Paul Ricoeur Temps et récit: the audiovisual worl of narrativity

Abstract

The current study presents a teaching experience in the course “The history of films”, in which youth films are analysed with the method of Paul Ricoeur. For this analysis we have followed the hermeneutics that Ricoeur applies to narrative texts –as discussed in his work Temps et récit– and we have applied them to audiovisual texts. Ricoeur distinguishes three stages of analysis. The first stage is pre-understanding of the work orprefiguration: by the contextualization and explanation previous to the watching of certain films, they become more accessible to the contemporary public. The second stage,configuration, is the moment when the viewer internalizes the film by seeing himself or herself reflected in the film or not. Finally, refiguration represents the moment when the models that have been seen on the screen are received and applied to real life.

The analysis of youth films and their teaching impact in the education of students through the course “The history of films” can help us appreciate two aspects of the process. On the one hand, students can access, at the same time, both the structural and formal characteristics of a generation. On the other hand, critical thought is activated towards an understanding of elements which have to do with a global understanding of reality.