Narrative Theory

Narrative is the way in which a story is told in both fictional and non-fictional media texts. It is the basis of all films and TV shows, and over the years there has been various theories that have been put forward by people that believe in differing ways on how to tell a story. These people can be labelled as 'narrative theorists'. In this post I will be looking at the different narrative theories and seeing their uses in film. 

Theory 1 - Vladmir Propp :

Propp was a Russian critic and literary theorist. This man analysed over 100 Russian fairytales in 1920s and this deepened his understanding of the ways in which stories are told; this would aid Propp in the development of his own ideas on narrative theory. Propp believed that it was possible to classify the characters and their actions into clearly defined roles and functions. Propp believes that these are the roles that should be filled by characters:

• The hero - A character seeking to save something/someone or discover something.
• The villain - A character who opposes the hero and attempts to stop him/her.
• The donor - Someone who aids the hero with advice or a magic object. 
• The dispatcher - This character sends the hero on the 'mission'.
• The false hero - Someone who falsely assumes the role of the hero.
• The helper - Someone who sticks by the hero and assists him/her.
• The princess - The 'reward' for the hero. She often needs protection against villian.
• The princess's father - The typical father who cares for the princess when she is in need. 

Films that fit in with Propp's theory include Star Wars. However, there are some films that defy it completely, Tarantino's 'Pulp Fiction' being a prime example.

Theory 2 - Roland Barthes 

Roland Barthes was a French semiologist, someone who studies signs and symbols and their use or interpretation. Barthes suggested that narrative works five different codes which activate the reader to make sense of it. Below are Barthes' codes:

• Action - A narrative device by which a resolution is produced through action.
• Enigma - This teases the audience by presenting a puzzle or riddle to be solved. This often works to delay the story's ending. 
• Symoblic - Connotation to a story or a moral.
• Semic - An opposite against a story or a moral. 
• Cultural - A narrative device which the audience can recognise as being part of a culture.

Theory 3 - Claude Levi-Strauss

Claude Levi-Strauss was a social anthropologist, someone who studies the following aspects of human kind: the comparative study of human societies and cultures (and their development) and the science of human zoology, evolution and ecology. This man examined how stories unconsciously reflect the values, beliefs and myths of a culture. Levi-Strauss believed that stories are usually expressed in the form of 'binary opposites'.So what are these binary opposites? They are a conflict between two qualities or terms, for example in a Western films you have these binary opposites: 

• Homesteads // Native Americans
• Christians // Pagans
• Domestic // Savage
• Weak // Strong
• Garden // Wilderness
• Guns // Bow and arrows

In action films you would have these binary opposites:

• Secret service (e.g MI5) // Criminal organisation
• Secret agent // Criminal ringleader

THIS LIST COULD GO ON FOR A VERY LONG TIME... (lets move on)

Theory 4 - Tzvetan Todorov 

Todorov was a Bulgarian literary theorist who believed that most narratives start with a state of equilibrium, a state in which life is normal and the protagonist is happy. Then, this state of normality is disrupted by an outside force, which has to be fought against in order to return to state of equilibrium once again. Most love films use this way of telling a story. For example a man and a woman meet, then something splits them up, and then in the end they get back together. 

THE MAN (Todorov)