ABSTRACT
It is a dangerous undertaking to generalise about narrative procedures; but it is necessary, especially in the area of cinema and TV. A generalised model of narration in each medium is a necessary initial gesture because it then enables specific examples to be compared with the model, to produce a sense of their place in relation to the general run of film or programme productions. However, this process does not work smoothly. The generalised model tends to become normative. Either it is seen as describing the ideal kind of film or programme, or it becomes a series of rules which admit no exceptions. This is not the case with the generalisations put forward here. They should be taken as generalisations, and therefore as (necessary) risks: they are to be compared to ‘exceptions’ to their rules, as these exceptions often indicate points of change or development. They are not even to be seen as necessities for success in economic or even aesthetic terms. There are several notable films which take very little notice of the model of narration proposed here for cinema: Blake Edwards’s productions for instance.
