Narrative theory research
- 1. Narrative Theory Research The narrative of a filmis a vital element when creating a succesful storyline. The narrative of a film is the form or structure in which a story is told. Every film has a narrative. There are various different theorists that have produced their own concpets of narratives into the film industry. These theorists include: Claude Levi-Strauss Binary Opposites Strauss explains the use of binary opposites is vital when creating a succesful narrative. The definition of a binary opposite is as follows; creating a meaning through establishing what something is not, for example: Ignorance vs Knowledge Innocence vs Experience Power vs Weakness Boy vs Girl Good vs Evil Binary opposites are extremely common within the horror genre. I believe that our film presents the binary opposites of good vs evil, innocence vs experience and power vs weakness. The good vs evil aspect is represented through the supernatural aspect of our film, the young girl is good but the ghostly figure is evil. These characters also present innocence and evil. The girl is also presented as weak against the supernatural/evil powers of the ghostly figure. Roland Barthes Enigma Code Barthes came up with the theory of Enigma Code, defined simply, this is a puzzle/question that the audience are required to solve. Enigma code is a vital aspect within a film’s opening sequence. This is due to its purpose of leaving the audience with questions so they are able to work through them during the film, allowing them to stay interested. In are film opening we use enigma code in the beginning. This is shown in the shot of the IPhone in someone’s hand who is either injured or dead. The audience are left wondering who they are and what happened to them, as well as who killed them.
- 2. Vladimir Propp Analysed over 100 Russian fairy tales in the 1920’s, from this research Propp deciphered that it was possible to classify the characters and their actions into clearly defined roles. These character roles in fairy tales were: The Hero (seeks something) The Villain (opposite to hero-destroys something) The Donor (assists the hero –provides something useful e.g. magic object) The Dispatcher (sends hero on their way) The False Hero (falsely assuming the role of hero) The Helper (gives hero support) The Princess (reward for the hero- needs protection from antagonist) Her Father (The King) Propp uses these 8 character profiles to propose the view that characters guide the narrative of a story. A recent example of this theory is Star Wars. In this film the characters guide the narrative as well as draw conclusions. Although props theory has been criticized. Films such as Pulp fiction do not follow this narrative theory, although are still successful. TzvetanTodorov Todorov is a Bulgarian narrative theorist. He suggested that a story starts with a state of ‘normal life’ for the protagonist (the equilibrium). Todorov produced 5 key steps that storylines follow: Equilibrium Disequilibrium New Equilibrium Life is normal for the protagonist Normal life disturbed by an outside force (has to be fought against for life to return back to normal) Disruptiondefeated,lifereturnsto normal (sometimesevenbetterfor protagonist) Restored Order Characters attempt to fix problem and repair damage Realisation Character realises problem created