>>> but i suspect that there are films that, even on the face of
>>> it, would be quite unintelligible to someone who lacked a
> >>clear sense of context . . .
>I agree, but I would be tempted to think that they were somewhat
>unsuccessful if their narrative element functioned in such a manner that
it
>could only be understood on any level whatsoever with a prior sense of
>context.
maybe so . . . but for the sake of argument let me offer
a couple of cases that at least SEEM to suggest the opposite . . .
i imagine that PARADISE LOST would be virtually
incomprehensible to someone totally lacking a sense
of christian myths . . . and -- moving from the sublime
to the not quite ridiculous -- i think a story of
passionate romantic love would not mean much to
a child who can hardly begin to imagine what those
desires, agonies, and satisfactions are like . . . yet in
neither of these cases would the fault lie in an
unsuccessfully achieved narrative structure
mike
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