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1. SECTION A – Narrative Theory
Question 1B
Definitions
o Narrative is defined as “a chain of events in a cause-effect relationship
occurring in time”
o Narrative is ‘a way of organising spatial and temporal events into a cause-
effect chain of events with a beginning, a middle and end that embodies a
judgement about the nature of events.
o Narrative theory analyses the way in which media texts communicate meaning about
events.
o Narrative theory can be applied to range of different media including film, TV.
Photographs, and magazines.
o Narrative analysis of internet based media is more problematic, though may still be
relevant. For example, you could consider how someone’s Facebook profile creates
a narrative about their life.
Edward Branigan (1992)
o Branigan argues that narrative is ‘a way of organising spatial and temporal data
into a cause-effect chain of events with a beginning, a middle and end that
embodies a judgement about the nature of events.’
o Branigan’s key point is that the narrative will embody a judgement – ideology and
narrative.

2. SECTION A – Narrative Theory
Question 1B
Vladimir Propp (1928)
o Propp was a Russian theorist who suggests that there are a limited number of
character types that share a function.
o When an audience reads a media text it deploys its knowledge of these character
types in order to decode the meaning of the text.
o 1. The villain
o 2. The hero, or character who seeks something
o 3. The donor, who prov ides an object with some magic property .
o 4. The helper, who aids the hero.
o 5. The princess, reward f or the hero, and object of the v illain’s schemes (can be male)
o 6. Her father, who rewards the hero.
o 7. The dispatcher, who sends the hero on his way .
o 8. The false hero, the character who also lay s claim to the princess but is unsuitable and causes complications.
Tzvetan Todorov (1969)

3. SECTION A – Narrative Theory
Roland Barthes (1960s)
o Roland Barthes' narrativ e theory claims that a narrativ e can be broken down into f iv e codes or sets of rules to help the reader
make sense of it.
o He emphasises the activ e role of readers in creating meaning, and their ‘culturally f ormed expectations’.
The 5 codes:
o Action code which ref ers to the ev ents taking place through action e.g. a f ight or a chase
o Referential code which ref ers to the inf ormation and explanation
o Semantic code which ref ers to the characters and characterisation
o Enigma code which is a narrativ e dev ice that teases the audience by presenting a puzzle or riddle to be solv ed. Works to delay
the story ’s ending pleasurably .
o Symbolic code which ref ers to the connotations of signs
Claude Levi-Strauss (1972)
o Social Anthropologist.
o Studied my ths of tribal cultures.
o Examined how stories unconsciously ref lect the v alues, belief s and my ths of a culture.
o These are usually expressed in the f orm of binary oppositions.
o His research has been adapted by theorists to rev eal underly ing themes and sy mbolic oppositions in texts.
o A conf lict between two qualities or terms.
o For example in f airy tales:
The Good The Bad
Christian (kings queens etc) pagan (witches)
Domestic savage
Weak princesses strong wrong doers
Safe castles dark wilderness forests
Pretty ugly
Innocent devious

4. SECTION A – Narrative Theory
Allan Cameron: Modular Narratives (2008)
Since the early 1990s there has been a trend towards narrative complexity within
Popular cinema.
Anachronic:
Modified flashbacks/flashforwards
No clear dominance between narrative threads
Forking-Path
Alternative versions ofthe story
Outcomes thatmightresultfrom slightchanges
Episodic
Collection ofstories joined bya common theme
Split Screen
Spatial rather than temporal lines
Post Narratives
o Some theorists suggest that postmodern narratives are different from previous
narrative structures.
o Characteristics of postmodern narratives include:
o Irony, playfulness, and black humour
o Intertextuality
o Pastiche
o Metanarratives
o Extreme self-reflexivity/self-awareness
o Temporal distortion
o Hyperreality

5. SECTION A – Narrative Theory
Postmodern Approach – Pastiche
o Frederic Jameson argues that postmodern texts are characterised by pastiche.
o A pastiche is an imitation of another genre or text.
o Jameson argues that "Pastiche is...the imitation of a peculiar or unique, idiosyncratic
style, the wearing of a linguistic mask, speech in a dead language.”
o Linda Hutcheon disagrees with this view arguing that postmodern texts use pastiche in a
knowing way acknowledging the constructed nature of representation.
o Does the cliched nature of the video act as a critique of the values it promotes?
Narrative Analysis
o Narrative analysis involves considering how a range of elements (including mise-en-scene,
editing, camerawork, sound, as well as events) create meaning for the audience.
o Narrative analysis focuses on how the meanings made by the audience are constructed?
o How useful is this approach?
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6. SECTION A – Narrative Theory