2. Narrative theory studies the devices and conventions governing
the organisation of a story (fictional or factual) into a text. Most
of the media we consume is in the form of narratives, texts that
tell a story. Even factual texts employ story methods. E.g. News
‘Stories’. Even when dealing with fact the media recreate a
narrative.
We approach most media texts with certain expectations more
fundamental than our genre expectations. For example we
expect;
• The opening to give us information about who, what and
where
• There to be characters who interact with each other
• To see a series of incidents, which are connected with
each other
• Problems and/or conflicts
• The ending to resolve the action or cast new light on what
has happened
The following pages will detail narrative theorists:
3. Tzvetan Todorov
(Bulgarian structuralist linguist publishing influential work on narrative from
the 1960s onwards)
Todorov suggested that some stories
begin with an equilibrium or status quo
where any potentially opposing forces
are in balance. This is disrupted by some
events, setting in chain a series of events.
Problems solved so that order can be
restored to the world of fiction. The
“classic Hollywood” or “classic realist”
narrative structure is based on Todorovs
ideas, where an equilibrium is set up
which is the disrupted, causing
disequilibrium, which is resolved into a
new equilibrium by the end of the story.
4. Vladimir Propp
(A Russian critic who examined 100s of examples of folk tales to see if they shared any
structures. His book on this “Morphology of the Folk Tale” was published in 1928)
Propp looked at 100s of folk tales and identified 8 character roles and 31 narrative functions. The 8 character
roles are:
1. The Villain(s)
2. The hero
3. The donor – who provides an object with some magic property
4. The helper who aids the hero
5. The princess (The sought for person) – reward for the hero and the object of the villains schemes.
6. Her father – who rewards the hero
7. The dispatcher – who sends the hero on his way
8. The false hero
A rough outline of the narrative structure is as follows:
• Preparation: A community/kingdom/family is in an ordered state of being, a member of the
community/kingdom/family leaves home, a warning is given to the leaders of the community or a rule is
imposed on the hero, the warning is discounted/the rule is broken, the villain attempts to discover
something about the victim or the broken rule, the villain tries to deceive the victim to gain advantage, the
victim unwittingly helps the villain
• Complication: A state of disorder, the villain harms a member of the community/kingdom/family one of
the members of the community/kingdom/family desires something, the hero is sent to get what is
desired, the hero plans action against the villain.
• Transference: The hero leaves home, the hero is tested or attacked, he meets the test and is given a magical
gift or helper, the hero reacts to the donor, the hero arrives at the place he can fulfil his quest.
• Struggle: There is a struggle between hero and the villain, the hero is branded, the villain is over4come, the
state of disorder is settled.
• Return: The hero returns, the hero is pursued, the hero escaped or is rescued, the hero arrives home and is
not recognised, a false hero claims the rewards, a take is set for the hero, the task is accomplished.
• Recognition: The hero is recognised, the false hero or villain is unmasked, the false hero is punished, the
hero attains the reward (princess/kingdom)
5. Levi-Strauss
Levi-strauss is a theorist who looked at narrative structure in terms of binary oppositions.
Binary oppositions are sets of opposite values which reveal the structure of media texts.
Examples of binary opposites he studied are:
• Good/Evil
• Normal/Abnormal
• Past/Present
• Known/Unknown
• Earth/Space
• Humans/Aliens
• Natural/Supernatural
Bordwell and Thompson
Bordwell and Thompson defined narrative as “a chain of events in a cause-effect
relationship, occurring in time and space”. Although they didn’t create a full narrative theory
they did, however, come up with interesting ideas. Such as; narrative typically begins with one
situation, moving on to a series of changes occurring according to a pattern of cause and effect;
finally ending with a new situation arising that brings the end of the narrative. They also
suggested that narrative shapes materiel in terms of time and space, using technical
techniques to manipulate our awareness of time and space; e.g. flashbacks, replays of
action, slow motion, speeding up and jumping between places and times, all of which give the
audience and characters within the film a sense of confusion about time within the film.
