Propp, in the early 20th century studied hundreds of traditional folk tails from across Europe to establish what he called character types. For Propp, types each fulfilled a specific function
the most useful types to know are:
~ hero: drives the narrative forward (may not be heroic) - Harry Potter / Ralph
~ villain: creates obstacle for hero - Voldemort / King Candy
~ dispatcher: sends hero on quest - Dumbledore / Fix it Felix
~ the donor: gives hero a special object or wisdom to enable complete quest - Hagrid / Sargent
~ the princess: reward for hero at narrative resolution - Voldemort dies and he doesn't / That venelope wins the race to leave the game
~ side kick: companion for hero - Hermione and Ron / Penelope
The villain - This is the character who struggles against the hero. Typically with some sort of scarring. The villain will usually wear dark and mysterious colours, and not very attractive. This is to juxtapose betweeen the hero and the villain; to highlight their differences. A good example would be the Joker, from The Dark Knight, he is someone who is quite an unattractive to look at and does not act in a normal manor ad creates huge difficulties for the hero to overcome.
Don't Breathe came out in 2016 and was an incredibly good Thriller. A young adult wants to move away with her sister but needs the money to do so, while two friends come up with the idea to steal an large amount of money from a blind man, but he is not as helpless as he seems.
The trailer is a non liner narrative with the Equilibrium showing the two main characters, Rocky and Alex being in pitch black looking terrified. The scene then cuts to Rocky telling her sister they are going to move away together with the scene then cutting to Alex and another friend preparing to rob the blind man. The significant event is when the trio break into the house and meet the blind man who shows that he has a lot of unexpected skills. The Recognition by Hero is when the blind man grabs the third robbers arm and takes his gun, this moment is incredibly intense as he then kills the guy. Attempt to Repair is when the blind man listens out for the two who are left behind, which is Rocky and Alex. He then begins to lock those two inside his house where the duo frantically try to escape and stumble across a third member who is a young women, tied up to the wall which increases the intensity of the trailer. The new Equilibrium is having Rocky and Alex try to escape but the blind man turns off all the lights, making it incredibly difficult for the duo to escape as they now can not see, but that does not stop the blind man as he has ways of getting around the house effortlessly. The trailer then ends with the same scene we see at the beginning, leaving it on a very suspenseful end.
Split came out in 2016 and is based on three girls being kidnapped by a man who is diagnosed with 23 personalities. They must try to escape before the apparent emergence of a frightful 24th personality. It is a very good thriller with a lot of unexpected twists in the story.
The Equilibrium is when the main female character is seen walking towards a car, with a man loading the boot of the car. Then theres a close up the wing mirrors showing the man had fallen and the shopping had then fallen on the floor. The Significant Event is when the other main character (played by James McAvoy) is introduced by being in the car with the girls who then turns around and sprays the three girls in the face. The Recognition by Hero is when the other characters are introduced such as Patricia and Hedwig that introduces the split personalities and presents a new issue in the film. The Attempt to Repair is when we are introduced to the therapist who explains how Kevin is a host for the multiple personalities that he has inside him. The New Equilibrium is to escape were they have been held and stay alive and avoid the 24th personality that is implied to be dangerous.
David Bordwell outlines a formalist approach to narrative based on the distinction between story and plot
Story is a sequence of events in chronological order
the plot is a sequence of events in the order that the viewer experiences them
according to Bordwell all films function using a cause and effect chain of events
Cause —> effect —> cause of another effect —> cause of another effect —> cause of another effect
film makers can make narratives more mysterious or suspenseful by altering the plot from the story
They will do so by either withholding a cause or an effect
Story does equal plot —> linear
Story does not equal plot —> non linear
Narration is the information flow between story and plot
a linear narrative holds no information back from the viewer
it is the therefore unrestricted
linear narrative = unrestricted narration
non linear narrative = restricted narration
Theory 2: Todorov -
Todorov, a famous narratologist, argued that all stories share a similar structure, based around the concept of balance/equilibrium
equilibrium —> significant event —> recognition of distribution —> attempt to repair —> new equilibrium
Equilibrium:
state of a balance at beginning of a story “once upon a time”
into of the characters and the narrative world “the way things are”
can be good or bad
Significant event:
an event that occurs that disrupts the equilibrium for the protagonist ~ the balance is thrown
Jaws —> shark
Recognition by hero:
protagonist realises disruption occurs and the likely consequences
wants to restore initial eq
Attempt to repair:
protagonist seeks to restore eq by undertaking a series of tasks/obstacles
New eq:
equilibrium is restored but it is different to initial eq, usually better
Theory 3: Propp -
Propp, in the early 20th century studied hundreds of traditional folk tails from across Europe to establish what he called character types. For Propp, types each fulfilled a specific function
the most useful types to know are:
~ hero: drives the narrative forward (may not be heroic) - Harry Potter / Ralph
~ villain: creates obstacle for hero - Voldemort / King Candy
~ dispatcher: sends hero on quest - Dumbledore / Fix it Felix
~ the donor: gives hero a special object or wisdom to enable complete quest - Hagrid / Sargent
~ the princess: reward for hero at narrative resolution - Voldemort dies and he doesn't / That venelope wins the race to leave the game
~ side kick: companion for hero - Hermione and Ron / Penelope
Theory 4: Levi-Strauss -
Claude Levi Strauss argues that within every narrative are “binary oppositions” that reflect the culture from which they emerge
Binary oppositions are neutral oppositions (without value) that are loaded positivity or negatively in a way in a way that reflects a cultures dormant ideology
young <—> old
tall <—> short
thin <—> fat
pretty <—> ugly
rich <—> poor
able bodies <—> disabled
smart <—> stupid
happy <—> successful
Theory 5: Pam Cooke -
Pan cock argued that films contained their own kids of narrative
filmic/cinematic narratives are defined by: clear, goal orientated characteristics, a cause and a effect narrative trajectory, enigma resolution, high degree of narrative closure
