Narrative Theory

18th November 2010                         MissLecointe

Lesson objective: To be able to show an understanding of what Narrative theory is.

Lesson outcomes
All: will be able to describe the different points of the theory (E)

Most: will be able to explain the different theories with appropriate examples (C)

Some: will be able to use media language effectively to discuss the purpose of narrative theory with a variety of examples (A)

Narrative is the organisation given to a series of facts; we connect events and make interpretations based on those connections. As we seek a beginning, middle and end. Each text becomes part of the previous and the next through its relationship with the audience.

Narrative convection's are series of codes and convection's that need to be considered in order to find meaning of narrative:

- Genre

- Character

- Form

- Time

Narratives do not take place in real time but may telescope out. For example an 80 year life being condensed into a two hour biopic.

We consider "the time of the thing told and the time of the telling."(Christian Metz Notes Towards a phenomenology of Narrative)

Vladmir Propp- Russian critic published his Morphology of the folk tale in 1928. He argued that all fairy tales were constructed of certain plot elements, which he called functions, and that these elements consistently occurred in a uniform sequence. Characters according to Propp, have a narrative functions; they provide a structure for the text. Soviet cinema produced excellent films.

Star wars is an example of a film that covers the Propp theory. This is an epic space opera franchise.


Characters that perform a function

The Hero- a character that seeks something. In this film Luke Skywalker is the Hero.

The Villain- who opposes or actively blocks the hero's quest. In this film Darth Star was the villain.

The Donor- who provides an object with magical properties. Obi-Wan is the donor as he gives Luke his fathers light sarbre.

The Dispatcher- who send the hero on his/ her quest via a message, Obi-Wan is the dispatcher.

The False Hero- who disrupts the hero's success by making false claims. Here is the false hero.

The Helper- who aids the hero. Han was the helper who helped Luke kill the Darth Star.

The Princess- acts as the reward for the hero and the object of the villains plot. Leia was the princess.


Her Father- who acts to reward the her for his effort. In this film there is no fater but in other films there will be. Even though there is no father, this film will still count as using Propps theory.

Actions as functions of narrative

The stages for the Propp theory are Preparation, complication, transference, struggle, return and recognition. The preparation stage is where a community or family is in an ordered state of being. The complication is where the villain harms a member of the hero's family then the hero plans action against the villain. The transference is where the hero is given a magical gift and soon arrives at the place he can fulfil his quest. The struggle is between the hero and the villain. The return is when the hero accomplishes the task and returns. Then the recognition is when the hero is rewarded.

The preparation stage of this film is when a character called Luke Skywalker is happy at home on the farm with his aunt and uncle, although he would like to go to flying school.

The complication stage of this film is while meeting Obi-Wan, the empire (under orders from Darth Vader) has killed Luke's family. The empire have also kidnapped Rincess Leia. Luke agrees to travel with Obi-Wan to rebellion and therefore revenging himself against the empire.

The transference stage of this film is when Obi-Wan gives Luke his father's light sabre and tells him he must learn the ways of the Force and become a Jedi.

The struggle stage of this film is after the fight with the Epire Luke and Han rescue Leil, Obi-Wan fights Darth Vader but is killed

The return stage of this film is when The Millennium Falcon with Luke, Leia, Han, Chewie and the Droids with Darth Star plans escape and return to the rebel base. Luke and the other pilots must destroy the Darth Star before it is in range to destroy the rebel base. Luke, with spiritual help from Obi-Wan and the force, manages to destroy the Darth Star; he is helped by Han.

The recognition stage of the film is when Luke and han are given medals for their part in destroying the Darth Star.

So these characters are important in the film because it helps us as a audience to understand the stages taking place.
Shrek 2

Identify the different characters that you see, what is the importance of these characters

Hero- Shrek is the hero in this film. He seeks too get his love of his life Fiona back. This is an important character because he is the main character and this is shown by the narrative being about him trying to get the love of his life back.

Villain- The fairy Godmother is the villain as she opposes the hero by giving King Harold a love portion to put into Princess Fiona's drink so she will fall in love with her son Prince Charming and not Shrek. So this makes the False Hero Prince Charming who is the Fairy Godmothers son as he deceives Princess Fiona to believe that he is Shrek so she falls in love with him before she sees the real Shrek. These characters are important because they  help show the obstacles the hero had to go through to get his Princess back

Dispatches- The puss in boots is the dispatcher as when he is unable to defeat Shrek he tells him to go to the Fairy Godmothers potion factory to steal a potion that he believes will restore Princess Fiona's love her him. This is an important character as he helps the hero with ideas to win back the love of his life Princess Fiona.

Princess- Princess Fiona is the Princess of the film as she is rewarded for the hero at the end of the film. This character is important because she is shown at the beginning of the film. Also she and the hero are in love.

Father- Fiona's father King Harold is protective over his daughter Fiona and will go to great lengths to make sure she has the best. This is an important character as he helps with the narrative by showing how much a father will do to save his daughter from what he thinks is the worst.

The helper- The donkey is the helper of the film as his is there to help the hero and support the hero. He is important because he is the Hero's bestfriend and they help eachother at all times.








Overall these characters are important because it sets up the narrative.

Todorov Theory

Tzvetan Todorov simplified the narrative theory allowing a more complex interpretation of film texts with his theory of equilibrium and disequilibrium. He argues that narrative involves a transformation. The character or the situation are transformed through the progress of the disruption.

There are five expected stages the narrative can progress through:
1. A state of equilibrium (All is as it should be; a calm period)
2. A disruption of that order by an event, this causes a disequilibruim.
3. A recognition that the disorder has occurred.
4. An attempt to repair the damage of the disruption
5. A return or restoration of a new equilibrruim.




An example of this is in the film The Shining. The equilibruim is reached in two ways. One is through the scenery of the mountainous terrain which doesn't seem to give much away about the story and gives the film a calm start. Secondly the colour is blue which gives a calm vibe to the film. In the rest of the film there is a disruption, but in 11:42 we see part of this disequilibruim.




Another example of Todorov's theory is in the film Misery.Before the car crash (disequilibruim) we as a audience see the character fine carrying on with his daily life.



Thriller film because if I use this then the audience will understand it more and will be use to how the film flows. But since I'm only doing an opening sequence, I wouldn’t need to worry about this because I'm only doing 2 minutes of a film.