JOURNAL ARTICLE

Surviving "Certain Death": Narrational Reliability in American Motion Picture Serial Cliffhangers of the Golden Age.

  • Published In: JCMS: Journal of Cinema & Media Studies, 2023, v. 62, n. 5. P. 123 1 of 3

  • Database: Academic Search Ultimate 2 of 3

  • Authored By: Allison, Deborah 3 of 3

Abstract

American sound serial chapter endings frequently placed the protagonist(s) in mortal peril before the following week's installment would reveal how they evaded seemingly certain death. Frequently relying on audience memory lapse, these solutions, or "take-outs," did not always play fair. Drawing on a 20 percent sample of golden age serials (1936–1945), I analyze the narrational methods and reliability of cliffhangers and their take-outs. I propose that there are three key strategies, which I term sequential, augmented , and incompatible. I show how these categories move progressively further from the cliffhanger's nineteenth-century literary precedents and from conventions of classical Hollywood narration alike. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Additional Information

  • Source:JCMS: Journal of Cinema & Media Studies. 2023/08, Vol. 62, Issue 5, p123
  • Document Type:Article
  • Subject Area:Literature and Writing
  • Publication Date:2023
  • ISSN:2578-4900
  • DOI:10.1353/cj.2022.a907194
  • Accession Number:175308632
  • Copyright Statement:Copyright of JCMS: Journal of Cinema & Media Studies is the property of Society of Cinema & Media Studies and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

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