As this is my first post, I would like to start off with something I feel understand well enough to give a clear explanation of. I’d like to begin simply with the definitions of the terms that will be discussed here:
Paratext: Elements in a text that contribute and construct a meaning or context for what is being read. Paratext can be broken down into two categories: peritext and epitext.
Peritext: elements in the book that are like added decorations like chapter titles and headings, dedications, end notes, foot notes, subtitles etc.
Epitext: again added elements, but of which can include work that wasn’t written by the author and doesn’t pertain to the text itself. For example if a publisher or editor added a page of an introduction, or even the reviews done by other people who have read the text on the back cover or inside flap.
Sometimes paratext is there to help the reader better understand what they are reading, and other times it is just there for aesthetic reasons; we know that as hard as we try not to, we almost always end up judging a book by its cover… or do we? In this age of technology and film, people would much rather watch a movie than read a book. It’s faster, requires less effort, and sometimes is just more entertaining. So let’s compare these textual significant elements to film.
In movies, just like in books and texts, there is a plot or a main idea or story. Well everything else around that story, like the lighting, the camera angle, and the music is like the paratext of a book—even though it isn’t right in the main part of the text or plot, it is there to help us better understand what is going on.
Take this video for example with Alfred Hitchcock’s explanation of the Kuleshov effect.
If we take the onlooking man’s reaction of smiling as the main text, we see that it can be interpreted or understood differently based on what film piece is shown, even though he hasthe same reaction both times. This is what paratext can do for us; it helps to clarify a point, give a certain mood, and help tell the story.