Thinking Activity on "Structuralism"

Structuralism is the offshoot of certain developments in linguistics and anthropology. Saussure’s mode of the synchronic study of language was an attempt to formulate the grammar of a language from a study of parole. Using the Saussurian linguistic model, Claude Levi-Strauss examined the customs and conventions of some cultures with a view of arriving at the grammar of those cultures. 

There are two types of methodology used by critics for study of language.

1.Diachronic

2.Synchronic

Diachronic and Synchronicare two different viewpoints in linguistic analysis. A synchronic approach considers a language at a moment in a time without taking its history into account, Synchronic linguistics aims at describing a language at a specific point of time,usually the present.

Languge = Langue + Parole

In simple way Languge means the entire human potential for speech, Langue means the system that each of us uses to generate discourse which is intelligible to others, and Parole is individual utterance.

Sign = Signifier + Signified

Sign is anything that coveys the message, signifier give meaning in word or image and signified is related with mental concept, what evokes in the mind.

Example: Cow-sign, four lagged animal-signifier, religious belief as Gay Mata-signified.

Genette also gave the concept of narratology. Mainly the five concepts were used by Genette in Narrative Discourse: An Essay in Method.

1.    Order

2.    Frequency

3.    Duration

4.    Voice

5.    Mood

1.Order

It indicates that how the sequence of action or event happen in the plot. Plot of the story is generally followed by this , a murder occurs (event A); then the circumstances of the murder are revealed to a detective (event B), finally the murderer is caught (event C). Arranged chronologically the events run A1, B2, C3. Arranged in the text they may run B1 (discovery), A2 (flashback), C3 (resolution).

In the Drishyam movie,firstly the murdered is caught, afterward it came to know that the murder is happen and at last the the reason of murder is revelaed. So this follow the sequence of C,A,B.

2.Frequency

The separation between an event and its narration allows several possibilities.

Singular-An event can occur once and be narrated once

Court has given their judgement once and in movie Rustom it was mentioned only one time.

Iterative-An event can occur n times and be narrated once

Repetitive-An event can occur once and be narrated n times

Multiple-An event can occur n times and be narrated n times

3.Duration

The separation between an event and its narration means that there is discourse time and narrative time. In the movie Rustom, when he went on his job and passed more than a year there, but this lengthy period of time is narrated in only five minutes.

4.Voice

Voice is concerned with who narrates, and from where. This can be split four ways.

Where the narration is from intra-diegetic

In Rustom, Akshay Kumar palyed the role of protagonist and narrator narrated story from different perspective, one was taken by the protagonist of movie.

 Is the narrator a character in the story? Homo-diegetic

As the protagonist also narrated some part of the story, it can be said that this term was used in this movie.

5.Mood

Genette said narrative mood is dependent on the 'distance' and 'perspective' of the narrator, and like music, narrative mood has predominant patterns. It is related to voice.

Distance of the narrator changes with narrated speech, transposed speech and reported speech.

In Rustom, some narration has been done by protagonist, from it we supposed that he was very closer at level of distance but at the end we can see that this perspective was effected by prejudice.

Focalization

Perspective of the narrator is called focalization. Narratives can be non-focalized, internally focalized or externally focalized.

Focalization in this movie is Patriotism.