postnarrative

Postnarrative is a term used in literary and media theory to describe works that resist or complicate traditional narrative forms. Rather than presenting a single, linear causal arc with a stable point of view, postnarrative foregrounds fragmentation, indeterminacy, and the constructed nature of storytelling. The concept covers a range of techniques that blur boundaries between author, text, and reader, and between fiction and reality.

Core features commonly associated with postnarrative include nonlinear structure, digressions, metafiction, multiple or shifting viewpoints, open or unresolved endings, intertextual references, and self-reflexivity. It may emphasize the experience and performance of storytelling over the delivery of a settled meaning. In cinema and digital media, postnarrative often employs montage, parallel narratives, fragmentation, or interactive elements to distribute meaning rather than present it in a single authoritative voice.

Context and use vary across disciplines, but postnarrative is frequently discussed in relation to late 20th-century postmodern and post-structuralist thought. It is applied to literature, film, theatre, video games, and other media to analyze how stories are produced, circulated, and contested. The approach invites readers and viewers to participate in meaning-making and to recognize narrative as a social and linguistic construction rather than a transparent representation of reality.

Critiques of postnarrative argue that it can be inaccessible or undermine moral clarity, while supporters view it as a critical tool for exposing ideological storytelling and encouraging interpretive engagement. Related concepts include metafiction, intertextuality, and nonlinearity.