Implied Narrative

An implied narrative arises from visual cues that create the barest impression of a story in the minds of viewers. It is the act of withholding the whole story, rather than the attempt to visually illustrate the story, that defines these images. Cindy Sherman’s “Untitled Film Stills” are an iconic example of implied narrative: her seminal series of photographs capitalizes on feminine character stereotypes and re-stages cinematic tropes in order to trigger the viewer’s imagination. Implied narrative is a mode employed primarily, but not exclusively, in contemporary photography.