Assignment 15: Narrative Theory

Patrycia ButrymEsere Simei-Akajagbo

Shivonne WeekesCourtney Buabeng

Todorov’s Theory

Equilibrium

Recognition Disequilibrium

Attempt to repair Equilibrium

New Equilibrium

Disequilibrium

• Equilibrium is challenged

•The narrative isn't in chronological order

•Therefore it doesn't relax the audience

•It causes frustration- audience are confused

•Has two time lines: One in colour & black and white- reveals present time or reversed time

•Purpose- to experience what the main character experiences

•Encourages the audience to feel sympathy as he cant make create new long term memories

By Esere & Shivonne

• The character founds out who kills his wife. He going to do something about it .

• Purpose - to show he has realised something even though he has short-term memory loss.

• It encourages the audience to believe he is going to remember and going to get revenge.

• He gets revenger on the killer of his wife.

• Purpose – to know that he is at piece.

• This encourages the audience to be relieved and know he is at rest.

• Does he remembered that he killed him.

• Purpose - its not in chronological order to show that he might forget that he killed the murder of his wife.

• It encourages the audience to be confused and leaves a cliff-hanger.

Film: Memento (2000)

Genre Film Examples

Sci-Fi The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

Drama Kidulthood

Romance The Notebook

Action Fast and Furious 6

Levi-Strauss TheoryBy Patrycia & Courtney

Film Opposite 1 Opposite 2 Explanation

“Memento”

Leonard Shelby, a man who is suffering from short-term memory loss, uses notes and tattoos to hunt for the man he thinks killed his wife.

Teddy is a manipulative thief who takes the advantage of Leonardo’s amnesia to direct him away from killing him for the murder of Leonardo’s wife.

Teddy and Leonardo are opposites as Teddy is conveyed as an“ evil”, deceitful robber who rapes and kills Leonardo’s wife. Whereas, Leonardo is seen as the “good” character who merely hunts the man who he believes kill his wife.

Levi-Strauss’s theory is that the world in itself is described in binary opposites. As they provide narrative structure, it is noticeable that there cannot be any story without it’s opposite.

Over the years, the use of binary opposites have developed and is much harder to recognise in films. Horror films are the main type of genre which use the binary opposition in order to define the difference between the word “good” and the opposing word “evil.”

Barthes Theory

Enigma Code ExampleCrime Thriller

Side Effects It is mystery based, because at the start of the film it makes the audience question:

•Why is she sleepwalking?

•Why does she need to take drugs?

•Why was he released from prison?

Esere

Action Code ExampleCrime Thriller

Panic Room Action:•Burglars break in looking for money

•Mum and daughter make it to the safe room- the panic room

Assumptions:•Panic room- is where the money is•The mum sacrifices herself for her daughters safety

Esere

Semantic Code Example

COLOURLEARN FROM EXPERIENCE

ICONOGRAPHY

Colour: Black ‘Black Rain’ Thriller

Suit and tie with gloves. Funeral hat- Grief and respect.

Police uniform- Authority and honour.Black leather jacket

and glasses- Power, negativity and mystery.

‘Death At A Funeral’ Comedy ‘Police Academy’

Crime/Comedy

Courtney

Learn From Experience

Villain-Portrayed as sinister and disturbed, who causes disruption and threaten the safety of the Heroine.

Heroine- Presented as the most in danger and inert from being threatened by the villain and in need of rescue from the hero.

Hero- Strong, attractive and independent. Always on quest to solve disequilibrium and has good intentions.

False Hero- Distracts Hero from mission and pretends to be on side with Hero but deceives him. Initially, they aren’t suspected until little clues reveal them.

Courtney

Iconography

Iconographic features such as helicopters, explosions and weapons have clear connotations and meanings to the audience for them to recognise the genre of the film.

Weapons/Violence + Explosions = Action.

Courtney

Symbolic Code Example

‘CHEAPEN BY THE DOZEN’

OPPOSITES: YOUNG AND OLD

‘Young’ Example

•The young people are rendered as bothersome and up to no good. •They work as a team to cause trouble, whether intentionally or accidently.

•Are associated with causing mess and disruption as well as fast pace sounds and music, and are deemed as the perpetrators despite of their age.

•They are out of control and are free to do what pleases them without much consequence.

•They are always joking around and doing pranks.•They’re badness is associated with something dark and sinister. •Mostly shown indoors

Courtney

‘Old’ Example

•The parents who are mature and adults are seen as the victims and suffer the destruction of the children’s actions and decisions.

•No matter what, have the responsibility of caring for the kids regardless of how troublesome they are. (E.g. Providing food.)

•They are often showed outside, representing their need for freedom.• The mother-Takes things seriously and are burdened with worries.

Courtney

Cultural Code Example

• Often the text relates to things in popular culture or historical events.

• An example of this would be “The Godfather”: Family, Guns, drugs, drug dealers, revenge, the location such as Las Vegas, New York and houses, and cars

Shivonne

Propp’s Theory

Hero

Mulan A Disney animation- ‘Mulan’ shows:•Anyone can be a hero•It doesn’t matter about your age, gender, size or race•Here the protagonist is a woman: brave and a skilled fighter- stereotypes are challenged•Who is on a quest to save her town

Esere

Villain

The Little Mermaid A Disney animation- ‘The Little Mermaid’ shows:• The villain is a sea witch called Ursula•She's a very dark and sinister villain- with a sense of humour

•Whose aim is to disrupt Ariel's life

Esere

Black and purple- connotes with danger, mystery and darkness

Dispatcher • Dispatcher is the one that usually helps the

hero on its way.• It is often the father or the helper of the

father.• He/she send the hero off to prove he can win

his worth.• An example is ‘avengers assemble’

Shivonne

Donor

The grandmother in ‘Cinderella’ advices and gives Cinderella

magical tools to help her with her

journey to the ball.

Courtney

Helper

Jackie Chan in ‘Rush Hour’ is Chris Rock’s helper who assists Chris on his mission to restoring the disequilibrium and saving a little girl who gets kidnapped.

Courtney

Heroine

In ‘2 Guns’ the heroine is kidnapped and threatened to be killed by the villains. She is passive and is forced to wait on the Hero to rescue her from her status quo.

Courtney

False Hero

Aladdin

Esere

A Disney animation- ‘Aladdin’ shows:• The false hero is Jafar

•His aim is to rule Agrabah

•Jafar tricks and manipulate Aladdin to leave the kingdom to retrieve a lamp so he could rule and be in charge

Black and purple- connotes with danger, mystery and darkness

Other Terms

Diegesis

The diegesis of ‘Les Miserables’ is created from the French Revolution which is an

event that occur in reality. The characters, props and setting of the internal world is

created to show what the French people of that time experienced.

Courtney

Narrative RangeEsere

Unrestricted Narration

Man On A Ledge ‘Man On A Ledge’:• Creates tension

•Ex-cop threatens to jump of a ledge

•The unrestricted narratives makes the enigmas unclear- the audience expect certain conventions to happen as at the start the man wants to jump off

•It distracts the audience from the bigger picture

Narrative RangeRestricted Narration

Black Swan ‘Black Swan’:• Provides viewers with Nina’s perspective

•The restricted narrative creates little enigmas

•The title ‘Black Swan’- is revealed by the enigmas• Creates suspense

Esere

Narrative Depth

• Objective Character Identification:• This is when the audience is given contact with

the characters point of views such as dreams, fantasies and memories. An example of this is ‘127 hours’ and ‘The Godfather’

• Subjective Character Identification:• This is when the audience is given contact what

a range of characters see and do. An example of this is ‘limitless’ and ‘Premium Rush’

Shivonne

Cameron’s TheoryModular Narratives

Forking Path

• The forking path is a narrative that shows possible outcomes that can occur from small changes in single events. This introduces a numerous of plotlines which usually challenges one another.

• For example – ‘Final Destination 5’

Shivonne

Forking Path Shivonne

Shivonne

• This is an collection of multiple stories. It is organised in two ways :

-Narrative Anthology...Consists a series of shorter tales which are disconnected however they share a random similarity.

EXAMPLES: Different episodes but all of them contain survivors of a shipwreck.

-Abstract...This is characterized by the operation of a non-narrative formal system which appears to question the organization of narrative elements

EXAMPLES: A range of sequences of the alphabet & numbers

Example: LOST

Example: Momento

EpisodicPatrycia

Anachronic

‘Final Destination’ consists of flash-forward's into future events and is later on revealed how that predicted event will pan

out.

Courtney

Modular NarrativeSplit Screen

Scott Pilgram vs The World ‘Scott Pilgram vs The World’:

• Split screen- shows actions/events are happening at the same time

•In this case, its expressing the same emotion: the action are the same.

Esere