Research: Narrative theory

Narrative Theory

Narrative is spoken or written, it is made up of different thought events that link together to form a story. Narratives help us to make sense of the film/trailer or scene as a film without a plot would mislead the audience as the film won't be able to carry a mood or have a wanted effect on the audience. Narrative theory is also a type of thinking that aims to explain narrative structures and their relationships with different genre-related factors.
 
 

four elements which allow the audience to find meaning...

• denotation-what it is  connotation-what it implies
• genre
• structure- start/middle/end
• characters- stereotypes 

Propps narrative theory
Propp came up with the theory that characters have a narrative function and they also provide the structure for the narrative. This theory relates to the influence of typical characters. e.g. the hero, helper, donor, villian and the princess.
 

Propp's theory relates to the thriller genre as it includes conventional and expected characters. For example in a thriller film the audience would expect the film to contain a villain/evil character, this character would be the main cause of pain/ suffering caused in the film or they would be the main cause of surprise, suspense/ tension built within the audience. The audience would also expect a thriller film to have a hero; this character would be the counter-action of the villains bad deeds, they will be a main character within the film and they will be the cause of the downfall of the villain.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Todorov's narrative theory
Todorov had a complex interpretation of film texts, this was his theory of equilibrium and disequilibrium.

• Equilibrium-how the chracters appear to be stable at the beginning
• Disequilibrium-something disrupting happens and a change occurs which needs to be resolved
• New equilibrium-usually disruption is sorted and the narrative is closed

 Todorov's theory of equilibrium's and disequilibrium's are still witnessed within thriller films in modern times; for example in the film 'Scream' we see a young girl enjoying a quiet night in alone (the equilibrium), and then the mysterious killer enters and disrupts the environment causing a disequilibrium.



Aristotle's narrative theory

Aristotle bases his theory on the themes of films for example:

• Inciting incident
• Character goal
• Stakes
• Dramatic question
• Sympathy/empathy
• Resolution

All of these themes are conventional within a thriller film; for example the theme 'character goal' can be used with a hero or a villain in a film, the villain may set out to gain world domination whereas the hero's goal is to stop the villain. In turn this relates to the thriller genre as the audience expect a villain to want to achieve something and then there is a hero that emerges to stop the villain from achieving their goal.






Barthes' narrative theory
Barthes' narrative theory is based on 5 of the following things.

• action- understanding and resoulution is understood by the action seen
• enigma- teases the audience by representing a puzzle or riddle that need to be solved
• symbolic- what it implies (connotation)
• semic- what it is (denotation)
• cultural undertsanding- events which can be recognised as being part of a culture