Hyperlink cinema explained

Hyperlink cinema is a style of filmmaking characterized by complex or multilinear narrative structures with multiple characters under one unifying theme.[1]

History

The term was coined by author Alissa Quart, who used the term in her review of the film Happy Endings (2005) for the film journal Film Comment in 2005.[2] Film critic Roger Ebert popularized the term when reviewing the film Syriana in 2005.[3] These films are not hypermedia and do not have actual hyperlinks, but are multilinear in a more metaphorical sense.

In describing Happy Endings, Quart considers captions acting as footnotes and split screen as elements of hyperlink cinema and notes the influence of the World Wide Web and multitasking.[2] Playing with time and characters' personal history, plot twists, interwoven storylines between multiple characters, jumping between the beginning and end (flashback and flashforward) are also elements.[2] Ebert further described hyperlink cinema as films where the characters or action reside in separate stories, but a connection or influence between those disparate stories is slowly revealed to the audience; illustrated in Mexican director Alejandro González Iñárritu's films Amores perros (2000), 21 Grams (2003), and Babel (2006).[3]

Quart suggests that director Robert Altman created the structure for the genre and demonstrated its usefulness for combining interlocking stories in his films Nashville (1975) and Short Cuts (1993).[4] However, his work was predated by several films, including Satyajit Ray's Kanchenjunga (1962),[5] Federico Fellini's Amarcord (1973),[6] and Ritwik Ghatak's Titash Ekti Nadir Naam (1973),[7] all of which use a narrative structure based on multiple characters.

Quart also mentions the television series 24 and discusses Alan Rudolph's film Welcome to L.A. (1976) as an early prototype.[2] Crash (2004) is an example of the genre,[8] as are Steven Soderbergh's Traffic (2000), Fernando Meirelles's City of God (2002), Stephen Gaghan's Syriana (2005) and Rodrigo Garcia's Nine Lives (2005).

One of the 2017 Tamil Language action thriller film Maanagaram involves an everyman who moves to the Indian megacity Chennai, where he gets intertwined with four other lives as they strive to achieve success in the city when a vicious gangster threatens them. The director Lokesh Kanagaraj mentioned one of the female protagonist's role as the link among these characters throughout the film and that the theme of the entire film had a heavy influence from his admiration on the works of director Quentin Tarantino.

The style is also used in video games. French video game company Quantic Dream has produced games, such as Heavy Rain and , with hyperlink cinema style storytelling, and the style has also influenced role-playing games such as Suikoden III (2001) and Octopath Traveler (2018).

Analysis

The hyperlink cinema narrative and story structure can be compared to social science's spatial analysis. As described by Edward Soja and Costis Hadjimichalis spatial analysis examines the "'horizontal experience' of human life, the spatial dimension of individual behavior and social relations, as opposed to the 'vertical experience' of history, tradition, and biography."[9] English critic John Berger notes for the novel that "it is scarcely any longer possible to tell a straight story sequentially unfolding in time" for "we are too aware of what is continually traversing the story line laterally."[9]

An academic analysis of hyperlink cinema appeared in the journal Critical Studies in Media Communication, and referred to the films as Global Network Films. Narine's study examines the films Traffic (2000), Amores perros (2000), 21 Grams (2003), Beyond Borders (2003), Crash (2004; released 2005), Syriana (2005), Babel (2006) and others, citing network theorist Manuel Castells and philosophers Michel Foucault and Slavoj Žižek. The study suggests that the films are network narratives that map the network society and the new connections citizens experience in the age of globalization.[10]

Alberto Toscano and Jeff Kinkle have argued that one popular form of hyperlink cinema constitutes a contemporary form of it-narrative, an 18th- and 19th-century genre of fiction written from the imagined perspective of objects as they move between owners and social environments.[11] In these films, they argue, "the narrative link is the characters' relation to the film's product of choice, whether it be guns, cocaine, oil, or Nile perch."[11]

Examples

Films

See main article: category.

Video games

Directors associated with hyperlink cinema

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. https://movieweb.com/movies-where-several-stories-interconnect/ 10 Movies Where Several Stories Interconnect - MovieWeb
  2. Quart . Alissa . Alissa Quart . Networked . . 41 . 4 . 48–5 . Jul–Aug 2005 . January 28, 2014 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140203214153/http://alissaquart.com/networked_don_roos_and_happy_e/ . February 3, 2014 . mdy-all .
  3. News: Ebert . Roger . Roger Ebert . December 9, 2005 . Syriana . Reviews . rogerebert.com . July 25, 2007.
  4. [Roger Ebert|Ebert, Roger]
  5. Web site: Kanchenjungha . https://web.archive.org/web/20151211105908/http://www.amc.com/movie/1962/Kanchenjungha . 2015-12-11. AMC.
  6. Web site: 20 Great Examples of Hyperlink Cinema Every Film Buff Must Watch . Taste of Cinema . September 4, 2015.
  7. Book: Ghatak . Ritwik . 2000 . Rows and Rows of Fences: Ritwik Ghatak on Cinema . Ritwik Memorial & Trust Seagull Books . 81-7046-178-2 . ix & 134–36.
  8. Web site: Willmore . Alison . February 23, 2009 . "Crossing Over" and Hyperlink Cinema . https://web.archive.org/web/20170410023913/https://www.ifc.com/2009/02/crossing-over-and-hyperlink-ci . April 10, 2017 . dead . July 12, 2022 . IFC.
  9. Soja . Edward W. . Hadjimichalis . Costis . 1979 . Between Geographical Materialism and Spatial Fetishism: Some Observations on the Development of Marxist Spatial Analysis . . 17 . 2–3 . 59–67 . 10.1111/j.1467-8330.1985.tb00334.x .
  10. Narine . Neil . Global Trauma and the Cinematic Network Society . . 27 . 3 . 2010 . 209–234 . 10.1080/15295030903583556 . 143671583.
  11. Book: Alberto. Toscano. Alberto Toscano. Jeff. Kinkle. Cartographies of the Absolute. Zero Books. 2015. 192.
  12. Web site: Hyperlink Film . Flickchart.
  13. Web site: The Best Hyperlink Films of the 1930s . Flickchart.
  14. Book: Newman, Michael Z. . Indie: An American Film Culture . 2011 . Columbia University Press. 9780231513524 . Google Books.
  15. Web site: The Best Hyperlink Films of the 1960s . Flickchart.
  16. Book: Özguc, Agah . Bütün Filmleriyle Yilmaz Güney . tr.
  17. Web site: Ganadevata . Upperstall.com . 2014-04-26 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140426201107/http://www.upperstall.com/films/1978/ganadevata . 26 April 2014 . dmy .
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  19. Web site: It's a Sad and Beautiful World: Music From the Films of Jim Jarmusch . A Perfect Prescription . March 15, 2016.
  20. Web site: The Best Hyperlink Films of the 1990s . Flickchart.
  21. Web site: Kipp . Jeremiah . August 12, 2008 . Before the Rain Film Review . . March 3, 2010.
  22. Web site: Ebert . Roger . March 11, 2009 . Exotica .
  23. Book: Booker, M. Keith . 2007 . Postmodern Hollywood: What's New in Film and why it Makes Us Feel So Strange . Greenwood Publishing Group. . 12–21 . 978-0-275-99900-1 . Google Books . October 18, 2008.
  24. https://www.slashfilm.com/764836/how-quentin-tarantino-broke-the-mold-for-anthology-movies-with-pulp-fiction/ How Quentin Tarantino Broke The Mold For Anthology Movies With Pulp Fiction|/Film
  25. Web site: Holden . Stephen . Stephen Holden . January 22, 1999 . 'Playing By Heart': In a Cocktail of Romance, Different Flavors of Love . . March 3, 2010.
  26. Web site: March 17, 2018 . Top 10 Greatest Films of 'Hyperlink Cinema' . moviebabble.com.
  27. Web site: Hyperlink Cinema and the Prevalence of Intertwining Stories . January 17, 2017 . The Artifice.
  28. Web site: CODE INCONNU . Festival de Cannes.
  29. News: Ebert . Roger . January 18, 2002 . Lantana . Reviews . rogerebert.com . February 14, 2009.
  30. Web site: Cochran, Dechlan . 11:14, an obscure gem of a movie (review) . D&CFilm. April 12, 2012.
  31. Web site: Barber . Nicholas . March 17, 2015 . Fragmentation games: the return of the portmanteau film . The Guardian .
  32. News: Ebert . Roger . January 6, 2006 . Cape of Good Hope . Reviews . rogerebert.com . February 8, 2008.
  33. Web site: The 15 Best Glenn Close Movie Performances . March 8, 2019 . Taste of Cinema.
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  35. News: Jerslev . Anne . The post-perspectival: Screens and time in David Lynch's Inland Empire . Journal of Aesthetics and Culture . March 2012.
  36. News: Ebert . Roger . Look Both Ways . Chicago Sun-Times . April 27, 2006 . July 12, 2022.
  37. News: Ebert . Roger . Roger Ebert . September 22, 2007 . Babel . Reviews . rogerebert.com . February 8, 2008.
  38. Web site: Skinner . Marjorie . September 4, 2008 . The Celestial Prophecy : Living on The Edge of Heaven . September 5, 2008 . https://web.archive.org/web/20081215075725/http://www.portlandmercury.com/film/the_celestial_prophecy/Content?oid=886902 . December 15, 2008 . dead . Portland Mercury.
  39. Web site: Gandert . Sean . October 18, 2007 . Rendition . https://web.archive.org/web/20080224064922/http://www.pastemagazine.com/action/article/5503/review/film/rendition . February 24, 2008 . . February 8, 2008.
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  41. Web site: Chang . Justin . Justin Chang . February 21, 2008 . Vantage Point . . January 3, 2011.
  42. Web site: Snider . Eric D. . February 16, 2010 . Portland Film Fest Review: Ajami . Cinematical . March 3, 2010 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20100218124337/http://www.cinematical.com/2010/02/16/portland-film-fest-review-ajami/ . February 18, 2010.
  43. Web site: Anderson . Melissa . May 8, 2009 . Powder Blue Review . Variety . July 21, 2010.
  44. News: Hiscock . John . February 25, 2009 . Watchmen: the 'unfilmable' on screen . . January 8, 2011 . registration.
  45. Web site: Perkis . Ed . May 17, 2016 . Watchmen Director's Cut Blu-ray Review . CinemaBlend . January 8, 2011.
  46. News: REVIEW: Hereafter . Marshall and the Movies . November 4, 2010.
  47. News: Osenlund . R. Kurt . December 2, 2011 . Answers to Nothing . Slant Magazine . October 16, 2019.
  48. Web site: Wickman . Forrest . September 9, 2011 . Steven Soderbergh's Contagion . Slate.
  49. News: LaSalle . Mick . Mick LaSalle . October 25, 2012 . 'Cloud Atlas' review: Baring your soul . . June 8, 2013.
  50. News: Hachard . Thomas . April 7, 2013 . Disconnect . Slant Magazine . August 16, 2016.
  51. Web site: Kermode . Mark . Mark Kermode . January 24, 2016 . The Big Short review – life with the Wall Street sharks . The Guardian.
  52. Web site: A conversation with Bonny and Koushani. 2021-03-25. www.telegraphindia.com. 7 March 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210307062547/https://www.telegraphindia.com/entertainment/a-conversation-with-bonny-sengupta-and-koushani-mukherjee/cid/1804219. live.
  53. Web site: 'Everything Everywhere All at Once' Review: It's Messy, and Glorious . NY Times . March 24, 2022.
  54. Web site: 'Bullet Train' Spoiler Free Review - ScrenHub Review - ScreenHub Entertainment. August 11, 2022 .
  55. https://www.timesnownews.com/entertainment-news/kannada/exclusive-kannadas-first-hyperlink-romcom-chow-chow-bath-completes-50-days-article Exclusive! Kannada's First Hyper-Link Rom-Com, Chow Chow Bath, Completes 50 Days - Times Now
  56. https://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/movies/kenja-chethan-kumar-on-his-kannada-film-chow-chow-bath-it-is-a-hyperlink-film/article67941865.ece Kenja Chethan Kumar on ‘Chow Chow Bath’: It is a hyperlink film - The Hindu
  57. Web site: Suikoden III in-depth review. December 28, 2020. IGN Boards. October 11, 2002 . en-US.
  58. Web site: Indigo Prophecy Review. September 21, 2005. December 28, 2020. GameSpot. en-US.
  59. Web site: Interview: David Cage of Quantic Dream and Heavy Rain. May 27, 2009. November 4, 2020. Engadget. en.
  60. Web site: Resident Evil 6 HD Remaster Review – Not Worth The Replay Value. April 4, 2016. January 26, 2021. gamingbolt.com.
  61. Web site: August 31, 2015. Tips on how to save, or lose, all eight characters in Until Dawn. November 4, 2020. VentureBeat. en-US.
  62. Web site: 'Octopath Traveler' tells eight stories, and they're all forgettable . . July 18, 2018.
  63. Web site: Detroit: Become Human Story and Ending Explained - Here's What Happened. May 28, 2018. October 31, 2020. NDTV Gadgets 360. en.
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  66. Web site: 2011-12-29. Narrative of Tagore's songs used in Tarun Majumdar's Alo (2003). 2020-08-02. Silhouette Magazine.
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