Katherine Duke
Philosophy of Film
Dr. Langguth
6 May 2014
The
Awful Truth—Erotetic Narration
The Awful Truth is a romantic comedy
that was released in 1937 and was directed by Leo McCarey. It is the story of a
married couple that is going through the process of getting a divorce because
they each are suspicious that their partner is being unfaithful. They must wait
90 days before finalizing the divorce, and they spend this time foiling each
other’s attempts of finding another partner while incessantly bickering with
each other. This amusing and captivating film is an example of the erotetic narrative
format.
Films
with an erotetic narrative structure typically include the following elements:
a discovery, a confrontation and narrative closure. While there are additional
elements to erotetic narration, these are the some of the main elements
included in our textbook The Philosophy
of Motion Pictures by Noël Carroll, hence these will be the features I will
focus on in this article. The Awful Truth
has each of these attributes interwoven throughout the film.
In
erotetic narration, discovery gives the viewer insights into the situation(s)
of the character(s) that raise both macro and micro questions. In The Awful Truth, one of the initial
discoveries of the viewer is the great suspicion Lucy and Jerry Warriner have
about each other’s whereabouts. Jerry goes tanning to ensure his wife believes
he was in Florida. This raises the question of whether she will actually
believe he was vacationing in Florida. Soon after, Jerry and Lucy make
accusations and get in a fight, declaring that they want a divorce. This raises
a plethora of questions, such as, “Will Lucy and Jerry work out their
differences? Was either of them telling the truth? Who will get to keep Mr.
Smith?”
The
second element described in erotetic narration by Carroll is a confrontation
piece. This piece is most evident in films that have a problem/solution format,
often appearing soon before the solution, allowing the characters to discuss
the problem at hand. It also appears in the question/answer format either as a
confrontation like that which might be found in the problem/solution format, or
as a more indirect encounter since it might not be the confrontation of a
problem but rather of a question which the viewer is presented with.
In
The Awful Truth, there are various
confrontations throughout the film, specifically one near the beginning and one
near the end. The confrontation at the beginning of the film raises questions
and tears the characters apart as they decide they should get at divorce. At the
end of the film, however, the two characters confront several overarching
issues and the macro question of “Will Lucy and Jerry work out their
differences?” This can be viewed at this link beginning at the 1:20:00 mark: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSMqXb7IAIU
. (Note: the whole movie may actually be viewed at this link, if you are
interested. I highly recommend it!)
The
third primary element of an erotetic narrative is the conclusion. The
conclusion seeks to answer all questions the viewer has been presented with and
“wrap up the film”, so to speak. In The
Awful Truth, there is a definite conclusion (SPOILER ALERT) as Lucy and
Jerry decide to get back together. This succeeds in tying up the last of the
remaining loose ends.
Thus,
The Awful Truth had the fundamental
parts of an erotetic narrative structure. That is, it contains a discovery, a
confrontation and narrative closure. This romantic comedy is one that many
audiences have enjoyed over the years, yet is not outdate. Even if you are not
a fan of romantic comedies, I would recommend this movie to you. I typically
find such movies trifling and mundanely predictable; however, The Awful Truth was a hilarious,
intriguing romantic comedy that will probably make you laugh, possibly make you
cry, and will certainly make you wish for more.
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