Narrative Theory

The definition of narrative in media terminology would be; the way events are put together to be presented to the audience. Meaning the way certain things are put together to make up the plot, which initially is the narrative. There are 4 different theories and that is what we are going to discuss.

Todorov

He came up with the idea of having a 3 part structure. Equilibrium (where everything seems to be normal), disequilibrium (where normal unbalanced) and New Equilibrium (where normality is restored). This 3 part structure can also be described as the beginning, middle and the end. Majority of films and stories go with this structure.

Syd Field

This man is said to be the "guru of screenwriters", his theory is based on all films follow 3 acts.

[ACT 1] Plot Point 1 - Approximately 20-30 minutes in, there would be a setup and the film tends to pick up from there

[ACT 2] Midpoint - Half way through the film. This is the first half of Act 2 and the dramatic content is emerging.

[ACT 2] Plot Point 2 - Approximately 80-90 minutes in. This is the second half of Act 2 and there is a lot of dramatic content.

[ACT 3] Climax - Towards the end of the film. This is where the new equilibrium would occur.

Vladimir Propp

Vladimir analysed basic components of the plot in folk tales. He then came to a conclusion and construed a list of 31 function as well as 8 character types that tend to appear in all films or stories. Those character types are:

Hero - Leads the narrative and tend to be looking for something.

Villain - Has a conflict with the hero and tries to stop them succeeding with there quest/mission.

Donor - Helps the hero by giving them something to complete "their quest"

Princess - A prize or reward the hero is after. Could be anything not necessarily a human.
Helper - Helps the hero, is known to be the sidekick.
Princesses Father - The authority figure who offers the reward for the completion of the quest
False Hero - One who takes credit for the heros actions

Dispatcher - Sends the hero to start the original quest.

A character can be more then 1 character type, there do not have to be 8 different characters to suit each specific type.

Claude Levi-Strauss

He came up with something called the binary opposition. He examines how stories unconsciously reflect values, beliefs and myths of cultures. This is known to be called the binary opposition (against two sides). Each individual movies has a contrast, an example such as the fight good vs evil. So his research was adapted by media theorists to see if there is a link between films and the binary opposition. 

Roland Barthes

Ronald was a french semiologist and he suggested that a narrative works with 5 different codes which active the reader to make sense of it. These 5 codes are;

Action - A narrative device by which a resolution is produce through action e.g a shoot out

Enigma - A narrative device that teases the audience by presenting a puzzle or riddle to be solved. Almost like a mystery.

Symbolic - Connotations associated with selected symbols

Semantic - Denotations that are associated with the narrative.

Cultural - A narrative device where the audience can recognise as being part of a culture e.g a "made man" in a gangster film where it is a part of the mafia culture.