telling stories

Telling StoriesZoë Freeman

• Fiske et al (1998) defines a story as an “irreducible

substance”

• Story = what it’s about

• Narrative = way it’s told

• Open text

• Closed text

• Barthes argues that there is many meanings to text, more than the

director intended and expected, this is due to audiences having

different experiences/expectations

• Hermeneutic/enigma code – element of mystery to entice the

audience, is a concealed image, asks ambiguous/philosophical

questions, persuasion to watch film often comes from feeling of

uncertainty of characters fate

Todorov’s Theory of Narrative

• Equilibrium – start of every story,

balance and harmony

• Moment of disequilibrium – something

happens, shatter of equilibrium

• Disequilibrium – hero(es) struggle to fix

the wrongs and return to equilibrium

• New equilibrium – villain is defeated

peace is restored at a cost/loss, new

equilibrium is tainted by the experience

(Example shown through ‘The Descent’

(2003) Trailer)

Education