NARRATIVE THEORY

Vladimir Propp

He was a Russian critic and literary theorist who proposed that you can classify the characters based on their roles and functions, after analysing over 100 Russian fairytales in the 1920s

There are 7 main character types that he identified.

Propp’s Character Roles The hero – seeks something The villain – opposes the hero The donor – helps the hero by giving them a

magic object The dispatcher – sends the hero on his way The false hero – falsely assuming the role of the

hero. Perceived as a good character before emerging as evil

The helper – gives support to the hero The princess – the hero’s reward, but needs

protection from the villain

Examples within Horror Often, within horror, Propp’s theory is

subverted. This is because Propp’s theory states that there is a reward for the hero at the end of the film (usually the princess). However, the main purpose of a horror film for the characters (victims) is to just survive the events in the film. It is less about good vs evil, and more about survival aginst the villan. An example of this would be a film like Scream

However, there is always a villain who opposes the hero, and has to be defeated.

Tzvetan Torodov

He was a Bulgarian literary theorist who suggested that most narratives start with a state of equilibrium – where everything is normal, and the characters are happy.

However this equilibrium is disrupted, and the protagonist(s) has to fight to get back the state of normality.

The theory applied to The Shining The film begins with an equilibrium – a

family arrives at a hotel Then it is disturbed – Jacks deterioration

into a crazed murder The equilibrium is resolved at the end,

with Jack freezing to death in the maze

Claude Levi-Strauss He was a French anthropologist,

who believed that binary opposites are important when it comes to understanding narrative.

The creation of conflict between two binary opposites pushes a narrative to a resolving conclusion

Examples of binary opposites

Good and evil Male and female Strong and weak Young and old Dark and Light

Binary opposites in Horror They are often used in Horror films, for example, in

Silence of The Lambs: There hwero clearly has a hero (Clarice) vs a

villain (Buffalo Bill). However, there is a third main character (Hiannibal Lecter) He doesn’t quite apply tho the roles because, despite helping find the villain, he is also a criminal himself, as he is a convicted cannibal and killer. Therefore, do doesn’t apply to the structure of binary opposites, because he commits the same crime as the person he is helping the hero catch.

- The hero depends on one killers knowledge to cat another.

Roland Barthes

He was a French semiologsit who suggested that a narrative works with 5 codes woven into it, that allows the reader to make sense of it.

The five codes Hermeneutic Code – an element of the story not

fully explained – an enigma Proairetic Code – Refers to an event indicating

something else is going to happen. – Builds tension – Action codes

Semantic Code – A connotation within the narrative that gives additional meaning

Symbolic Code – similar to the semantic code, but at a wider level

Cultural Code – Anything within the narrative that cannot be challenged or recognised as the truth

Work together to keep the audience interested

The codes in horror films:Hermeneutic Code in the opening of Se7en: Tight close ups of the mans fingers –

who is he and what is he doing Fast cuts mean that the audience only

gets a very short time to see something, enigmas are formed about what they see.

Another Example: