Writing on the Edge: Paratexts in Narrative Cinema

Writing on the Edge analyzes texts that surround movies - so-called filmic paratexts. They include opening and closing credits, film posters, and tie-in products such as novelizations. More accessory than an actual part of the film they accompany, paratexts nevertheless serve as an essential framing device that generates expectations and guides audiences through their viewing experience. The book discusses the exchange between the extradiegetic nature of paratexts and the diegesis of the films proper - the space between the producers' attempts to 'advertise a product' and the filmmakers' attempts to 'tell a story'. 'Writing on the Edge' investigates cinema's manifold conventions developed to link these realms. In doing so, the book analyzes a wide range of credit sequences and promotional materials covering all periods of film history.