Narrative Theory

Narrative - the way in which a story is told in both fictional and non-fictional media texts

Vladimir Propp -

• Russian critic and literary theorist
• Analysed over 100 Russian fairy tales in the 1920's
• Proposed it was easy to classify the characters and their actions into clearly defined roles and functions

      Character roles -

• The hero (seeks something)
• The villain (opposes the hero)
• The donor (helps the hero by pointing out a magic object)
• The dispatcher (sends the hero on his way)
• The false hero (falsely assuming the role of hero)
• The helper (gives support to the hero)
• The princess (the reward for the hero, but also need protection from the villain) 
• Her father

Tzvetan Todorov - 

• Bulgarian literary theorist
• Suggest most narratives starts with a state of equilibrium in which life is 'normal' and protagonists are happy
• This state of equilibrium is disrupted by an outside force, which has to be fought against in order to return to normality 
• Can be applied to a range of films

Roland Barthes -

• French semiologist
• Suggested that narrative works with five different codes to make sense to the audience 

      Barthes Codes -

• Action - A narrative device by which a revolution is produced through action e.g a shoot out
• Enigma - A narrative device that teases the audience by presenting a puzzle or riddle to be solved. Works to delay the story's ending pleasurably
• Symbolic (connotation)
• Semic (denotation)
• Cultural - A narrative device which the audience can recognise as being part of a culture

Claude Levi Strauss -

• Social Anthropologist
• Studied myths of tribal cultures
• Examined how stories unconsciously reflect the values, beliefs and myths of a culture
• These are usually expressed in the form of binary oppositions
• His research has been adapted by media theorists reveal underlying themes and binary oppositions

     Binary Oppositions

• A conflict between two qualities or terms
• E.g  1970's western films: 

                      Homesteaders                                             Native Americans
                      Christian                                                      Pagans
                      Domestic                                                     Savage
                      Weak                                                          Strong
                      Garden                                                        Wilderness
                      Inside Society                                              Outside Society