MEDIA THEORIES

• TZVETAN TODOROV SUGGESTED THERE WERE 5 STAGES TO A NARRATIVE:

• EQUILIBRIUM – A HAPPY START

• A DISRUPTION OF THIS EQUILIBRIUM BY AN EVENT – A PROBLEM OCCURS

• A REALIZATION THAT A DISRUPTION HAS HAPPENED

• AN ATTEMPT TO REPAIR THE DAMAGE OF THE DISRUPTION – THE PROBLEM IS SOLVED

• A RESTORATION OF THE EQUILIBRIUM – A HAPPY ENDING

Tzvetan Todorov Narrative Theory

THIS THEORY CAN BE APPLIED TO ALL MOVES, BUT DEPENDING ON THE GENRE, THE STAGES OF THE NARRATIVE MAY VARY.

SINISTER

• 1. THE FAMILY MOVE IN TO THEIR NEW HOUSE AND ARE EXCITED TO UNPACK AND SETTLE IN.

• 2. THE DAD FINDS AN OLD VIDEO PLAYER AND WATCHES THEM – SEEING DISTURBING VIDEOS OF DEATHS WITHIN THE HOUSE.

• 3. THE CHILDREN START ACTING IN A POSSESSED MANOR AND THE PARENTS CANT CONTROL THEM

• 4. THEY SEEK HELP FROM A PROFESSIONAL AND UNDERSTAND WHAT IS GOING ON AND THEN THE FATHER BURNS THE VIDEO PLAYER

• 5. THE WHOLE OF THE FAMILY ARE KILLED APART FROM THE YOUNG GIRL

THIS IS A EXAMPLE OF WHERE THE EQUILIBRIUM IS NOT RESTORED. THIS IS VERY COMMON WITHIN THE HORROR GENRE.

VLADIMIR PROPP WAS BORN ON APRIL 17, 1895 IN ST. PETERSBURG TO A GERMAN FAMILY. HE ATTENDED ST. PETERSBURG UNIVERSITY (1913–1918) MAJORING IN RUSSIAN AND GERMAN PHILOLOGY.

Vladimir Propp

PROPP BELIEVED IN THE IDEA THAT THERE WERE SEVEN CHARACTER TYPES IN FILM:

• THE VILLAIN—STRUGGLES AGAINST THE HERO

• THE DONOR—PREPARES THE HERO OR GIVES THE HERO SOME MAGICAL OBJECT

• THE (MAGICAL) HELPER—HELPS THE HERO IN THE QUEST

• THE PRINCESS AND HER FATHER—GIVE THE TASK TO THE HERO, IDENTIFY THE FALSE HERO, MARRY THE HERO, OFTEN SOUGHT FOR DURING THE NARRATIVE. PROPP NOTED THAT FUNCTIONALLY, THE PRINCESS AND THE FATHER CANNOT BE CLEARLY DISTINGUISHED

• THE DISPATCHER—CHARACTER WHO MAKES THE LACK KNOWN AND SENDS THE HERO OFF.

• THE HERO OR VICTIM/SEEKER HERO—REACTS TO THE DONOR, WEDS THE PRINCESS

• FALSE HERO —TAKES CREDIT FOR THE HERO’S ACTIONS OR TRIES TO MARRY THE PRINCESS.

THESE ROLES COULD SOMETIMES BE DISTRIBUTED AMONG VARIOUS CHARACTERS, AS THE HERO KILLS THE VILLAIN DRAGON, AND THE DRAGON’S SISTERS TAKE ON THE VILLAINOUS ROLE OF CHASING HIM. CONVERSELY, ONE CHARACTER COULD ENGAGE IN ACTS AS MORE THAN ONE ROLE, AS A FATHER COULD SEND HIS SON ON THE QUEST AND GIVE HIM A SWORD, ACTING AS BOTH DISPATCHER AND DONOR.

STRAUSS FOUND FROM HIS PAST EXPERIENCES THAT HUMANS MAKE SENSE OF THE WORLD BY SEEING AND USING BINARY OPPOSITES.

HE FOUND THAT NARRATIVES ARE ARRANGED AROUND THE CONFLICT OF BINARY OPPOSITES.

Levi Strauss

LEVI STRAUSS AND RONALD BARTHES DISCOVERED THE WAY WE UNDERSTAND CERTAIN WORDS DOES NOT DEPEND MUCH ON THE MEANING THAT THEY DIRECTLY CONTAIN BUT MUCH MORE BY OUT UNDERSTANDING OF THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE WORLD AND ITS ‘OPPOSITE . THEY SUGGESTED THAT WORDS ACT AS SYMBOLS FOR SOCIETY’S IDEA AND THE MEANING OF WORDS WAS A RELATIONSHIP RATHER THAN A FIXED RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN OPPOSING IDEAS

EXAMPLES OF BINARY OPPOSITES:• GOOD VS EVIL

• BLACK VS WHITE

• BOY VS GIRL

• OLD VS YOUNG

• PROTAGONIST VS ANTAGONIST

• MAN VS WOMAN

LEVI STRAUSS BELIEVED THAT BINARY OPPOSITES ARE THE CENTRAL CLIMAX OF A NARRATIVE STRUCTURE.