Media theoriesVladimir Propp

Who is he?He was born April 17th 1895 he was a Russian born scholar who analysed and theorized the plots of narrative. He started by theorising folk tales and legends from various different countries. Through his lifetime he witnessed a large amount of change happening to the way in which narrative was presented. The ideas on how character roles were constructed are still relevant in many Hollywood blockbusters today.What was Propp’s Narrative Theory?Propp’s narrative theory originated through folk tales that he studied, he discovered they had simplistic plot lines. They seemed to be about the same basic problems, and the character types kept appearing. He focused on the way characters fitted to ‘Types’ apposed to individuals. He recognised 8 different character types that consistently appeared within narrative.

Hero- Who’s on a quest

Villain- The opposing foe to the hero

Donor- Character who provides a tool to the hero character

Dispatcher- Who starts the hero on his quest

False Hero- Character who tires to divert the hero from his quest

Helper- Self explanatory, helps the hero

Princess- who is the reward for the hero

Father- who rewards the hero for his efforts

8 Character types

How is Propp’s Narrative theory represented in present Narrative?

The Joker plays ‘The villain’ in the film the Dark Knight. (This character struggles with the hero normally ending up in a fight or battle) This is a very exact representation of Propp’s narrative character type ‘Villain’.‘Nick Fury’ represents the

character type ‘The dispatcher’ ( the character who invites the hero to eliminate the evil. In Avengers Assemble, he collects the hero's to fight of evil.

Robin from batman resembles ‘The Helper’ in the film he aids Batman in fighting evil

How is Propp’s Narrative theory represented within my trailer?

Lia Busy represents ‘The villain’ within my own trailer, she goes out of her way to scare and frighten the teenagers that enter the house. Celia represents the

‘Hero’ in my trailer, as she is challenged to enter the house alone. ( quest )

Kathryn represents the ‘Dispatcher’ within my trailer as she encourages the hero (Celia) to enter the house

Tzvetan Todorov’s narrative theoryTodorov proposed that all narrative whether it be plays, books, files ect.. Contain five fundamental stages in the order below.

1. A stage of equilibrium ( all is as it should be )

2. A disruption of that order by an event

3. A recognition that the disorder has occurred

4. An attempt to repair the damage of the disruption

5. A return or restoration of a NEW equilibrium ( it does not have to be the same old system)

In these stages, narrative is not seen as a linear structure but a circular one.The narrative is driven by attempts to restore equilibrium. However, the equilibrium attained at the end of the story is not identical to the initial 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. In my trailer it is clear that stage two of the narrative theory takes place when Celia enters the house. Also when the two girls try to find Celia stage 4 of Todorov’s narrative theory is apparent.This type of narrative structure is very familiar to us and can be applied to many ‘Mainstream’ film narratives

Roland Barthes Codes Theory

Roland Barthes describes a text as ‘a galaxy of signifiers, not a structure of signifieds; it has no beginning; it is reversible; we gain access to it by several entrances, none of which can be authoritatively declared to be the main one; the codes it mobilizes extend as far as the eye can read, they are indeterminable…’

What Barthes meant was that the text is like a ball of thread. The thread needs to be unraveled. Once unraveled, we encounter an wide range of potential meanings. We can start by looking at narrative in one way from a particular viewpoint, one set of previous experience, and create one meaning for that text.You can continue by unraveling the narrative from a different angle and create a entirely different meaning,

The five codes

The Hermeneutic Code- This is the way a story avoids telling and revealing all the facts, in order to drop clues to help create mystery My film trailer does this as the villain ( the mother) is present within the film however the audience do not understand why she is looking for her childThe Enigma Code- This code is the way tension is built up and how the audience are left guessing what will happen next. This is a vital code when it comes to the horror genre as keeping people in suspense creates entertainment. I think I have done this well as I have used sound such as the heartbeat along side fast paced shots.

The Semantic code- The semantic code points to any element in a text that suggests an additional meaning by way of connotation which the story suggests. In my trailer I have used a abandoned and isolated location this immediately connotes danger it is associated with the horror genre. Also the dark and low key lighting suggests danger and the genre of the film. As it’s a popular convention of horror films as it prepares the audience for a traumatic and scary event.The cultural code- This code looks at the audiences wider cultural knowledge, morality and ideology. The cultural codes mostly point out our shared knowledge about the way the world works. For example we know that three young teenage girls are seen as ‘weak’ as they may not be able to handle things as well as other people can creating this vulnerability and wider knowledge.

The symbolic Code- Similar to the semantic code however the symbolic code acts at a wider level, organizing semantic meanings into greater depth of meaning. This code is to do with the symbolism within the text. It usually means the opposites show contrast and create greater meaning. For example The costume of the main character and villain lia is a white dress this is usually associated with innocence however this ideology is completely subverted by the characters actions.

Claude Levi Strauss

Claude Levi Strauss studied hundreds of myths and legends all around the world, from that he found out that we as humans make sense of the world, people and events by seeing and using binary opposites.He found out that narratives are arranged around the conflict of Binary oppositesIn the mid 20th century, two major european academic thinkers Claude Levis Strauss and Roland Barthes, came together and discovered the way in which we understand words does not depend so much on their meaning but more by our understanding between the word and its ‘opposite’ or, as they called it ‘Binary opposite’

Examples of Binary opposites

Good vs EvilBoy vs GirlPeace vs WarMan vs natureYoung vs Old

I have used binary opposition within my trailer as there are good characters vs the evil character.