Point of View

          In chapter 3, "Point of View", of John Douglass and Glenn Harnden's The Art of Technique, the different points of view in literary form as well as film are discussed. One of the first things that are pointed out, is that "POV refers to a camera shot taken as if seen through the eyes of a character" (31). This made me think of a movie that I had recently watched, Psycho. In
it, there are several scenes which take on the point of view from the main character, Marion, as well as different opposing viewpoints. The money that she has stolen, for example, takes on a point of view role as well as Norman Bates, the owner of the motel that she stays at later in the film. The first example of this that I notices, was in the scene where Marion is packing. The audience takes on her point of view, but as the camera shows the money, it then portrays the money's point of view. It looks from the bags that Marion is packing to her. The audience sees what is happening from that point of view instead of Marion's. Another example would be when Marion first stays at the motel. After she gets settled in, the audience takes on the point of view of Norman as he peeps through a hole in the wall to look at Marion. The audience thereby takes on his point of view.

All the Houses in Game of Thrones

          In literary texts as well as films, there are three different types of point of view. The first is first person, in which the point of view of one person is followed throughout the narrative. Second person is not a very common point of view, but it is when the audience or the reader is the main character. The things in the novel happen to the audience or reader. A good example are the books that are "choose your own". The reader is able to choose what path he or she takes. The final perspective is third person. In this type of narrative, the audience is a viewer to a multitude of things happening that the characters may or may not be aware of. This is the easiest and the most common type of narrative, since the audience can see things that come into play that the main characters might not. A good example of third person is Game of Thrones. If this narrative was told in first person, the reader would only be able to follow one person throughout the whole storyline. George Martin uses third person, which allows the reader to see what is happening in all different parts of the world in Game of Thrones.