Database vs. Narrative

On Wednesday we talked about how Manovich sees database and narrative as “natural enemies,” i.e. conflicting ways of making sense of the world. Because of this, he says they’re in constant conflict, and each new medium that emerges privileges either one or the other (novel = narrative; photography = database; film = narrative; digital arts = database). But it seems to me that humans are inclined to look for narratives in every form of media. For instance, even with photography, which Manovich defines as a database art, people strive to construct narratives. We go to museum exhibits of photographic works that are grouped into themes, which strive to tell us a story and give us a coherent idea. We read the wall labels that accompany the photographs and search for the story. It’s the same way with photographs in books and magazines—they help construct a narrative through visual means. It’s similar with database films. Whenever I see a film designed to defy the conventions of narrative by being purely structural—i.e. random montages, seemingly arbitrary juxtapositions of images, etc.—I still try to construct a story while watching it. I’ve talked to friends who have had this same experience. For example, while watching Man with a Movie Camera, I know I wasn’t supposed to let my mind construct a narrative, but it happened nonetheless. I structured this mental narrative around the passing of time, the bustling of the city streets, the interactions between the people on the screen. To me, this “non-narrative film” was really an anecdote about life in modern Moscow. Is this because I’ve been so conditioned to search for narrative, as someone raised on books and movies? Or does it mean that in the clash between narrative and database, narrative always wins?