We Need To Talk About Kevin Narrative Flashcards
What are the main themes of the film?
Guilt, Grief, Memory, Motherhood, Gender roles, America, Nature vs nurture
How does the narrative structure differ from the chronology of the story?
The structure of the narrative is significantly different from the chronology of the story
What is the Todorov Structure of the story?
Equilibrium, Disruption, Quest, Resolution, New Equilibrium
What is the equilibrium in the Todorov Structure for Eva?
Eva is a free woman; traveling, liberated and successful
What causes disruption in Eva’s life?
She has a baby she doesn’t want and enters into conflict with motherhood
What is the quest in the Todorov Structure of the story?
Kevin has severe personality issues, and Eva struggles to connect with him
What leads to the resolution in Eva’s story?
Eva and her husband separate, and Kevin carries out a massacre
What does Eva live with after the new equilibrium?
Eva must live with the guilt of the aftermath and move through stages of grief
What is suggested at the end when Eva walks away from the prison?
It is open to interpretation
What is the significance of Eva recreating Kevin’s bedroom?
It reflects her ongoing struggle with memory and acceptance
What is the framing device used in the film?
Eva’s present is used as a framing device for the narrative structure
What does Ramsay reject in her narrative approach?
The instinct of narrative cinema to simplify themes into a satisfying ending
What type of narrator is Eva in the film?
Homodiegetic narrator
What does Eva’s narration reveal about her understanding?
She cannot understand what has happened
What does formalism suggest about the film’s structure?
The way you structure and present the film is integral to its meaning
What kind of narrative structure does the film use?
Non-linear, fragmented narrative structure
What does the chaotic narrative structure suggest?
It reflects the chaos of life and the impossibility of living in the moment
What does the duality of time in the narrative imply?
The massacre is both inevitable and suggests a complexity of guilt
What are binary oppositions?
A set of two concepts or ideas defined by one another
What are some binary oppositions present in the film?
- Mother vs Child
- Right vs Wrong
- Innocence vs Guilt
- Nature vs Nurture
- Perception vs Reality
- Freewill vs Fate
- Cause vs Effect
What role does guilt play in Eva’s character?
She is portrayed as an anti-hero with ambiguous positioning
How do flashbacks function in the narrative?
They highlight Eva’s failings and complicate the perception of her guilt
What narrative device helps establish the film’s themes?
Unreliable narrator and fragmented editing
What can be inferred from the flashbacks about Kevin’s character?
He may be a naturally problematic child, complicating Eva’s guilt
What does the film suggest about societal perceptions of motherhood?
Eva is demonized for not being maternal and punished by her circumstances
What does Eva’s narrative resolution involve?
Embracing her mother role or the absolution of it
What does Ramsay’s use of an unreliable narrator suggest?
It explores subjectivity and pre-conceived audience attitudes
What are narrative devices?
Structural choices made to aid the delivery of the story
What narrative devices are used in the film?
- Voiceover Narration
- Flashbacks
- Exposition
- Editing style
- Titles
- Repetition
- Omission and Revelation
- Ellipsis
How does the film’s causality differ from mainstream cinema?
It is driven by emotional rather than action-based narratives
What does the film primarily focus on?
The burden of a mother’s guilt
How does the film address the concept of guilt?
It interrogates the societal expectations and personal accountability
What is the film’s ideological ambiguity?
Acceptance is ideologically ambiguous after going through grief stages
