He is a Franco-Bulgarian philosopherHis greatest contribution to media is the development alongside Vladimir Propp of the theory of narrative

Tzvetan Todorov

His Theory His theory was that a stories plot has to contain 5

important elements which are: An opening state of equilibrium A disruption of that order A recognition that the equilibrium has been disrupted An attempt to fix the disruption of the order A return or establishment of a new equilibrium

Another part of his theory is that a change has to happen to the character between the disruption till the resolution

He developed the theory of narratives with Vladimir Propp

Why his work is importantHis work is important to us because it has

helped to define the key elements that need to be included into a narrative for it to have a good structure to the story, it also helps us because ewe can apply this structure to any narrative and as such we can make a much more detailed deconstruction of any narrative based on how it has chosen to represent the 5 elements that Todorov has singled out

We can tell that his theory is successful; as you can see evidence of his structure in almost every narrative across the different forms of media (Films, TV programmes, Books etc)

BibliographyTheories of the

symbolSymbolism and

interpretation

SummaryTodorov and Propp’s work led to a theory which defined the 5 important aspects that a narrative needs to contain for it to have a clear and precise structure which can be easily followed