Research: Narrative Theory - Miss Begum

Narrative

What is a narrative and why is it important to the audience?

The narrative is what the particular story line is - in which structures the movie into three main parts; the opening, middle and end. The narratives job is the storytelling that informs the audience what will and/ or maybe happen. It is an important part of the film because if there was no narrative present then the film will be all over the place, without a narrative, the audience would be confused.

Creating meaning in texts: What four elements allows the audience to find meaning?

The four elements that creates meaning for the audience includes:

• Character - The representation of the character is important as it helps create meaning through factors such as the characters specific physic, gender, age, costume and their relationship with the other characters in the film, in addition, without these certain factors the audience are not able to make important first impressions that helps them understand the characters position within the film. 

• Genre - The genre of a particular film is also as important as the characters within a film as it also creates meaning. This is done by the themes that are presented through the film depending on the genre. Without the genre in the film, there would be no meaning as the characters. lighting, narrative and themes all depend on the specific genre.

• Connotation and denotation -The connotation and denotation of the film allows the audience to explore the meaning further on a specific object in the film. The connotations and denotations create suspense and allows the audience to identify that particular object in scene. For example; a black book is the denotation but the connotation can imply further information, ideas and themes such as death, vengeance and evil.

• Structure - The structure of a film creates meaning for the film as it allows a chronological order to flow within the film that makes sense and easier for the audience to understand. The setting, characters and events depend on the structure as one event that occurs leads to another. Without a clear structure, the audience are not able to understand the film and are unable to connect with the characters of film itself that may draw them away from the film, as a result, disliking it.

Narrative theories:

Propp (Characters): Who was he and what did he say? Refer to examples:

Vladimir Yakovlevich Propp was a Soviet folkorist who analysed basic components of folk talkes, furthermore, he was able to identify their simplest irreducible narrative elements. Characters have a narrative function and they provide a tructure for text. Propp's characters include:

• The Hero - A Character that seeks for better things.
• The Villain - Who opposes or actively blocks the hero's quest.
• The Donor - Who provides an object with magical properties.
• The Dispatcher - Who sends the hero on his/ hers quest via a message.
• The False Hero - Who disrupts the hero's success by making false claims.
• The Helper - Who aids the hero.
• The Princess - Acts as a reward for the hero and object of the villains plot.
• Her Father - Who acts to reward the hero for his efforts. 

Examples:

In this clip from 'The Man Of Steel'. Propp's theory would say that Superman is the hero, a character that seeks for better things and saves the day. When Superman is having a conversation with his father, his father can further portray as the dispatcher. This is because he sends Superman on his mission to save the people on earth. Superman goes to save the character Lois Lane in a crashing plane which shows that she is the Princess and acts as a reward for his efforts.

The scene from 'The Dark Knight Rises' demonstrates that Bruce Wayne (The Batman, Spoiler) is the Hero, he goes to extrondinary lengths to save the day and as he listens to Alfred, two can argue that Alfred is the donor, the dispatcher, the helper or even all as he provides Bruce with important information on who he's up against and cool gadgets, sends him on his missions via message and finally aids Batman when he is defeated.

Todorov (Ew-Diseq-Neweq) - Who was he and what did he say? Refer to examples:

Tzvetan Todorov was a Russian theorist that suggested film follow a specific narrative that the structures consists of the equilibruim, disequilibrum and new equilibruim, he believed that the formula could be applied to virtually all narratives. The equilibruim was when the characters appear stable at the beginning of the film, then later on the disequilivruim occurs when something disrupting happens and change occurs which then leads to be resolved by the hero. Finally the new equilibruim is when the disruption is resolved and the narrative is closed.

Examples:

The Dark Knight shows great representations of Todorov's theory as it follows a specific structure of the equilibruim, disequilibruim and new equilibruim. Batman at the start of the movie is at a stable start with nothing quite troubling him, as the movie progresses, the disequilbruim (usaully occurs in the middle of the film) is when something disrupts him in his path and changes occur which then he will have to solve himself. Finally at the end of the movie, the new equilibruim is introduced to the viewers to which the problem is fixed.

Aristotle (Themes and emotions) - Who was he and what dud he say? Refer to examples: 

Aristotle is one of the most influential thinkers of our world. Aristotle believes that the importance of a plot is the whole focus of a narrative. He states that it is key to have a beginning, middle and end. Moreover, he believes that it is important to arouse emotions and feelings through the use of themes especially themes such as a tragedy that would spark up the audiences mentality and emotions. Aristotle observed that all narratives had a beginning, middle and end furthermore, a narrative he stated should be created with a unity of time, place and action moving towards a logical and moral conclusion.

Examples:

This short movie clip from 'The Dark knight' demonstrates a clear structure of the beginning, middle and end. The exposition of the child in the antagonists arms show conventional thriller thtemes such as the victim who is the boy is typically blonde. The rising action which occurs when the antagonist 2 Faced flips the coin whether he chooses to kill the Batman, himself and the little boy. The ending which is the falling action would be when Batman is forced to push the antagonist off the cliff to prevent the damsel-in-distress being killed. Finally denouement is when we see that the boy is safe but Batman also falls off the cliff with the antagonist leaving an evoked emotion from the audience sympathsing the protagonist who didn't get the chance to save himself.

Barthes (Semiotics) - Who was he and what did he say? Refer to examples:

Roland Gerard Barthes was a theorist and philosopher that has explored the diverse range of fields that he has influenced the development of theories. Barthes stated that the semiology theory within a narrative had to consist of the denotation, connotation and cultural understanding.  The connotation and the denotation of a narrative is always referred to symbolism through the use of iconography, themes and characters. For an example; an antagonist has the connotations of evil and power that demonstrates his or hers bad intentions and capability.

Examples:

In this scene from 'Micheal Myers' it shows clear examples of denotations and connotations. There is a pumpkin right at the beginning of the scene which tells the audience the denotation of Halloween. The connotations of this would be fear because on Halloween, everyone is a masked figure and we cannot see their identity.

What narrative structures do thrillers tend to take and why?

Thriller narratives tend to follow the structure of Aristotle and Todorv as it demonstrates clear events of the beginning (new equilibruim) to when the audience are able to understand the main characters being introduced to them for example who is the protagonist, antagonist and victim. When the rising action occurs, the protagonist understands its mission to which they have to work towards and succeed. This is then followed by the disequilbrilum that reaches its climax keeping the audience tensed and on the edge of their seats furthermore making it a good structure for a thriller type genre. 

Conclusion:

My research on narrative theories has given me a clear idea of what I have to do to succeed in a successful thriller. This gives me a clear understanding and structure to how I must order my narratives in order to get the right audience response. Using the correct structure is important because it creates a clear understanding for the audience.