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- Title
The force awakens: Mana as causal agent in Pacific narrative cinemas.
- Authors
Beus, Yifen
- Abstract
Mainstream narrative cinemas as theorized by David Bordwell privilege human characters or protagonists as the causal agents, whose desires and goals motivate the progression of the plot towards a satisfactory ending that resolves all dramatic conflicts. Bordwell delineates a logical, cause-effect pattern in the classical (Hollywood) narrative structure, which has come to dominate most of the mainstream cinemas' storytelling. In an attempt to indigenize narrative film theories for analysing Pacific cinemas, this article examines the manifestations of mana in film, an indigenous cultural concept that is deeply rooted in the Pacific's conceptualization of time–space (tā-vā) reality. Mana or the Force, as popularized by the Star Wars franchise, is a life-sustaining natural force and constant spiritual companion of the protagonist, that often serves as a key element in the narrative, and that not only effects causal changes but also provides the drive towards a resolution. The workings of mana in Pacific narratives also hinge upon the often multi-layered, circular tā-vā relationships, weaving generations of societal network through cultural performances and through reciprocal, nurturing connections between man and nature. I argue that mana functions like a Bordwellian causal agent in the narrative construction as illustrated in three recent Pacific narrative films – The Land Has Eyes (2004), The Orator (2011) and When the Man Went South (2014) – and that through the culture's prospective on the tā-vā 'continuity' one can make sense of the Pacific's storytelling mediated through the modernized form of cinema.
- Subjects
NARRATION; NARRATIVE inquiry (Research method); MOTION pictures; INDIGENOUS films; STORYTELLING
- Publication
Journal of New Zealand & Pacific Studies, 2018, Vol 6, Issue 2, p121
- ISSN
2050-4039
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1386/nzps.6.2.121_1