One of the problems with the discussion on 'unreliable narration' is that some participants do not acknowledge that a tradition exists in which the concept was developed and refined. Any attempts to transcend that concept (or any other concept) needs to acknowledge that tradition, to understand its agenda, and to know what level it is operating at.
Ron T. has failed to acknowledge that tradition. He simply wants to reinvent the wheel, and call 'unreliable narration' something that belongs to other debates. To criticise a tradition, one first needs to understand it. Nietzsche said it perfectly when he wrote that 'the atheist must become a priest before he or she can attack religion'.
Film studies has a history and a tradition. This constant process of reinvention, of not acknowledging the tradition, is what gives film studies a bad name. This is why people like Alan Sokal can make fun of the humanities, because many humanities scholars such as Ron T. are simply working in their own corner trying to reinvent the discipline. He uses a narratological concept to try and answer non-narratological questions. The structure of an unreliable sequence does not change if the narrator is black or a woman. This may have interesting cultural or social implications (as studies of the 'female action hero' have already demonstrated), but they do not affect the structure of the narration. The effectiveness of any concept is based on its precise delimitation, and narratology has produced a precise, delimited definition of unreliable narration.
Ron T. criticises the concept of unreliable narration without understanding its range, scope, purpose, or agenda. Notice, for example, how many times he has to resort to phrases such as 'I feel' or 'I believe' in his last post. Not a very convincing critique of the concept. In the end, the concept of 'unreliable narration' is simply unsuitable to the questions Ron T is asking. (Part of the research process involves being able to use the right concept for your research question.)
Warren Buckland
Film Studies
Chapman University
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