Narrative patterns
Linear Pattern: progresses forward towards a resolution -
Beginning, Middle and End.
Multi-strand Narrative: popular in broadcast TV (e.g. soaps)
and film. Involves more than one narrative running parallel involving different
characters and locations.
Documentary narrative: this may revolve round a central
theme (e.g. troublesome neighbours) or group of people.
Long-running TV series such as Breaking Bad or The Wire have
one major narrative and lots of mini-narratives. The major narrative runs over
the series, the mini narrative may be resolved within an episode.
Narrative theories
When studying narrative in Media, we need to be able to
identify what the story is and how it is being told. There are three key
theories we need to learn and apply:
Enigma and Action Codes - Roland Barthes
Barthes suggested that stories have certain codes that
audiences understand and respond to.
ENIGMA codes: control how much we know and help hold our
interest. It creates mystery during the narrative.
ACTION codes: events or actions in the story that are
important in developing the narrative, e.g. a gun being cocked signifies that a
violent scene will follow.
Todorov: equilibrium
Tzvetan Todorov proposed a theory of equilibrium:
Equilibrium: An existing state of harmony
Disequilibrium: Equilibrium is disrupted by an unfortunate
event or evil character which leads to a chain of events involving conflict
New Equilibrium: The evil forces are defeated, the conflict
is resolved and harmony exists once more
Character theory: Propp
Vladimir Propp came up with a list of stock characters in
narratives by examining Russian fairytales. He called them the seven spheres of
action:
The Villain: Creates a complication in the narrative
The Donor: Gives the hero something that will help in the
resolution
The Helper: Helps the hero in restoring the resolution
The Princess: Has to be saved by the hero
The Dispatcher: Sends the hero on a task
The Hero: Central protagonist, saves the day and restores
equilibrium
The False Hero: Rare character that appears to be good but
is revealed to have been bad all along