sfd

1. SECTION A – NARRATIVE THEORY
DEFINITIONS OF NARRATIVE
Narrative isdefinedas“achain of eventsina cause-effectrelationshipoccurringintime”(Bordwell
& Thompson).
Narrative is‘a wayof organisingspatial andtemporal eventsintoacause-effectchainof eventswith
a beginning,amiddle andendthatembodiesajudgmentaboutthe nature of events’(Branigan).
NARRATIVE THEORIES
Edward Branigan (1992)
 Arguesthatnarrative is‘a way of organising spatial andtemporal eventsintoacause-effect
chainof eventswithabeginning,amiddleandendthatembodiesajudgmentaboutthe
nature of events’.
 Branigan’skeypointisthat narrative will embodyajudgement –ideologyandnarrative.
VladimirPropp (1928)
 Proppwas a Russian theoristwhosuggest thatthere are a limitednumvverof character
typesthat share a function.
 Whenan audience readsamediatextitdeploysitsknowledge of thesecharactertypesin
orderto decode he meaningof the text.
1. The Villain
2. The hero,or a character whoseekssomething
3. The donor,providesanobjectwithsome magicproperties
4. The helper,aidsthe hero
5. The princess,rewardforthe hero,and objectof the villain’sschemes.
6. Her farther,whorewardsthe hero
7. The dispatcher,whosendsthe heroonhisway
8. The false hero,the character whoalsolaysclaimto the princessbutitunsuitable and
causescomplications.
Tzvetan Todorov (1969)
1. Equilibrium
2. Disruption of the equilibrium
3. Recognition of the disruption
4. An attemptto repair the damage
5. Newequilibrium
6. Back 1.

2. Roland Barthes(1960s)
 A narrative can be brokendowninto5 codesor setsof rulestohelpthe readermake sense
of it.
 He emphasisesthe active role of readersincreatingmeaningandtheirculturallyformed
expectations.
 The 5 codesare:
1. Action Code-Which refersto the eventstakin place through action e.g.fightor
chase.
2. Referential Code- Which refers to theinofmration and explanation
3. SemanticCode- Which refersto the charactersand characterisation
4. Enigma Code– Which is a narrativedevice thatteasesthe audienceby presenting a
puzzleor riddle to be solved.
5. Sbolic Codes – Which refers to theconnotationsof signs.
ClaudeLevi-Strauss(1972)
 A conflictbetweentwoqualitiesorterms.
 For example infairytales.
 BINARYOPPOSITES
The Good The Bad
Christian(kingsqueensetc) pagan (witches)
domestic savage
weakprincesses strongwrong doers
safe castles dark wildernessforests
pretty ugly
innocent devious
Allan Cameron:Modular Narratives(2008)
Since the 1990’s there has beenatrend towardsnarrativescomplexitywithinpopularcinema.
 Anachronic -Modifiedflashbacks/flashforwards. Nocleardominance between
narrative threads
 Forking-Path- Alternativeversionsof the story. Outcomesthatmight
resultfromslightchanges
 Episodic- Collectionof storiesjoinedbyacommon theme
 SplitScreen - Spatial ratherthan temporal lines
Postmodern Narratives
 Sometheoristssuggestthatpostmodern narrativesaredifferentfromprevious
narrativestructures.
 Characteristicsof postmodern narrativesinclude:
1. Irony,playfulness,and blackhumour
2. Intertextuality
3. Pastiche
4. Metanarratives

3. 5. Extremeself-reflexivity/self-awareness
6. Temporaldistortion
7. Hyperreality
Postmodern Approach –Pastiche
 Frederic Jameson arguesthatpostmodern textsarecharacterised by pastiche.
 A pasticheis an imitation of anothergenreor text.
 Jameson arguesthat "Pasticheis...theimitationofapeculiaror unique,idiosyncraticstyle,
the wearing of a linguisticmask,speechin a deadlanguage.”
 Linda Hutcheon disagreeswith thisview arguing thatpostmodern textsusepastichein a
knowing way acknowledging theconstructed natureof representation.
 Does thecliched natureof the video act as a critique of the valuesit promotes?
Theorist Key Words
Propp Hero –Taylor Swift
Villain- The girlfriend
Princess – The boy is the reward
Todorov Frinedspseaking with notesthrough thewindow.
The othergirl cheatson the boy
She hastransformed
Barthes Action – The boy isa arguing with the girlfriend
Enigma – will Taylorget the guy
Semantic– The books,glassesand whitedress.
Red dress – danger.
Symbolic– Male/femalepopular/unpopular
Referntial – Jock,cheerleader,geek, girl next
door,prometc.
Levi-Strauss Geeky – Jocks
Popular– Nerdy
Cheerleader– Good Girl