In Events, we look at the interaction between the story discourse and the discourse duration by analysing acceleration and deceleration. In acceleration, the discourse of an event in the story is shortened while in deceleration the discourse of the event is slowed down even though the story discourse might occur over a long time. These interactions usually enhance the suspense and dramatic effects of events in the film. In layman terms, acceleration means fast-motion while deceleration means slow-motion.
Captain
America
Acceleration
is commonly used outside the narrative, for example the exceedingly
fast running speed of Steve Rogers, or the spinning of his shield.
Since the characters are capable of moving quickly in the story
world, acceleration within the narrative is rarely observed.
Deceleration
for Captain America is observed only in two scenes, both for slowing
down the huge leaps Rogers made. This deceleration is only for the
purpose of dramatic effect but is not felt by the characters.
PowerPuff
Girls
The
use of anachrony is rare in the shows as each episode, from the
beginning to the end, follows a sequential order of events. Despite
being a superhero show, there is not much emphasis on the fight
scenes. Fight scenes are usually short and swift, with the same kinds
of punches and kicks delivered to defeat the villains across the
episodes. However, there are elements of deceleration in the fighting
scenes to enhance the dramatic effects.
Spiderman
There are only small bits of acceleration and little deceleration occurring in the movie. An illustration of this would be the acceleration of Spiderman’s vision when he stood at the front of the train to stop it from speeding over the bridge. This enables the audience to view the scenario from the perspective of Spiderman.
The Incredibles
For The Incredibles, a descriptive pause is employed whereby the fifteen years in between the enactment of the Superheroes Relocation Program and the kick-start of Mr.Incredible’s adventures is not shown to the audience in the movie narrative.