An example even more relevant to the topic might be coming from the repertoire of the director Todd Solondz. Solondz's filmmaking practice is distinguished by his comprehensive authorship, assuming roles as both the writer and director of his films. Notably, he employs an experimental approach in shaping characters and narratives within his cinematic works[1]. In one movie of his, “Palindromes” (2004), the main twist is that the central character – a twelve/thirteen-year-old girl – is played quite convincingly by a wide array of characters that are physically very different (black/white, obese/skinny, young/old, and in one incarnation even a young boy).

The Solondz’s movie that I would like to expand on is “Storytelling” (2001). The two main reasons for its relevance in this text are its non-linear narrative treatment and a quite concrete purpose for it being so. The movie is divided into two parts that portray completely different stories using different settings and actors. Each of the parts explores different aspects of storytelling and social dynamics. The first chapter of the movie is titled “Fiction” and revolves around a creative writing class. The main character is Vi, a student with cerebral palsy who becomes the subject of a classmate's exploitative and offensive short story. This part explores the power dynamics in storytelling and the ethical implications of using real people's lives for fictional narratives. The second part—”Non-Fiction”—focuses on documentary filmmaking and follows a filmmaker Toby who is documenting the life of a dysfunctional suburban family. ”Non-Fiction” raises questions about the ethics of documentary filmmaking, the manipulation of reality for entertainment, and the blurred lines between truth and fiction in storytelling.

The film challenges the traditional methods of narrative building and raises moral and ethical questions about the nature of storytelling in various forms, whether through fiction, documentary, or other mediums. Solondz uses a provocative approach to explore the impact of storytelling on both creators and subjects, highlighting the potential for exploitation and the thin line between truth and fiction. He also delves into the complexities of representation and exploitation in storytelling. The portrayal of both fictional and real moments, fragments of stories as somehow equivalent to each other raises difficult questions using shocking and radical examples of stories that feel “real” and provide sophisticated insight and engage the spectator in a complex way with the racial, sexual and social themes that overarch the narrative[2].

In the context of this study, Solondz's experimental narrative approaches, particularly in "Storytelling," reflect a departure from traditional storytelling structures. The film's division into distinct parts, each exploring different aspects of storytelling and social dynamics, resonates with the idea of narratives as databases. It embraces the complex and varied nature of storytelling, and contributes to the discourse on the evolving role of narratives in the digital age.