3. Axes: Time and Space

This chapter inaugurates a deepened analysis of the three areas of the M.A.P., starting from the “A” (axes): time and space. The task is implemented by discussing three important dichotomies and then by focusing on the main notions related to time and space, that is, narration and montage. (Sect. 3.1 addresses the dichotomy “diegesis and non-diegesis”, through typological distinctions (Sect. 3.1.1) and the case study of the movie The Truman Show (Sect. 3.1.2). The second dichotomy is “steadiness and unsteadiness” (Sect. 3.2), with a focus on spectatorship (Sect. 3.2.1), interpretation (Sect. 3.2.2) and the case study of the movie The Birds (Sect. 3.2.3). The third dichotomy is “foreshadowing and sideshadowing” (Sect. 3.3), dealt with respectively in Sects. 3.3.1, 3.3.2 and 3.3.3 (foreshadowing) and in Sect. 3.3.4 (sideshadowing). The case study (Sect. 3.3.5) focuses on the filmography of the Italian director Roberto Benigni. Narration is dealt with in Sect. 3.4, with a specific discussion on its relation with archetypes (Sect. 3.4.1) and a case study on the movie Star Wars: A New Hope (Sect. 3.4.2). Finally, “montage” (Sect. 3.5) is addressed through its main theories (Sect. 3.5.1) and the case study of the national branding commercial “Dynamic Korea” (Sect. 3.5.2).