The Role of Form and Content in Articulating Political Narratives: A comparative analysis of narrative structures in architectural and cinematic expression Part 1 Dissertation 2025 Pavithran Thurairatnam University of Moratuwa | Sri Lanka This dissertation investigates how form and content can be manipulated to express political narratives through architecture and cinema. It explores the capacity of both disciplines to construct and convey meaning around collective memory, war, and resistance — particularly in the context of Sri Lanka’s post-war NARRATIVE erasure. Drawing from semiotic theory and narrative frameworks such as Syd Field’s Three-Act Structure and Soviet Montage Theory, the study compares films like Schindler’s List, Come and See, and Harakiri with architectural memorials including the Elephant Pass War Memorial, SOUND OF SILENCE-WAR HEROES MEMORIAL and the civilian-led Kanagapuram Thuyilum Illam.Through layered case study analyses and cross-referencing methodologies, the research identifies a shared narrative language of symbolism, sequence, and spatial composition. The project culminates in a new interdisciplinary framework that reimagines how politically sensitive architectural spaces can challenge state-authored memory, enabling emotional resonance and truth- telling. Positioned within the broader aim of healing divided communities, the dissertation serves as a critical lens and a design tool — revealing how architecture, like cinema, can become an instrument for resistance, remembrance, and reconciliation. Tutor(s) Dr Milinda Pathiraja