this though the creation of a fictional world in which its physical consciousness is unreliable and indistinguishable, allowing us as an audience to reflect on our own ‘Existenz’.

In the Mood for Love

In the Mood for Love is set in 60’s Hong Kong, a politically historic decade for the nation.

It follows Mr Chan and Mrs Chow, neighbours who realise that their spouses are having an affair with each other. In order to make sense of the affair, they become close and must deal with their own feelings for each other in the process.

Synoptically, the film is a romantic melodrama.  Tudor states the interplay between the audience and spectator is key for defining genre, and the emotions presented from the characters, both positive and negative, revolve round the idea of love. This is also established by the translated name of the film, which explicitly provides a pre-emptive cue for the thematic tone (or mood) of the film. Wong Kar Wai, whilst not a mainstream film maker of Art Cinema for a global audience, was also known for telling love stories, such as Chungking Express (Kar-Wai, 1994) and Happy Together (Kar-Wai, 1997) prior.

Steve Neale speaks about genre and audience by saying “They may conform to labels or descriptions circulated in advance by critics, distributors, reviewers, perhaps even film makers themselves.” (Neale, S, 2005: 24). Intentional or not, this creates a preconception regarding its subject, theme and tone. However, the film does subvert this in different ways; structurally, tonally and narratively and I want to understand to what affect.

Puzzle Films understands that the reason for this structural ‘retardation’ is due to genre, but how? The analysis presented in the book points out the methods the film uses and what it produces from the perspective of genre. The film ruptures genre conventions of melodrama by using discernible narrative structures. They play out more like a detective film which has tropes like investigation and ‘role play’ that relate to the ‘crime’ of the spouses. Role-play is used, as the director knows we expect the audience to believe the two leads will fall for each other but then subverts that with the reveal they are pretending. The jumps in time create ambiguity and confusion for audience. The film would otherwise be rather simple, synoptically.

The presentation of the narrative in this manner combines two very typically different genres of film. Ryall and Buscombe would almost agree with this statement as the film provides a basic set of structures relevant to noir, as well as heavily leaning on noir iconography, factors of determination and categorisation. However, whilst Ryall would determine, like myself and Bettinson, that it’s a blend of genre. Buscombe on the other hand would be obliged to label the film a noir due to lack of lack of romantic imagery and iconography, (with the exception of the colour scheme) on which his definition is based on. But what does a combination of genres imply, implicitly or not, and does its structure provide evidence for that?

Working from the base up (base being audiences’ initial inspection), I’m going to cite the relevant intentions, historical uses and contextual information of the melodrama, then noir. From my reading, I repeat how gender associates with genre in both. Neale states melodramatic storytelling has, due to historic inception, has strong links to the female gender with many coining the genre ‘the woman’s film’.

In opposition to this, film noir, despite not stemming from a society so far removed from that which constructed melodrama, has its relations with toxic masculinity, patriarchy and a system which emphasised (or even promoted) the pre-war ideas of society. To argue that the film set out to provide a genre-combining take on romance would be a stretch and by that I mean aiming creating a balanced and equal take on the ideologies of old. However, the structural presentation looks at romance through the lens of noir, which as previously stated by Tuska “provides a perspective of human existence and society”. (Tuska, 1991: 15). The phycological effects of this trauma the characters are attempting to understand is a sadness which is deep and complex.

Donald Maddox in Genre Reader states when speaking about the presentation and audience appeal of love in a story, “Romance (films) does not focus its energy on describing this bliss. Rather, romance seeks by almost any means it can to heighten desire”. (Grant, B, 2012: 467). 

He explains how love as an emotion is presented though exterior wants and sexual desire, he views cinemas portrayal of love as commodification. With this in mind, I would argue that the combination of the melodrama and the noir allows the film to swerve this common tendency and, despite the bitter (sweet) subject, noir’s ability to focus on psychological despair, guilt and trauma ‘unlocks’ an area of romance which is more true to the complex nature of the emotion.

In Global Art Cinema, (Galt and Schoonover, 2010) Mark Betz, goes into depth about the ‘parametric narration’ within the film: “parametric films are organised by striking stylistic patterns but misrecognise their singularity, will “seek to insert parametric narration into the art cinema mode””. (Galt and Schoonover, 2010: 36). This means that art house films can use intricate and subtler ways of narration because of the genres tendency to deviate from storytelling norms and more niche audiences. They also have the tendency to be read in intricate ways due because of this label. This label as an art house film by featuring in this book also adds an extra level of catagorisation.

He analyses the characters as emotional entities and the technical rules in which aim to trigger (or symbolise) these emotions, e.g. props, dolly movement. “They vary in importance and may demonstrate differing levels of arbitrariness, such that some stylistic choices seem not to be motivated by the concerns of the plot but assume an importance in their own right.” (Galt, R. and Schoonover, K, 2010: 36).

He also admits that parametric narration can be a device which is perceptible as separate from the main thematic tone of the film.

In Romance, Insularity and Representation, (Biancorosso, 2007) he goes into detail over the possible political undertones in which the film takes place in (as previously mentioned). He justifies (correctly in my opinion) the inclusion of a political ideology within the film through the jarring insertion of a television clip about the political climate. He states it creates a point of view shift, its omission then sudden introduction forces total reflection and reconsideration of the previous events.

What the Shanghainese shared with the largely Cantonese population was the apparent lack of investment in local politics, with the British Colonial Government standing as a near-invisible, the presence of which was experienced as the impression of absence. There was more than just a hierarchy between the governing and the governed; the Chinese and the colonial civil servants were separated by an immense social and psychological gulf. Being cordoned off from those in charge in the handling of the territory produced a further layer of isolation in such a way that the people of Hong Kong appear to have been isolated from the city they live in. The almost total absence of politics in this film is an expression of this isolation from within. (Biancorosso, 2007: 92)

There are three main themes present; isolation, inequality (phycological and social) and ‘invisible rulers’/colonialism. I believe that parametric narration has mimicked or coincided with these three themes as well as adding to it further.

The time shifts which create confusion through lack of information and a disparity of knowledge replicate the loneliness. The psychological inequality is represented through noirs ability to emphasise the previously mentioned themes, and the ellipsis of the spouses from the film signifies the colonial presence (or lack of) within Hong Kong.

Furthermore, the duality and complexity of the nation’s political situation could be analogised by the duality of the films two contrasting genres as well as the incomprehensible temporal manipulation, mimicking the convoluted nature of high tension political situations.

In this sense, the genre acts as a substitute for political ideology, and the components which form its conception and the way it behaves are structure, perception and visuals (what people see) which enable it to propagate subliminally, like societal structures, in juxtaposition and accordance with the emotional narration of the story (people’s lives).

Conclusion

The relationship between multiform structures and genre is complex and multi-layered. Existenz’s reflexive nature as a Science Fiction story, in combination with a very ambiguously reflexive structure, emphasises both traditional genre purposes of philosophical representation as well as internal self-commentary through genre as a pre-existing idea. This inward and outward reflexivity and awareness is a mutually beneficial relationship (in this film) as they seek to sub serve each other through similar purposes but through different methods and levels. This is strengthened further by the impossibility by two of the main features; Science Fiction followed by its structure.

The hierarchical levels of categorisation play a large part in this dynamic too as the very notion of adding complex structure automatically introduces another level of genre categorisation, a puzzle film, which the audience then must comprehend and use at their will.

This level of genre however is ‘higher’ than that of, for example science fiction, because within it is the possibility of smaller and numerous placements.

Due to this layering, a three dimensional relationship is created with layers of ‘genre categorisation’ being filtered by a reflexive use of cinema within at least two creative decisions made by the film maker and subconsciously many more from genre as a concept though the audience. Existenz’s relationship between genre and structure is one that seeks to reinforce its themes through the ideas presented by the techniques previously stated. But also one, which due to its infinite nature, struggles to answer questions within the narrative of Sci-Fi and also disrupts the idea of any concrete meaning.

In the Mood for Love’s playful relationship with structure and genre is one which is closely intertwined. The semi-(in)comprehendible structure often serves to perform a representative and allegorical function within the narrative as an attempt to engage deeper with its themes. The reflexivity it inevitably brings upon itself serves not to philosophise, but to explain and subtly portray ideas and messages in which it refrains from outwardly stating. The structure serves as a representative for genre in a literal sense as a cinematic blend of ideas and techniques whilst it also portrays, through parametrics, larger contextual happenings. Political and emotional representation are enhanced within formulation of the structure due to its parametric political and genre links.

The blending of genre shows that its function lays beyond thematic ideas. It’s genre associations are also prevalent as a flexible tool and this usage creates further relations between genre and structure. The justification and result of the structure lays in its Art House positioning which, like Existenz’s inevitable residency in the Puzzle film category, it is forced to this association.

However, in the opposing direction, it’s Kar-Wai’s relation to Art House allows for the flexibility presented in the film. This Art House association again is larger than that of romance/noir which decides how experimental film making finds its new ideas and purpose in relation to other labels. The presentation of the film is a result of and causation the categorical association in cinema. The film maker uses this in a way to present ideas through obscurity which in turn adds further associations to the film, thus creating a (like Existenz) a hierarchical ‘3D’ relationship inside it, with each facet giving and taking from the other.

Both films, due to the ambiguity of categorisation, have a complex web associating genres or categories. They all contribute to the filmic presentation and vice a versa which work in tandem to perform various levels or representation and reflexivity, both inward and outward. This doesn’t necessarily result in the films saying something that has never been said before, but it does provide them with a chance to express themselves in a new way.

Bibliography

Buckland, W. (2009). Puzzle films. 1st ed. Blackwell Publishing, pp.1, 167-186.

Neale, S. (2005). Genre and Hollywood. 4th ed. Hoboken: Taylor and Francis, pp.1-16, 24, 153-154, 161.

Neale, S (2002). Genre and Contemporary Hollywood 2^nd ed. British Film Institute. pp. 151-163

Grant, B. (2012). Film Genre Reader IV. 4th ed. University of Texas Press, pp.a110, b466, c467

Altman, R. (1996) Cinema and Genre in Bordwell Smith, pp. 276-86

Buscombe, E. (1970) The Idea of Genre in American Cinema, British Film Institute, pp. 33-45.

Ryall, T. (1975) Teaching through Genre, Screen Education, pp. 27-33

Tudor, A. (1974) Theories of Film, London: Seeker and Warberg

Tuska, J. (1984) Dark Cinema: American Film Noir in Cultural Perspective, Greenwood Press, pp. 15

King, G. (2000). Science Fiction Cinema. Wall Flower Press, pp.11-12.

Snow, M. (2016). Into the abyss. London: London Metropolitan University, pp.3

Black, J. (2002) The Reality Effect. Taylor and Francis Group, pp. 215

BIANCOROSSO, G. (2007). ROMANCE, INSULARITY AND REPRESENTATION: Wong Kar-Wai’s In the Mood for Love and Hong Kong Cinema. Shima: The International Journal of Research into Island Cultures, 1, p.92.

Galt, R. and Schoonover, K. (2010). Global art cinema. Oxford University Press, pp.36-9.

Riches, S. (2012). The Philosophy of David Cronenberg, University Press of Kentucky, pp. 69, 143-146

Filmography

Existenz. (1999). [film] Directed by D. Cronenberg. USA.

In the Mood for Love. (2000). [film] Directed by Wong Kar-Wai. Hong Kong

Chungking Express. (1994). [film] Directed by Wong Kar-Wai. Hong Kong

Happy Together. (1997). [film] Directed by Wong Kar-Wai. Hong Kong

2046. (2004). [film] Directed by Wong Kar-Wai. Hong Kong