Anchorman - Posted on Behalf of Sam Walthall

Sam Walthall
Second Blog

This week I watched ‘Anchorman.’ I was definitely able to trace the text’s information on narrative form from the very beginning of this film. It starts off with a third person narration, about the story of news anchorman, Ron Burgundy. In the exposition, Ron Burgundy is seen at his desk at the news studio, preparing to go on the air. These scenes establish the protagonist as a vain and selfish news reporter in everyday life. Then, when Veronica Corningstone starts working at the news station, Ron’s goal is to restore equilibrium in his life; before Veronica, he was number one. Direct address is used in the opening of the film – each major character introduces themselves to the audience. When Veronica gets to the station, she introduces her character through first person narration. After the characters are all established, the film switches to a consistently narrative storytelling form. The plot (syuzhet) also introduces obstacles for Ron, in this case primarily through the actions and desires of others (Veronica). In this type of comedy, backstory often doesn’t enter the plotline, but it does meet the three act narrative form in that the plot follows what the first paragraph of page sixty-eight establishes; the film introduces characters and takes them through different obstacles from their antagonist. There are power shifts between Ron and Veronica, such as when she types on the teleprompter and ruins Ron’s career. The film also achieves a climax in a bear pit at the zoo, and ends with proper closure for each relationship (Ron and Vince Vaughn’s character, Ron and Baxter, Ron and his fans), and specifically the one between protagonist and antagonist – Ron Burgundy and Veronica Corningstone.