Wednesday, 18 April 2018

Unit 1: Narrative

A narrative is the way that stories get told. Books, songs, pens, cave paintings! There is a beginning, middle and end. 

In terms of film, the story is the events that happen, the narrative is the way the story is told. For example: when a film has a plot twist, this is where something in the story is withheld until a certain point for effect. 

Two completely different films could be made about the same story because of difference in narrative. Example: 100s of films about World War 2. Same thing, portrayed differently, because of narrative.

Linear narratives present stories in a logical manner. Non-Linear may be where events or portrayed in a non-chronological manor (flashbacks etc). 


Torodov is theorist who studied narrative, he said you could break all narrative into 5 sections:

1) Equilibrium (everything is balance, normal - calm before storm). 

2) Disruption (The point where story changes such as death, event, situation).

3) Recognition (of disruption). 

4) Repair (of disruption). 

5) Restoration of a new Equilibrium (order is restored, it may be new order, different from beginning).


Propp is another theorist who had his own ideas about narrative


  • He discovered that there were similarities in the stories of thousand Russian folk stories. 
    • Villain - struggles with hero [ATB - Villains/Hi-Hatz].
    • Donor - Prepares and provides the hero with a magical agent [ATB - Samantha?].
    • Helper - assists, rescues, solves and/or transfigures the hero [ATB - rest of gang?].
    • Princess - a person who exists as a goal for hero who often marries hero/punishes villain. 
    • Dispatcher - sends off hero. 
    • Hero - departs on a search (seeker-hero), reacts to donor and weds at end [ATB - Moses, his tansformation/quest].
    • False Hero - claims to be a hero, often seeking and reacting to real hero [ATB - N/A].

Strauss is another theorist. Idea of binary oppositions in film, e.g:

  • Good vs Evil
  • Boy vs Girl
  • Peace vs War
  • Democracy vs Dictatorship
  • Domestic vs Foreign/Allien
  • Young vs Old
  • Man vs Women
  • East vs West
  • Humanity vs Technology
  • Action vs Inaction
  • Ignorance vs Wisdom
  • Doing Right vs Doing Wrong
  • etc...

Architypes - recurring character types

  • Hero
  • Shawdow
  • Outcast
  • Devil
  • Mother Nature



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