Narrative Theories

Todorov's Theory - 1969

"Believed to be able to be applied to any film. He believed that all films followed the same narrative pattern."

• Equilibrium 
• Disruption of Equilibrium
• Recognition of Disruption 
• Reparation of Damage 
• New Equilibrium

Vladimir Propp - 1920

"The Morphology of the Folk Tale" (similar to Todorov's Theory)

• Recognised that folk tales are similar.
• Concerned with the basic situations and struggles.
• Populated by the same stock characters.
• Characters have certain roles that provide the structure to texts.
• Identified the 32 categories of action called "function".
• Identified sphere of action.
• Roles provide structure to media
• The character roles perform certain functions

8 Character Roles

• The hero - the character who seeks something
• The villain - opposes or bocks the hero’s quest.
• The donor - provides an object which has some magical property
• The dispatcher - sends the hero on his way by providing a message.
• The false hero - disrupts the hero’s hope of reward by pressing false claims.
• The helper - aids the hero
• The princess - acts as a reward for the hero and as an object of the villains scheming
• The father - acts to reward the hero for his efforts.

Levi Strauss - 1940s

"All stories depend on binary oppositions - a conflict between two sides/qualities which are opposites"

• Cowboys vs. Indians
• Settlers vs. Natives
• The Law vs. Outlaws
• Good vs. Evil

Branston and Stafford - 2001

"Soaps use stereotypes in terms of accents and mannerisms in order to inform the audience as to where the media text is set"

• Dark, heavy makeup
• Long, stylised nails
• Elongated vowels

These carry the stereotypes of being in Essex, providing the audience with a location as to where the piece is set.

Dyer - 1979

"Stereotypes are all about power. Those with power stereotypes those without"

Roland Barthes - 1974

"Narratives are like a ball of string, it can be unravelled in either one way or many ways"

Semiologist - study of signs and their meanings

Media texts can be:

• Open - many interpretation
• Closed - single interpretation

The ways that narrative is analysed are called narrative codes which have 5 categories:

1. Hermeneutic/Enigma Code
• Refers to elements of the story that aren't fully explained, becomes mystery for audience
• Keeps the audience guessing until the final scene to reach catharsis
• Works with the Proairetic code to develop tension and engage the audience
• "two sequential codes"
2. Proairetic/Action Code
• Builds tension
• Refers to action or event that indicates that something is about to happen
• "Action and reaction"
• Works with the Hermeneutic code to develop tension and engage the audience
• "two sequential codes"
3. Semantic Code
• Connotations within the story
• Gives meaning beyond the denoted meaning
4. Symbolic Code
• Organises semantic codes into broader and deeper sets of meaning
• Done through antithesis:
• A rhetorical or literary device. A person or thing that is the direct opposite of something else.
5. Cultural/Referential Code
• Refers to anything within text that refer to scientific, historical and cultural knowledge.
• Points out the shared knowledge we have of how the world works

Gerbner - 1986

• Effects of television on viewers
• Repetitive nature of television means TV influences how people see the world
• Cultivation theory
• “The more time people spend ‘living’ in the television world, the more likely they are to believe social reality portrayed on television”

Stuart Hall Encoding and Decoding - 1980

• Cultural theorist and professor of psychology
• Looked at the role of audience positioning and interpretation

Suggested Three Ways we may Read Media Texts:

Dominant Reading

• Accepting of preferred reading
• Read how the author wants it
• Code seems natural and transparent

Negotiated Reading

• Reader partly believes code
• Broadly accepts reading
• Personalises reading to fit their position, experiences and interests

Opposition Reading

• Rejection of the reading
• Due to social position 

Gramsci - 1920s

• Developed the concept of hegemony