Narrative Theory
In media terms , narrative is the coherence organisation given to a series of facts.
The human mind needs narrative to make sense of things.
In everything we seek a beginning,middle and an end, we relate and understand things with our experience of reality and previous texts, each text becomes part of the previous and the next through its relationship with the audience
-message
-structured (BM) Non-chronological , non-linear
-Characters affect on the narrative
Propp's theory
Vladimir Propp discovered a number of things of Russian folk tales and thought that most of the same events kept repeating in each of the stories, creating a redundant consistency in all folk tales.A Russian arctic active in 1920's published his Morphology of folks tale in 1928.
Folk tales were similar in many areas, they appeared to have stock characters.
According to Propp, characters have a narrative function;they provide a structure for the text
Characters that perform a function.
The Hero; Normally the main character(protagonist) of the narrative that is on a quest to fulfill
to get some sort of reward afterwards.Mainly males back then as they come across as strong, brave but nowadays you might see a female as the main character(protagonist) in some fairy tales that challenge the stereotypical of males being the hero in every fairy tale.
The Villain; Usually the main character (antagonist)that tries to stop the hero from succeeding in quest. The villain typically is morally bad and sometimes shows the goodness in the hero as they come across as morally good and protecting others.Sometimes the they might want the hereon for themselves also the villain can be both male or female depending on the story line.
The Donor; helps the protagonist by providing objects(magical weapons) that they can use to defeat the antagonist or just give them just a wise speech. Their role can also be combined with the helper role.
The Dispatcher; its the character that usually sends the hero on a quest , this character can be a family member or a close friend or even the princess's father in order to gain the hands of the princess and for the king to except him. This role also combines with the false hero who tries to trick the hero in to doing something.
The false hero- Is the character that disrupts the hero's success by making false claims.Also tries to steal the hero's role , by wanting to marry the princess,controlling her father and can easily get mistaken for the real hero.
The helper- Helps out the hero on his quest by finding out information or things he might need in order to complete it.
The Princess- Acts as a reward to the hero, when he completes his mission.The princess might not appear much in the story unless she goes on the quest with the hero and falls in love with how brave he is and his charming looks.The princess may fall for the false hero and as audience we might get annoyed.
The princess's father - who acts to reward the hero for his effort ,plays a big part in the story too as he is very protective of his daughter (princess)
Actions as functions of Narrative.
Preparation.
A community/kingdom/family is in an ordered state of being.
A member of the community/kingdom/family leaves home.
A warning is given to the leaders of the community or rule is imposed on the hero.
The warning is discounted/the rule is broken.
The villain attempts to discovers something about the victim of the broken rule.
The villain tries to deceive the victim to gain advantage.
The victim unwittingly helps the villain.
Complication
A state of disorder.
The villain harms a member of the community/kingdom/family.
One of the members of the community/kingdom/family desire something.
The Hero is sent to get what is desired.
The hero plans action against the villain.
Transference
The hero leaves home.
The hero is given a test or attracted/he meets the test and is given a magical gift or a helper
The hero reacts to the donor.
The hero arrives at the place where he can fulfill his quest.
Struggles
There is a struggle between the hero and the villain.
The hero is branded.
The villain is overcome.
The state of disorder is settled.
Return
The hero returns.
The hero is pursued.
The hero escapes or is rescued.
The hero arrives home and is not recognized.
A false hero claims the reward.
A task is set for the hero.
The task is accomplished.
Recognition
The hero is recognized.
The false hero is unmasked.
The false hero is punished.
The hero attains the reward (the princess and the kingdom).
CRITICISMS
Propp's theories seems to be that the hero is always a male ,never the other way round and the problem with his theory is that it only applies to fairy tales and not all narratives.
Todorov theory on narrative
Todorov
suggested that stories begin with an equilibrium or status quo where any
potential opposing forces are in balance. There are events, setting in chain a
series of events. Problems are solved so that order can be restored and the
order of the narrative continues. It consists of five stages.
- A state of
Equilibrium (all as it should be)
- A
disruption of that order by an event.
- A
recognition that the disorder has occurred.
- An attempt
to repair the damage of the disruption
- A return or
restoration of a new equilibrium.
Narrative is
not seen as a linear structure but a circular one. The narrative is driven by
attempts to restore the equilibrium. Todorov argues that narrative involves a
transformation. The characters or the situations are transformed through the
progress of the disruption. The disruption itself usually takes place outside
the normal social framework, outside the ‘normal’ social events.
Aristotle
Aristotle theory is based on themes and here are some of the themes;
Aristotle theory is based on themes and here are some of the themes;
Inciting
Incident
Dramatic
Question
Character
Goal
Antagonist/Protagonist
Stakes
Resolution
Sympathy/Empathy
Aristotle's literary criticism is probably most famous for the "unities": time, place, and action. Aristotle's most complete analysis is of 'tragedy', which is arguably the basis of most 'serious drama'.
Subversion of narrative structure
-Challenge viewers expectations
-Twist in the plot
-Plot device to ensure understanding
-Maintain audience engagement
-Reflecting reality
-Character engagement
-Stand out from other film.
Overall looking at different narrative theory gave me ideas in which narrative theory i will be following.Based on what i learned i'm going to be following Todorov's theory because my narrative starts of everything fine then that's when the disruption happens.
Well done Yasmin, some good research here on the different narrative therioes. You provide a good insight into Propp, Todorov and Aristotle and provide examples.
ReplyDeleteTo improve;
-be more thriller specific in your analysis.
-where you provide examples for Propp's ideas on characters, apply these to thrillers
-before you conclude, state the structure/s that thrillers tend to use and refer to examples
-in your conclusion, where you state that you will use Todorov's theory, be more descriptive and analytical here.