Narrative Comprehension and Film

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NARRATIVE SCHEMA

PSYCHOLOGICAL USE VALUE

Narrative has existed in every known human society. Like metaphor, it seems to be everywhere: sometimes active and obvious, at other times fragmentary, dormant, and tacit. We encounter it not just in novels and conversation but also as we look around a room, wonder about an event, or think about what to do next week. One of the important ways we perceive our environment is by anticipating and telling ourselves mini-stories about that environment based on stories already told. Making narratives is a strategy for making our world of experiences and desires intelligible. It is a fundamental way of organizing data.¹

Recently narrative principles have been found in the work of a wide range of professionals, ...