Dylan Koolman AS Media G322 (Theory): Analysis: Narrative Stories

Captain Philips - Pro/Antagonist

Protagonist - Tom Hanks as 'Captain Phillips' as the eponymous character.

Antagonist - The Somali Pirates and their leader 'Muse'

Summation - Captain Philips has been taken hostage by Somali Pirates in an attempt to save his crew from an attack. The film reveals the distance between different cultures and the limited options available to the Somalians. The film inflicts an emotional and sympathetic response towards the protagonist and the antagonist. The three pirates are assassinated, muse their leader is captures and arrested and Captain Philips is rescued which is the catharsis.

Protagonist Traits -

Leadership skills
Strong in the face of adversity
Brave
Caring
Selfless

Antagonist Traits -

Strong leader
Dominant
Driven to lifestyle due to lack of options
Naive

Avengers - Pro/Antagonist

Protagonist - Avengers

Antagonist - Loki

Summation - When Thor's evil brother, Loki (Tom Hiddleston), gains access to the unlimited power of the energy cube called the Tesseract, Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), director of S.H.I.E.L.D., initiates a superhero recruitment effort to defeat the unprecedented threat to Earth. Joining Fury's "dream team" are Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Captain America (Chris Evans), the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), the Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner).

Protagonist Traits -

Teamwork
Good over evil
Courage
Selfless

Antagonist Traits -

Overconfident
Powerful
Evil

Breaking Bad - Anti-Hero

Anti-Hero - Walter White

Summation - When chemistry teacher Walter White is diagnosed with Stage III cancer and given only two years to live, he decides he has nothing to lose. He lives with his teenage son, who has cerebral palsy, and his wife, in New Mexico. Determined to ensure that his family will have a secure future, Walt embarks on a career of drugs and crime. He proves to be remarkably proficient in this new world as he begins manufacturing and selling methamphetamine with one of his former students. The series tracks the impacts of a fatal diagnosis on a regular, hard working man, and explores how a fatal diagnosis affects his morality and transforms him into a major player of the drug trade.

Anti-hero Traits -

No other options
Doing bad things for the good reasons
Tries to do right by his family

Sherlock Holmes - Foil

Protagonist - Sherlock Holmes

Foil - John Watson

Summation - When a string of brutal murders terrorizes London, it doesn't take long for legendary detective Sherlock Holmes (Robert Downey Jr.) and his crime-solving partner, Dr. Watson (Jude Law), to find the killer, Lord Blackwood (Mark Strong). A devotee of the dark arts, Blackwood has a bigger scheme in mind, and his execution plays right into his plans. The game is afoot when Blackwood seems to rise from the grave, plunging Holmes and Watson into the world of the occult and strange technologies.

Maleficient - Anti-Hero

Anti-Hero - Maleficient

Antagonist - Prince stephan

Summation - As a beautiful young woman of pure heart, Maleficent (Angelina Jolie) has an idyllic life in a forest kingdom. When an invading army threatens the land, Maleficent rises up to become its fiercest protector. However, a terrible betrayal hardens her heart and twists her into a creature bent on revenge. She engages in an epic battle with the invading king's successor, then curses his newborn daughter, Aurora realising only later that the child holds the key to peace in the kingdom.

Anti-hero Traits -

Had a bad start and does bad actions
Changes her way of thinking from good to bad to good again.

Relevance to Todorov's Theory

In 1969, Todorov produced a theory which he believed could be applied to any film. He believed that all films followed the same narrative pattern. Equilibrium -> Disequilibrium -> Acknowledgement -> Solution -> New Equilibrium

1) Equilibrium - Maleficient has wings and is in love with a prince. The kingdom is peaceful.