Because of the 'collaborative nature' of this post, the tone is a bit up and down. If anything needs clearing up, please let me know!
Propp's morphology of folklaw
A series of character archetypes that crop up again and again in a variety of narratives. Here are a few of the most important, and their characteristics:Hero:
• Most commonly the main character• Who gets the girl (princess)
• Saves the day
• Finds solution to the problem, caused most commonly by the villain
Princess:
• Usually female• Damsel in distress stereotype
• Is saved by the hero
Villain:
• Usually has some deformity• Causes problem for other characters
• male
False hero:
• A reveal of ulterior motives is expected• Pretends to help the hero or to be the hero himself (often male)
Donor:
• Helps the hero to begin his quest• Gives advice and tasks to complete
Barthes five narrative codes
A detailed description of all five of Barthe's codes can be found on this blog, here. Remember, the enigma code and the action code are possibly the most important.
Todorov's narrative triad
There are five steps and Todorov states that all narratives follow them. They are-
- Equilibrium: an often (but not always) happy start to the story where most characters are content. A state of balance.
- Disruption: a problem (something to disrupt the equilibrium, leading to the main conflict of the narrative)
- Realization: Everyone realizes the problem and chaos ensues.
- Attempt to repair: the characters attempt to repair the damage and restore the problem.
- Equilibrium again: the problem is resolved and normality can resume.
Restricted and Omniscient Narrative
Restricted
- When the narrative is filmed from the point of view of only one character making so we know more about the character.
- The spectator only experiences what the character experiences.
- Only knows as much as the character creating mystery and shock
Omniscient
- The narrative is free to 'jump around' from character to character allowing the spectator to gain more information.
- Allows the spectator to have a wider, more privileged view of the narrative events.
- Knows more than the main character creating suspense. (Dramatic Irony)
Linear and Nonlinear Narratives
Linear:
Linear narratives follow a set chronological order of events, starting at the beginning, transitioning to the middle and proceeding to the end of the story. These are predominantly the most common type of narrative used in Hollywood blockbusters.
Nonlinear:
Nonlinear narratives, sometimes called disjointed/disrupted narrative, have plotlines that start in the middle of the action and jump around to different spaces and times. The events that take place in the narrative don’t follow a set chronological order, and often include parallel distinctive plotlines, dream immersions, or narrating another story inside the main plotline. Often used to mimic the structure and recall of human memory. Some such examples include Slumdog Millionaire, Trance and Blue Valentine.
Levi-Strauss and binary oppositions
A binary opposition is where two aspects represent the precise opposite of one another. Some broad examples of binary oppositions include
- light and dark
- hungry and full
- tired and fully awake
- city and wilderness
Theorists like Levi-Strauss suggested that we make sense of the world through what something isn't, rather than what it is. For example, we only know what the concept of day is, because we have something called night, and it is indeed very different from the day.
Within narratives, binary oppositions serve to create conflict.They can create a shortcut to audiences understanding the narrative. Films marketed towards children do this very well. For example, the Pixar film Brave instantly establishes princess Merida as being a binary opposition of her mother. Merida is scruffy, strong willed and adventurous, while her mother is properly dressed, lives by tradition and is very strict. Even young children can instantly tell that Merida is a rebel, through the binary opposition that has been created.
Here are a few more binary oppositions in Brave. Most of these involve princess Merida as one side of the binary. Think about how they create conflict, enigma, excitement or humour
- big and small
- ugly and pretty
- tradition and progress
- wilderness and safety
- human and animal
- loud and quiet
- male and female
- old and young