1. NARRATIVE
Film and Media Studies

2. What is Narrative? Latin –NARRE- To make Known Via
Causally related events
Connected
Sequenced
Logically presented

3. Definition 2
“Narrative is a way of organising spatial and temporal data into a cause and effect chain of events with a beginning, middle and end that embodies a judgement about the nature of the events as well as demonstrates how it is possible to know, and hence to narrate, the events. “ Brannigan E. Narrative Comprehension and Film

4. Macro Features of Narrative
Structure
Aristotle’s beginning, middle and end.
Todorov’s equilibrium>disequilibrium>re-equilibrium
Propp’s “functions”
Vogler’s “twelve steps”
2. Temporal order,temporal duration, temporal frequency
3. Story and Plot
Explicitly presented actions/events
Implicitly inferred ationas/events
Non diegetic material (captions/titles,drama enhancing music etc.)

5. Micro Features 1. Constructional Devices 2. Genre Associations
Cinematography
Mise- en- Scene
Editing
Sound
2. Genre Associations
Genre Codes (e.g. Iconography)
Genre Conventions
3. Narrative Codes
Levi Straus’s Binary Oppositions
Barthes Narrative Codes
Character Psychology
Semiotic Analysis

6. Todorov Initial Situation (Equilibrium) Disruption (Non equilibrium)
Restoration (Re Equilibrium)

7. Propp 1928 Morphology of the Russian Folktale 1928
Types of Characters, Specific Forms of Action, function in the Narrative.
Thiry One Functions identified.

8. Specific research on narrative
Vladimir Propp
Russian Formalist in the 1930s
He wanted to see if there was a finite number of structures for narrative. He analysied Russian folk tales and found they could be classified into 5 categories.
He also identified seven archetypal characters.

9. Propp’s character archetypes
The Villain
The Donor/giver of knowledge
The Helper
The Princess (sought after person)
The Dispatcher
The Hero (or victim)
The False Hero

10. Propp’s character archetypes
The Villain Darth Vader
The Donor
The Helper
The Princess (sought after person)
The Dispatcher
The Hero (or victim)
The False Hero

11. Propp’s character archetypes
The Villain Darth Vader
The Donor Obi Won Kenobe
The Helper
The Princess
The Dispatcher
The Hero (or victim)
The False Hero

12. Propp’s character archetypes
The Villain Darth Vader
The Donor Obi Won Kenobe
The Helper Han Solo
The Princess
The Dispatcher
The Hero (or victim)
The False Hero

13. Propp’s character archetypes
The Villain Darth Vader
The Donor Obi Won Kenobe
The Helper Han Solo
The Princess Princess Leah
The Dispatcher
The Hero (or victim)
The False Hero

14. Propp’s character archetypes
The Villain Darth Vader
The Donor Obi Won Kenobe
The Helper Han Solo
The Princess Princess Leah
The Dispatcher R2 - D2
The Hero
The False Hero

15. Propp’s character archetypes
The Villain Darth Vader
The Donor Obi Won Kenobe
The Helper Han Solo
The Princess Princess Leah
The Dispatcher R2 - D2
The Hero Luke Skywalker
The False Hero

16. Propp’s character archetypes
The Villain Darth Vader
The Donor Obi Won Kenobe
The Helper Han Solo
The Princess Princess Leah
The Dispatcher R2 - D2
The Hero Luke Skywalker
The False Hero Darth Vader (Luke’s dad)

17. Basic Plots
Romance: Boy meets girl / boy loses girl / boy finds girl(or Vice versa)
Bordwell and Thompson (1991) define narrative as “A chain of events in cause-effect relationship occurring in time and space.
The Kuleshov Effect: The linear connections we make between shots.

18. Definitions from Bordwell and Thompson (1991)
Plot: What we see on screen. Includes extra-narrative things.
Story: all that we know about the narrative including seen and unseen.
Diegesis: The total world of the story.
Parallelism: Parallel development of multiple storylines.
Cause and effect: Cause and effect. Causes can come from a character.

19. Chris Vogler 1992 The Writers Journey
Archetypes
Hero
Mentor
Shapeshifter
Trickster
Herald
Allies
Shadow
Threshold Guardians
The Hero’s Journey
Ordinary World
Call to Adventure
Refusal of the Call
First Threshold
Tests, Allies, Enemies
Approach to the Inmost Cave
Ordeal
Reward (seizing the sword)
The Road Back
Resurrection
Return with the Elixir

20. Levi Strauss Binary Opposites (Macro) Binary Opposites (Micro)
Protagonist/Antagonist
Action /Inaction
Binary Opposites (Micro)
Good looking / Ugly
Witty / Humourless

21. Barthes Audience Decodes
Enigma Code (sets up a question to be answered later)
Semic Code (How characters, actions ,events, settings etc. take on meaning within a culture.
Symbolic Code - Binary Oppositions or Psychological symbols
Action Code - understood by cross reference to other narratives in our culture
Cultural Codes - understood through our interaction with the wider world.