[Script Info]
Title: 
[Events]
Format: Layer, Start, End, Style, Name, MarginL, MarginR, MarginV, Effect, Text
Dialogue: 0,0:00:14.03,0:00:16.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,“I am an invisible man.”
Dialogue: 0,0:00:16.50,0:00:20.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,“Mrs. Dalloway said she would \Nbuy the flowers herself.”
Dialogue: 0,0:00:20.73,0:00:24.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,“You are about to begin reading \NItalo Calvino's new novel.”
Dialogue: 0,0:00:26.37,0:00:30.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,These three opening lines, \Nfrom Ralph Ellison’s "Invisible Man,"
Dialogue: 0,0:00:30.74,0:00:32.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Virginia Woolf’s "Mrs. Dalloway,"
Dialogue: 0,0:00:32.76,0:00:36.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and Italo Calvino’s \N"If on a winter’s night a traveler,"
Dialogue: 0,0:00:36.56,0:00:39.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,each establish a different point of view.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:39.68,0:00:42.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Who is telling a story, \Nand from what perspective,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:42.89,0:00:46.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,are some of the most important choices \Nan author makes.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:46.41,0:00:50.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Told from a different point of view, \Na story can transform completely.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:52.50,0:00:54.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Take this fairytale:
Dialogue: 0,0:00:54.36,0:00:59.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Rapunzel, Rapunzel,"\Nthe Prince called, "let down your hair."
Dialogue: 0,0:00:59.82,0:01:03.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Rapunzel unbraided her hair \Nand slung it out the window.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:03.35,0:01:06.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The prince climbed her tresses \Ninto the tower.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:06.42,0:01:11.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Rapunzel is typically told like this, \Nwith the narrator outside the story.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:11.06,0:01:14.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This point of view is called third person.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:14.16,0:01:18.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But Rapunzel can also be told \Nby a character in the story—
Dialogue: 0,0:01:18.04,0:01:19.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a first person narrator.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:19.85,0:01:23.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The tail end of Rapunzel’s locks \Nplopped down at my feet.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:23.28,0:01:26.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I grabbed on and began to climb… ugh!
Dialogue: 0,0:01:26.61,0:01:28.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I couldn’t untangle myself.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:28.69,0:01:32.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Strands came off all over me, \Nsticking to my sweat.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:32.40,0:01:36.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In a first person narrative, the story \Ncan change dramatically
Dialogue: 0,0:01:36.46,0:01:40.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,depending on which character\Nis the narrator.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:40.64,0:01:44.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Say Rapunzel was narrating \Ninstead of the prince:
Dialogue: 0,0:01:44.37,0:01:51.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I hope he appreciates how long it takes \Nto unbraid 25 feet of hair, I thought.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:51.26,0:01:56.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,OUCH! I'll be honest; I thought my scalp\Nwould stretch off of my skull.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:56.21,0:02:00.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Can you climb any faster?" I yelled.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:00.21,0:02:04.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In second person, the narrator addresses \Nthe story to the reader:
Dialogue: 0,0:02:04.80,0:02:09.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He calls your name. He wants you \Nto let your hair down.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:09.89,0:02:14.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You just finished braiding it, but hey–\Nyou don't get a lot of visitors.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:14.35,0:02:18.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Third person, first person, \Nand second person perspectives
Dialogue: 0,0:02:18.23,0:02:21.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,each have unique possibilities\Nand constraints.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:21.74,0:02:25.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So how do you choose a point \Nof view for your story?
Dialogue: 0,0:02:25.74,0:02:28.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Constraints aren’t necessarily \Na bad thing—
Dialogue: 0,0:02:28.40,0:02:32.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they can help focus a story \Nor highlight certain elements.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:32.95,0:02:34.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,For example,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:34.11,0:02:39.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a third person narrator is necessarily\Na bit removed from the characters.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:39.02,0:02:43.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But that can be good for stories \Nwhere a feeling of distance is important.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:43.16,0:02:46.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,A third person narrator \Ncan be either limited,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:46.64,0:02:50.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,meaning they stick close to one \Ncharacter’s thoughts and feelings,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:50.52,0:02:54.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or they can be omniscient, \Nable to flit between characters’ minds
Dialogue: 0,0:02:54.45,0:02:57.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and give the reader more information.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:57.30,0:03:02.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,A first person story creates closeness \Nbetween the reader and the narrator.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:02.17,0:03:05.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It’s also restricted \Nby the narrator’s knowledge.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:05.48,0:03:07.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This can create suspense
Dialogue: 0,0:03:07.01,0:03:10.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as the reader finds out information\Nalong with the character.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:10.92,0:03:13.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,A first person narrator \Ndoesn’t necessarily
Dialogue: 0,0:03:13.18,0:03:16.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,have to represent the character’s \Nexperience faithfully—
Dialogue: 0,0:03:16.34,0:03:19.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they can be delusional or dishonest.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:19.36,0:03:22.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In Kazuo Ishiguro’s novel \N"The Remains of the Day,"
Dialogue: 0,0:03:22.74,0:03:29.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Stevens, an aging British butler in 1956, \Nrecounts his many years of service,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:29.29,0:03:33.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but fails to acknowledge the flaws \Nof the man he serves.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:33.29,0:03:37.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The cracks in his narrative eventually \Ndraw the reader’s attention
Dialogue: 0,0:03:37.04,0:03:41.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to the under-acknowledged failings \Nof the culture and class system
Dialogue: 0,0:03:41.02,0:03:42.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,he inhabits.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:42.62,0:03:45.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Justin Torres’s novel, "We the Animals,"
Dialogue: 0,0:03:45.60,0:03:48.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,begins with a plural \Nfirst person narrator:
Dialogue: 0,0:03:48.90,0:03:52.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,“We were six snatching hands, \Nsix stomping feet;
Dialogue: 0,0:03:52.70,0:03:58.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we were brothers, boys, three little kings\Nlocked in a feud for more.”
Dialogue: 0,0:03:58.54,0:04:01.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Partway through the story, \Nthe point of view shifts
Dialogue: 0,0:04:01.59,0:04:06.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to first person singular,\Nfrom we to I, as the boys come of age
Dialogue: 0,0:04:06.58,0:04:10.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and one brother feels alienated\Nfrom the others.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:10.68,0:04:13.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Second person is a less common choice.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:13.70,0:04:18.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It requires the writer to make the reader\Nsuspend disbelief to become another “you.”
Dialogue: 0,0:04:18.51,0:04:21.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Placing the reader \Nin a character’s perspective
Dialogue: 0,0:04:21.20,0:04:23.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,can build urgency and suspense.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:23.62,0:04:24.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Sometimes, though,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:24.79,0:04:28.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,second person is intended to distance \Nthe narrator from their own story,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:28.94,0:04:31.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,rather than bring the reader closer \Nto the story.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:31.68,0:04:32.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In these cases,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:32.81,0:04:37.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,second person narrators refer \Nto themselves as “you” rather than “I.”
Dialogue: 0,0:04:37.88,0:04:43.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Writers are constantly experimenting \Nwith fresh variations on point of view.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:43.08,0:04:46.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,New virtual and augmented \Nreality technologies
Dialogue: 0,0:04:46.15,0:04:49.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,may expand the possibilities\Nfor this experimentation.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:49.73,0:04:53.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,By placing people at a particular \Nvantage point in virtual space,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:53.73,0:04:57.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,how might we change the way \Nwe tell and experience stories?