Ricoeur's hermeneutical arc as a three-step model of film interpretation¶

Theory · All theories
Evidence · no claims cited

Description¶

The article applies Ricoeur's hermeneutical arc to film experience as a movement through three steps: narrative understanding (an intuitive first approach in which the viewer constructs 'a world of the text'), narratological rationality (a detached, theoretical analysis of deep structures using film theory and narratology), and appropriation, in which the two levels are integrated and the viewer relates the film to their own life. The author states that 'I consider Bildung as moving along the three steps of the hermeneutical arc', with the return to oneself understood as appropriating the meaning of the film.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• Both levels of reflection must be distinguished and sequenced; the interpretation is not complete until the film is appropriated by the viewer

Constraints¶

• The level of narratological rationality is not always or necessarily present in ordinary film viewing; it must be deliberately elicited in education

Target Learners¶

• University students watching and analysing films

Target Learning Objectives¶

• Interpreting existential dimensions of film narratives
• Relating film experience to one's own life

Claims¶

Related Theories¶

• Bildung as self-formation through encounter with the world and return to oneself

Examples¶

• Structured post-screening discussion using amplification followed by moral case deliberation
• Dialogue in a safe environment is central to Bildung-oriented film education

Key Sources¶

• Koster, E. (2019). Bildung through films: How to discuss existential questions in academia. Film Education Journal. https://doi.org/10.18546/FEJ.02.2.04