Narrative

Narrative structure in a film that tells a fictional or fictionalised story. The use of believable characters and narratives help to convince the audience that the story is real. Narratives unfold in an ordered series of events connected by the logic of cause and effect which then ties together character traits, goals and obstacles.

Comedy- In a comedy film the narrative structure tends to go;

-Introduction of main characters

-disruption of normal setting (often through a villain that has something the protagonists wants) 

-characters try and resolve this disruption

-this disruption gets worse due to the characters action in trying to fix it 

-the disruption get resolved (protagonist gets what they want

-often there is a happy ending where everything is fixed   

Horror- In a horror film the narrative structure tends to go;

-Introduction of main characters

-characters venture towards a dangerous setting

-something bad occurs, often causing death or injuries 

-the remaining characters continue on, fighting the supernatural force 

-a showdown occurs between the supernatural force and the main protagonist of the film

-order is either restored or the supernatural force is still there leaving the audience with many questions

Action- In action films the narrative structure tends to go;

-introduction of the main character (often a hero/heroine)

-something occurs which the main character has to resolve 

-introduction of villain

-antagonist attempts to resolve the situation

-the situation doesn't get resolved and the hero/heroine loses hope

-hero/heroine regains hope and fights against the villain

-The main character resolves the issues, though often you see at the end of the film something that suggests that the conflict isn't entirely resolved 

Drama- In a drama film the narrative structure tends to go;

-Introduction of the main character 

-we discover their dilemma/what they desire 

-they attempt to resolve this issue/obtain what they want 

-there comes a climax where in most cases the issue is either resolved but there is a twist or the main character hits a road block 

- Everything is restored and the main character sometimes gets their happy ending  

Romance- In a romance film the narrative structure tends to go;

-introduction of main character 

-introduction of potential love interest

-events occur where the character realise they would be a perfect match 

-circumstance occur which keep them apart 

-the problem is overcome and they are either able/not able to be together

Vladimir Propp's narrative theory

 

Vladimir Propp analyses Russian folk tales in the 1920's and discovered a constant framework among them. He defined the characters into eight main categories:

-The villain - struggles with the hero 

-The donor - prepares the hero for their quest 

-The helper - helps the hero through their quest 

-The princess - they often exist as the goal and end up marrying the hero at the end of the film

-The dispatcher - the one who sends the hero on the quest  

-The hero - the one who departs on the quest for the princess 

-The false hero - a character who often acts like a hero but actually isn't.

Todorov's narrative theory

Todorov's theory suggested that every film followed the same narrative pattern. They were all believed to follow the same five stages which consisted of;

-Equilibrium

-A Disruption

-Realisation 

-Restored Order 

-Equilibrium again

The first stage of film, (equilibrium) will often display a happy start where most of the characters are content and there is order about. The second stage, (a disruption) will show a problem or disruption of happiness towards the main character. The third stage, (realisation) is when all the characters discover the problem and chaos breaks out. The next stage, (restored order) is when the characters try to fix the problem and restore the order. The final stage, (equilibrium again) is when the problem is resolved and normality is restored. 

Roland Barthes narrative theory

 

He was a French literary theorist, philosopher, critic and semioticaion. He believed that there were five codes that were incorporated into any narrative;

-The Hemeneitic Code-The way the story avoids telling the truth or the facts to create mystery  

-The Proaietic Code-The way tension is built up  

-The semantic Code-Elements of a text which suggest a particular, often additional meaning  

-The Symbolic Code-Organising semantic meanings into broader and deeper sets of meanings 

-The Culture Code-Looks at the audience’s wider cultural knowledge, morality and ideology

Claude Levi-Stefrauss

 

He was a social anthropologist who studied myths of tribal cultures. He explored how stories unconsciously reflect the values beliefs and myths of a culture. These were usually expressed in 'binary oppositions' which is when words reflect a symbol for society's ideas, and to understand the meaning you just need to understand the opposite of the word.