Narrative Transitivity-Intransitivity and Film

One of the things that I found most interesting from this week's readings was the concept of narrative transitivity in film. Peter Wollen refers to narrative transitivity as one of the seven cardinal virtues of hollywood cinema, and this is quite obviously true, but what is it about cinema that makes narrative transitivity so pervasive? Other art forms that typically involve narrative don't seem to have any particular hang ups about rejecting narrative. For example, poetry is a widely accepted form of writing. Typically modern poetry does not have any particular narrative structure. It requires analysis to derive meaning. Unlike a novel there is usually no particular narrative, and yet the general public accepts poetry as a valid form of writing. Even in novels the break down of narrative has been accepted (take Burroughs' Naked Lunch for example). It seems that, within the world of writing, everyday people can enjoy poetry, non narrative novels such as Naked Lunch, and a typical narrative story alike. Within the world of literature all of these forms are widely accepted as equally valid. Why then does film have so much trouble in bridging this gap? Why are films that exhibit narrative intransitivity so difficult for the general public to accept? (especially when narrative intransitivity is pervasive and generally accepted in other art forms such as literature) Perhaps it is the relative newness of film that causes this difficulty and with time and the efforts of directors such as Godard the difficulty may disappear, but perhaps it is more pervasive than this. Film is an entertainment industry. It is closely tied to both consumerism and entertainment. These ties will influence both the expectations of the public and of the studios producing the films. The cost and scale of film production is much greater than that of poetry or a novel. Films that subvert the typical narrative structure of hollywood film tend to become categorized as "art cinema." Which is highly negatively correlated within the public sphere, tied to snobbery, boredom, and the substitution of imagery for any "true meaning." Though it is unclear to me why cinema has trouble overcomng the seven cardinal values of hollywood cinema it does seem like, as Wollen points out, Godard is a step in the right direction. by directly opposing many of the typical expectations of film and challenging the audience Godard is opening up the realm of possibility for expression through film. It is only once these seven cardinal values are finally deemed unnecessary (or at least not so necessary as they are now) that film will be able to truly flourish as an art form.