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Film & Television vocabulary · Genres and Storytelling

Nonlinear narrative

Meaning in film & television, with examples

nounCommon term

In film & television, nonlinear narrative means: A story presented in an order other than the order in which its events happen.

In Turkish: doğrusal olmayan anlatı

How it is used

Used in writing and criticism for structures that rearrange time rather than follow it directly.

Example sentences

  1. The nonlinear narrative begins with the trial and reveals the crime much later.

    The presentation order differs from the events' actual order.

  2. We added date cards to make the nonlinear narrative easier to follow.

    Time labels help viewers understand the rearranged sequence.

Common collocations

  • follow a nonlinear narrative
  • nonlinear narrative structure
  • genreA category of films or TV shows that share a style, subject or set of conventions, such as comedy, horror, western or science fiction.
  • plotThe series of connected events that make up the story of a film or series, and the order in which they are shown.

More terms: Genres and Storytelling

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