Allan Cameron came up with the idea that contemporary cinema uses a cycle of complex narratives to operate. Modular Narrative explores the representation of time in a way that reflects anxieties specific to the present. It articulates a sense of time as a divisible and subject to manipulation. Cameron identified four different types of modular narrative:
- Anachronic
- Forking - Path
- Episodic
- Split Screen
Anachronic modular narratives have no dominance between any of the narrative threads and involve the use of flashbacks and/or flash forwards. The narratives also often repeat scenes directly or via different perspectives.
Forking - Path narrative juxtaposes alternative versions of a story. It shows the different possible outcomes that could have taken place had there been small changes in a single or group of events. The forking - path narrative introduces a number of plot lines that tend to contradict one another.
Episodic narrative is a story that is told through a series of episodes of segments for example a soap opera or television series. There are two types of episodic narratives, the first being abstract series which is characterised by the operation of a non- narrative formal system which appears to dictate the organisation of narrative element such as a sequence of number or the alphabet. An episodic anthology consists of a series of shorter tales which appear disconnected but share a random similarity. For example the 'Final Destination' films are all connected in that those who being targeted to die were all nearly involved in a roller coaster accident.
Split Screen narratives differ from other types of modular narrative as their modularity is articulated along spatial rather than temporal lines. The screen is divided into two or more frames, juxtaposing events within the same visual field, in a sustained fashion. A well known example of this is the television series 24.
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