Database (vs.) Narrative: Bandersnatch and Stories in the Digital Age

This paper explores the intricate relationship between database and narrative in the context of digital storytelling, using Netflix’s interactive film Bandersnatch as a case study. Released in 2018 as part of the Black Mirror series, Bandersnatch exemplifies a new form of storytelling that merges traditional narrative structures with the nonlinear and interactive possibilities enabled by digital media. The film challenges the conventional linear narrative by involving viewers in the storytelling process, requiring them to make choices that influence the plot’s progression. This interactive format foregrounds the tension between narrative and database, as discussed by Lev Manovich, who argues that in the digital era, cultural products are increasingly structured by databases rather than linear narratives. However, scholars like N. Katherine Hayles and Marsha Kinder suggest that narrative and database are not mutually exclusive but rather coexist in a symbiotic relationship. Bandersnatch illustrates this dynamic by blending narrative immersion with the interactive possibilities of a database-driven structure. This paper argues that Bandersnatch serves as a lens through which to examine the evolving ontology of narrative in the digital age, highlighting the fluid boundaries between reality and virtuality, and the new forms of storytelling that emerge from this interplay.