Narrative Theory Year 13 Monday 30 th January 2012 Lesson Objectives Can I remember all the narrative theorists/. What is narrative? Who are the narrative theorists? Have I started Mini-Lesson for my theory?

Narrative structures Name all the narrative structures Give a one line definition of all the narrative structures The group that get them all right first gets 5 points

Narrative structures Structure 1: Open and closed ended Structure 2: Interactive Structure 3: Multi-strand Structure 4: POV Structure 5: Enigma

3 Distinct narrative forms Classic Hollywood Anti-Classic World cinema Avant-Garde Experimental

On a basic level films follow the same narrative pattern… EXPOSITION – Introduces the films settings and characters to the viewer. DEVELOPMENT – The storyline is taken further and more characters are introduced. COMPLICATION – A complicating event which will affect the lives of the main characters. CLIMAX – Dramatic tension is at a high and we (the audience) uncover the mystery of the story or have our questions answered. RESOLUTION – Re-establishes stability and restores a form of calm.

Children’s book Using the book in front of you Find the; Exposition Development Complication Climax Resolution

The Theorists What theorists did you find? 1.Vladimir Propp 2.Roland Barthes 3.Tzvetan Todorov 4.Claude Levi-Strauss 5.Victor Shklovsky 6.David Bordwell and Kristin Thompson 7.Gill Branston and Roy Stafford

The Theorists What theorists did you find? 1.Vladimir Propp AND Roland Barthes 2.Tzvetan Todorov 3.Claude Levi-Strauss AND Victor Shklovsky 4.David Bordwell and Kristin Thompson 5.Gill Branston and Roy Stafford

Mini Lesson In your groups you will be given a theorist You will research the narrative theorist Find a short film that A: Adheres to the theory B: Subverts the theory You will do a 15minute mini lesson You will need to organise a activity for the class to do You will have 2 lessons to produce the lesson

What makes a good lesson? A warm up An wind down Information Educational Engaging activity

Propp VLADIMIR PROPP (A Russian critic who examined 100s of examples of folk tales to see if they shared. any structures. His book on this 'Morphology of the Folk Tale' was first published in 1928) Propp looked at 100s of folk tales and identified 8 character roles and 31 narrative functions. The 8 character roles are 1. The villain(s) 2. The hero 3. The donor - who provides an object with some magic property. 4. The helper who aids the hero. 5. The princess (the sought for person) - reward for the hero and object of the villain's schemes. 6. Her father - who rewards the hero. 7. The dispatcher - who sends the hero on his way. 8. The false hero

Theories of Narrative Vladimir PROPP ( ) The Morphology of the Fairy Tale, 1928 Propp examined hundreds of fairy tales in the generic form ‘the folk wondertale’. He identified: 8 character roles (or ‘spheres of action’) 31 functions which move the story along - examples include the punishment of the villain (usually at the end of the story); the ban of an action (eg. If Sleeping Beauty touches a spinning wheel, she will die)

Theories of Narrative Vladimir PROPP ( ) The Morphology of the Fairy Tale, 1928 Propp’s 8 character roles or ‘spheres of action’ The villain The hero - a seeker character motivated by an initial lack The donor, who provides an object with some magic property The helper, who aids the hero The princess, a reward for the hero and object of the villain’s schemes Her father, who validates the hero The dispatcher, who sends the hero on his way The false hero adapted from (Branston and Stafford, 1996)

Theories of Narrative Vladimir PROPP ( ) The Morphology of the Fairy Tale, 1928 Propp’s theory is a form of structuralism, which is a view that all media is inevitably in the form of certain fixed structures. These structures are often culturally derived and form expectations in the mind of an audience from within that same culture eg fairy tales always have happy endings or the princess always marries the handsome prince.

Theories of Narrative Vladimir PROPP ( ) The Morphology of the Fairy Tale, 1928 Propp’s theory can be applied to generic structures in Western culture, such as popular film genres. Thus genre structures form expectations in the mind of an audience that certain rules apply to the narrative. However, cultural change can force structures to change eg a hero can now be a woman

Theories of Narrative Vladimir PROPP ( ) The Morphology of the Fairy Tale, 1928 Attempt to identify as many of Propp’s 8 ‘spheres of action’ from the films we have studied as you can - The villain The hero - a seeker character motivated by an initial lack The donor, who provides an object with some magic property The helper, who aids the hero The princess, a reward for the hero and object of the villain’s schemes Her father, who validates the hero The dispatcher, who sends the hero on his way The false hero

Theories of Narrative Tzvetan TODOROV Todorov developed the theory of disrupted equilibrium He identified that stories follow a typical pattern of: Equilbrium Disequilibrium Equilibrium This applies equally well to film texts Bulgarian structuralist 1960s

Theories of Narrative Tzvetan TODOROV Equilbrium - the ‘status quo’ where things are as they should be Disequilibrium - the status quo is disrupted by an event Equilibrium - is restored at the end of the story by the actions of the hero Bulgarian structuralist 1960s

Theories of Narrative Tzvetan TODOROV What is the equilbrium at the beginning of a crime genre or horror genre film? What sort of event disrupts the equilibrium to cause disequilibrium in a crime or horror film? (Give two examples of actual events from films we have studied) How and when is equilibrium restored in a) a crime film? b) a horror film? Bulgarian structuralist 1960s

Theories of Narrative Tzvetan TODOROV There can be several moments in the plot where resolution of equilibrium takes place, for example when pieces of the detective’s puzzle fall into place. Bulgarian structuralist 1960s An example from The Black Dahlia is where Bucky Bleikert fits the puzzling words of the pathologist to precise attributes of the ‘Stag- film’ set - the injury caused by the crown, the river to wash away the blood.

Theories of Narrative Tzvetan TODOROV 1.a state of equilibrium at the outset. 2.a disruption of the equilibrium by some action. 3.a recognition that there has been a disruption. 4.an attempt to repair the disruption. 5.a reinstatement of the equilibrium. Bulgarian structuralist 1960s Todorov later developed this into a 5 stage pattern:

Theories of Narrative Roland BARTHES Barthes believes that there are 5 action codes that enable an audience to make sense of a narrative. French theorist hermeneutic (narrative turning-points) we know where the story will go next proairetic (basic narrative actions) eg detective interviews suspect or femme fatale seduces hero (see Propp’s 31 functions) cultural (prior social knowledge) eg our attitudes to gender or racial stereotypes semic (medium-related codes) intertextuality symbolic (themes) iconography or a theme such as ‘image versus reality’ (Curtis Hanson)

Theories of Narrative Claude LEVI-STRAUSS Claude Levi-Strauss is most noted for his theory of Binary Oppositions. French structuralist, 1970s In order to find those oppositions, Levi-Strauss was less interested in syntagmatic relations i.e.how events line up in the narrative structure to develop the plot, than paradigmatic relations i.e. those events and features that belong to the theme of the piece, especially within genre based texts.

Theories of Narrative Claude LEVI-STRAUSS Levi-Strauss used the ‘Western’ film genre to develop his theory of Binary Oppositions. French structuralist HomesteadersNative Americans ChristianPagan DomseticSavage WeakStrong GardenWilderness Inside societyOutside society

Sci-Fi GoodBad HumansAliens EarthSpace PastPresent NormalStrange KnownUnknown

Theories of Narrative Claude LEVI-STRAUSS What binary oppositions can you think of from the crime or horror genres? French structuralist

detectivevillain princessfemme fatale? criminal‘straight’ weakstrong safe streets‘mean streets’ sanemad poor ?rich Theories of Narrative Claude LEVI-STRAUSS Levi-Strauss used the ‘Western’ film genre to develop his theory of Binary Oppositions. French structuralist

Theories of Narrative Victor SHKLOVSKY Shklovsky attempted to distinguish between the plot, which he defined as the events we actually ‘see’ in the narrative; and the story, which contains all the information or events affecting the characters both on and off screen. Russian theorist 1920s

Theories of Narrative Victor SHKLOVSKY He gave them typically difficult names: Russian theorist 1920s fabula = the story i.e. the whole world of the story before during and after what we see or hear syuzhet = only the events that we see or hear within the field of vision

Theories of Narrative David BORDWELL and KristinTHOMPSON In their book ‘Film Art (1997), Bordwell and Thompson give three different time zones for film narratives: American Film Studies theorists 1990s story ‘the set of all the events in the narrative, both the ones explicitly presented and those the viewer infers, compose the story’ plot ‘the term plot is used to describe everything visibly and audibly present in the film before us’. screen time ‘the time taken to broadcast the film’ Diegesis is therefore the Greek for the ‘narrative world’ of the plot during the screen time.

Theories of Narrative Gill BRANSTON and Roy STAFFORD Branston and Stafford happen to very usefully apply the relevance of fabula/syuzhet theory to the crime genre: British Media writers 1990s We should feel at the end of a good detective story or thriller that we have been pleasurably puzzled, so that the ‘solution’, our piecing together of the story in its proper order out of the evidence offered by the plot, will come as a pleasure. We should not feel that the plot has cheated; that parts of the story have suddenly been revealed which we couldn’t possibly have guessed at. The butler cannot, at the last minute, suddenly be revealed to have been a poisons expert.

Level 4 Explanation/analysis/argument (8-10 marks) There is a clear range of articulate reflections on the relationship between research into real media texts and the candidate’s own productions. There is a fluent account of progress. Use of examples (8-10 marks) Candidates offer a broad range of specific, relevant and clear examples for research into real media texts in relation to the process and production outcomes. Use of terminology (4-5 marks) The use of media terminology and conceptual language is excellent. Complex issues have been expressed clearly and fluently using a style of writing appropriate to the complex subject matter. Sentences and paragraphs, consistently relevant, have been well structured, using appropriate technical terminology. There may be few, if any, errors of spelling, punctuation and grammar.