Cinematographer
Rahmenerzählung unterstütze ich visuell. Meine Bilder erzählen mit – manchmal sagen sie mehr als Dialog.
Narrative technique in which a framing story encloses one or more embedded narratives—a story within a story.
Overview
The English term Frame Narrative (German: Rahmenerzählung) refers to a narrative-theoretical structure in which an outer plot – the “frame” – encloses one or more embedded stories. The embedded story is called the inner narrative. It is thus a “story within a story.” Unlike most lexicon entries in this work, the term describes not lighting, grip, or set equipment, but a tool of dramaturgy and narrative structure.
The frame typically establishes a narrative situation in which a character recounts or presents the main plot – for example, through a flashback, oral narration, a found report, or a document. The frame thus clarifies the occasion, source, and perspective of the inner story.
Structure and Function
The frame narrative and inner narrative are in a hierarchical relationship: the frame contextualizes the inner narrative. The structure can be nested (multiple levels, so-called “nested frame narratives”).
- Contextualization: The frame explains who is narrating, why, and from what perspective.
- Authentication of the Source: The inner story is given a narrative origin (memory, report, found material).
- Subjectivization / Unreliability: Since the inner narrative is presented filtered, it can be marked as subjective or unreliable.
- Exemplary Character: The frame can lend a moral or generalizing significance to the inner story.
Examples in Film
| Film | Year | Frame |
|---|---|---|
| The Princess Bride | 1987 | A grandfather reads a fairy tale to his sick grandson. |
| Forrest Gump | 1994 | Forrest recounts his life to people waiting on a park bench. |
| Big Fish | 2003 | A dying father tells his son embellished life stories. |
| Fried Green Tomatoes | 1991 | A protagonist tells her life story to an acquaintance in a nursing home. |
In literary tradition, Boccaccio's The Decameron and One Thousand and One Nights are considered classic frame narratives.
From the crafts
Perspectives
Director
Rahmenerzählung ist das Fundament meines Storytellings. Wie ich erzähle ist genauso wichtig wie was ich erzähle.
Editor
Bei Rahmenerzählung forme ich die Erzählung mit. Struktur, Rhythmus und Informationsfluss entstehen auch am Schneidetisch.
Producer
Rahmenerzählung muss vom Drehbuch bis zur Leinwand funktionieren. Ich achte darauf, dass die Geschichte im Zentrum aller Entscheidungen steht.
More in the lexikon
Related terms
Test your knowledge
Quiz
1. Zu welchem Department gehört „Rahmenerzählung"?
2. Wie viele verschiedene Fachperspektiven bietet dieser Eintrag?