Q1b: Narrative Theory

Narrative: the art of storytelling “narrative is a way of organising...data into a cause and effect chain of events with a beginning, middle and end…” Brannigan Narrative: “narrative is an important source of reassurance in a hostile universe.” Kruger, Rayner and Wall the way in which a story is told in both fictional and non-fictional media texts.

TASK: Fill in the table NARRATIVE FEATURE/THEORY The plot The story   The plot The story Vladimir Propp Tzvetan Todorov Syd Field Roland Barthes Retardation Ellipsis Twist Linear Non linear

Claude Levi-Strauss Social Anthropologist. Studied myths of tribal cultures. Examined how stories unconsciously reflect the values, beliefs and myths of a culture. These are usually expressed in the form of binary oppositions. His research has been adapted by media theorists to reveal underlying themes and symbolic oppositions in media texts.

Binary Oppositions A conflict between two qualities or terms. For example 1970’s Western films: Homesteaders Native Americans Christian pagan domestic savage weak strong garden wilderness inside society outside society

Tzvetan Todorov Bulgarian literary theorist Suggests most narratives start with a state of equilibrium in which life is ‘normal’ and protagonists happy. This state of normality is disrupted by an outside force, which has to be fought against in order to return to a state of equilibrium. This model can easily be applied to a wide range of films.

Equilibrium Disequilibrium New Equilibrium Tzvetan Todorov Equilibrium Disequilibrium New Equilibrium

Vladimir Propp Russian critic and literary theorist. Analysed over 100 Russian fairytales in the 1920s. He proposed that it was possible to classify the characters and their actions into clearly defined roles and functions. Films such as Star Wars fit Propp’s model precisely, but a significant number of more recent films such as Pulp Fiction do not. The model is useful, however as it highlights the similarities between seemingly quite different stories.

Propp’s Character Roles The hero (seeks something) The villain (opposes the hero) The donor (helps the hero by providing a magic object) The dispatcher (sends the hero on his way) The false hero (falsely assuming the role of hero) The helper (gives support to the hero) The princess (the reward for the hero, but also needs protection from the villain) Her father

Roland Barthes French semiologist. Suggested that narrative works with five different codes which activate the reader to make sense of it. (also used the terms denotation and connotation to analyse images)

Barthes’ Codes Action – a narrative device by which a resolution is produced through action, e.g. a shoot-out. Enigma – a narrative device that teases the audience by presenting a puzzle or riddle to be solved. Works to delay the story’s ending pleasurably. Symbolic – (connotation) Semic – (denotation) Cultural – a narrative device which the audience can recognise as being part of a culture e.g. a “made man” in a gangster film is part of the mafia culture.

Fill in the table NARRATIVE FEATURE/THEORY The plot The story   The plot The story Vladimir Propp Tzvetan Todorov Syd Field Roland Barthes Retardation Ellipsis Twist Linear Non linear

How to structure your answer…

Intro Needs to be short and to the point. You only have 30 minutes for your answer. Outline which coursework piece you will be discussing and relate it to the question. Example: “As part of the coursework for my advanced portfolio, I produced….. …..targeting a…..audience…. …….conforming to the …..genre… …….in which I represented……. …….that conformed/challenged the narrative conventions…. ……I will discuss how I used camera, editing, sound and mise-en- scene to create meaning within the text…(media language)

Example intro from an A grade response

Main body of your essay Break this down into approximately 4/5 main points demonstrating how you have: Conformed to the concept Challenged the concept Conformed to the ideas and theories outlined by key media theorists Your choice of point is up to you however, a strong answer must: Refer to theories and explain how this applies to your work. Do you agree/disagree? Did you challenge or conform? Refer to SPECIFIC examples from your own work Refer to SPECIFIC examples from real media texts

Example paragraph from an A grade response

Conclusion Consider: How far have you employed this concept? How far have you challenged it? How effective were real media texts in inspiring your use of genre/narrative/representations etc? How influential was (insert theorist, theory or idea) in the planning and production of your piece? Example: “So as we have seen, (whatever is being asked about) can be applied to (text 1)…”

Example conclusion from an A grade response This got 23/25 (some main body paragraphs missing. See the full answer here: http://ocrmediaconference2011.weebly.com/uploads/6/0/9/6/6096819/site1ab9.pdf

Question 1a Question 1b Jan ‘10 Describe how you developed research and planning skills for media production and evaluate how these skills contributed to creative decision making. Analyse media representation in one of your coursework productions. June ‘10 Describe the ways in which your production work was informed by research into real media texts and how your ability to use such research for production developed over time. Analyse one of your coursework productions in relation to genre. Jan ‘11 Describe how you developed your skills in the use of digital technology for media production and evaluate how these skills contributed to your creative decision making. Apply theories of narrative to one of your coursework productions. June ‘11 Explain how far your understanding of the conventions of existing media influenced the way you created your own media products. Analyse one of your coursework productions in relation to the concept of audience Jan 12’ Describe how your analysis of the conventions of real media texts informed your own creative media practice. Refer to a range of examples in your answer to show how these skills developed over time. Analyse media representation in one of your coursework productions June ‘12 Describe a range of creative decisions that you made in post-production and how these decisions made a difference to the final outcomes. Refer to a range of examples in your answer to show how these skills developed over time. Explain how meaning is constructed by the use of media language in one of your coursework productions. Jan ‘13 Explain how your research and planning skills developed over time and contributed to your media production outcomes. Refer to a range of examples in your answer. Analyse one of your coursework productions in relation to the concept of narrative June ‘13 Digital technology representation