Strange Beasts - Narrative Theory

A five minute blend of live action and CG effects, Strange Beasts was created by Magali Barbe, director and VFX artist. Sporting the tagline 'A new augmented reality game is developed that allows you to create and grow your own pets. But, how far are people willing to go to live in a fantasy environment of their own creation?' it takes a glimpse of our society in the near distant future where technology has advanced far enough to allow us to interact with CGI creatures of our own creation. There's no real moral to this story, it's more a cautionary warning about playing God. It's chilling, but it's also unbearably sad once you've beat the initial shock. 

Black Mirror-esque with a powerful ending that leaves the air punched out of you, I loved Strange Beasts. While the actual film making looks quite complicated, with detailed sets and CGI effects, the 'punchline' and concept are actually quite simple. For a short with just two actors, and only one that speaks, it tells a a very compelling story. 

This is why I chose this short's narrative techniques to analyse. I'll be using the notes I made on my pervious post on Narrative Theory to see how much they hold up against this brief narrative. 

Firstly, the story vs the narrative; The story is about a man, Victor Weber, who's invented an interactive game that allows you to create your own digital pets and interact with them in real life. 

The narrative is a 'mockumentary' a style of narrative made popular by shows such as Parks and Rec, Modern Family, and The Office, as well as movies such as Popstar; Never Stop Never Stopping. 

A mockumentary is 'a television programme or film which takes the form of a serious documentary in order to satirise its subject' Whilst they're typically comedies, Strange Beasts is a Dystopian Sci Fi, almost a psychological thriller at the end. 

Now to look at the use of structure. The theory that 'Successful stories requires change, and a new equilibrium to be established at the end' didn't appear to fit Strange Beasts at first to me, but it isn't entirely lost.

The equilibrium at the beginning of the short implies that this is a) new technology (Victor reassures the camera man that the chip put in your eye doesn't damage your vision) and b) a happy man in an innovative society (He talks excitedly and earnestly about his invention, and the sets are sleek and modern)
The Narrative Location is never specified, but the audience makes it's own conclusion through scenes shown that it is our own world slightly into the future.

At the end, the technology is still considered new, but the audience is now fully aware that Victor is completely alone in life and it's implied he's mentally unwell (the unnerving music playing in the background during scenes of him on his own).

A new equilibrium is established, because we learn vital information about the main character and the technology is thrown into a new, darker perspective. 

Two more points; The narrative does not take place in real time, and the ending may change our opinion on earlier events.

1. The narrative doesn't take place in real time, as there are plenty of cuts to new scenes, and Victor and Anna suddenly appear in the park shortly after deciding to go there. 
2. This is also true, every scene with Anna is thrown into a new light at the end, and the line 'They can all play together' is suddenly much darker.

Technical Codes are very important to a narrative such as Strange Beasts, which combines live action with real actors and CGI effects to create the pets, such as Walter and Blobby. 

In the beginning, the short has quite an upbeat tone, and the audience is curious about this fantasy game, but in a series of a few quick shots, the tone becomes quite uneasy.

As I mentioned before, the scenes with Victor on his own, not speaking to the camera, has very unsettling nondiegetic music playing as he shouts at thin air, and sits swiping at nothing with his finger. The extreme close up of his face, where his eyes shine unnaturally and the shot cuts out with a static effect, is the beginning of the audience suspecting that all is not as it appears. 

There are smaller, clever details that just add to how real this world feels, such as including social media tabs at the side of the screen whenever you see through Victor's POV, and the decision to put Anna in a school uniform. 

The Verbal Codes are less obvious than the technical ones but just as important to telling the story. The fact that only Victor speaks during the whole short to an unseen camera further highlights his loneliness and total isolation for human interaction.

Mockumentaries have a unique verbal code compared to other mainstream narratives, as they're allowed to break the forth wall and speak directly to the audience watching at home. As Strange Beasts is set up to feel like a marketing pitch, this type of narrative works well, and allows Victor to speak more naturally to the camera (and, therefore, the audience) 
Anna's lack of dialogue is a clever clue to the reality of her existence. 

The Symbolic Codes in Strange Beasts are subtle, but omnipresent, and rewatching it a few times has whilst being on the look out for them really enhances the story as a whole.

The sets and costumes are primarily designed in cool, sleek colours; Greens, blues, whites, and greys. 
This adds to the implied setting of a near-distant-future version of our own world, which appears to be more technologically advanced, with it's trim appearance. 

There's a small hint at the end reveal when Anna is first seen in the photo album meant for the pets. The audience automatically assumes that it must work like a regular camera, but when you think about, it should only be able to take photos of the computer generated projections. 

Symbolic codes are often seen in the form of motifs, a reoccurring use of object or phrase to imply a larger meaning about a character or group of people, and while there aren't meaning motifs in Strange Beasts due to it's short length, it could be argued that is does have one; People. 

Victor is the only real person in the entirety of the short, other people are seen only from the back, and we learn at the end that Anna is a hologram of his own program, not his actual daughter.

Victor, as well as being the only 'real' character, serves as the narrative's narrator. The story passes through him before it gets to us and no one else, so we have to take his word on what he says. 

The mockumentary style of the narrative allows Victor to fill the role of the narrator, as he talks us through each scene and explains what's happening and why. 

Victor is a good example of an unreliable narrator as he withholds important information from the audience due to his own bias, and to protect his own feelings. It can be argued that any narrative where the narrator is a character has an unreliable narrator, because any character within the story will have their own loyalties and prejudices. 

Due to the short run time and minuscule cast, there are few characters to analyse. Looking at Propp's Fairy Tale Characters, I don't think it can be argued that Victor is the 'hero'. 

The story is about him, making him the protagonist, but not a hero, a character Propp says must 'fight an evil presence'

The closest Victor comes to be a hero is being a False Hero, a character who tricks the other characters, but then betrays them. (and, in this case, the audience, though sometimes they know what the characters don't.)

Whilst Victor doesn't necessarily 'betray' the audience, it can be argued they are misled by him.

Nevertheless, this can be debated; Victor never directly states that Anna is his daughter, but calls her 'his little girl'. 
Granted, this phrase is directly associated with parenthood, but given that this is a pitch for a program that allows you to create your own pets, it could easily mean one of two things. 

To some extent Anna could be seen as The Princess, the much sought after character the hero must find. However, this doesn't hold up very well, as Anna is barely seen until the end and she never even speaks. 


The Binary Opposite theory doesn't quite apply to Strange Beasts; This theory suggests that all conflict in all narratives derives from two opposites fighting for dominance, such as Good vs Evil or Fear vs Confidence. 
There isn't a 'conflict' as such in Strange Beasts, the story mainly hinges on making the audience interested in the CGI and then the reveal at the end. It's very much a Narrative of Drama filled with Hermeneutic Codes rather than Events; Very little actually happens, but the audience experiences intense emotional states.

Due to the fact it's a five minute short and not a full fledged funded movie, there isn't really isn't any advertising to look at, but we can still consider the Narrative Image; which is the film's identity and branding. 

It was hard to pin Strange Beasts into any one genre, it's not a horror, or a romance, and it's certainly not a comedy. I eventually put Strange Beasts down as a Dystopian Sci Fi, as it neatly fits the two definitions for the different genres.

1. Dystopian - Used to describe a utopian society in which things have gone wrong.
2. Sci Fi - Fiction based on imagined future scientific or technological advances.

This narrative is good for looking at the Narrative Enigma, which means intriguing the audience with small teases that not all is as it seems so that they watch until the end for a satisfying conclusion. The audience is initially attracted by even the idea of the technology presented but the few troubling shots and hints are enough to get viewers guessing about the true message of the narrative. 

The narrative image is a promise - the tagline of the short itself  presents a vexing question, 'But, how far are people willing to go to live in a fantasy environment of their own creation?' that the audience needs answered.

Like many narrative images, Strange Beasts is deliberately misleading at the beginning so that the end twist knocks the audience hard. It isn't too obvious what the twist will be, even though the tagline suggests that there will be one, but it doesn't feel like it came out of nowhere.

In conclusion, Strange Beasts meets some narrative theories, but doesn't have to fill all of them to exist as a successful narrative.