1. Q1b: Narrative Theory

2. 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.

3. 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

4. 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.

5. 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

6. 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.

7. Equilibrium Disequilibrium New Equilibrium
Tzvetan Todorov
Equilibrium Disequilibrium New Equilibrium

8. 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.

9. 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

10. 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)

11. 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.

12. 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

13. How to structure your answer…

14. 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)

15. Example intro from an A grade response

16. 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

17. Example paragraph from an A grade response

18. 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)…”

19. Example conclusion from an A grade response
This got 23/25 (some main body paragraphs missing. See the full answer here:

20. 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