1. NARRATIVE THEORIES
A number of narrative theories have
evolved. They state that:
I. All stories share certain features
regardless of origin.
II. Stories will be told differently depending
on the text.

2. NARRATIVE THEORIES
• TODOROV’S EQUILIBRIUM THEORY
• BARTHES ENIGMA AND ACTION CODE
• LEVI STRAUSS’S BINARY OPPOSITION
• LINEAR NARRATIVE AND PARRALLEL
ACTION
• PROPP’S CHARACTER ROLES
• CLASSICAL HOLLYWOOD NARRATIVE
• ANTI-NARRATIVE
• MODE OF ADDRESS

3. TVEZTAN TODOROV
He proposed that all media texts have a recurring
formula.
1. Equilibrium: A narrative starts with a state of
equilibrium or harmony, for example a peaceful
community getting on with and enjoying life. A
firm sense of social order is established.
2. Disequilibrium: Into this world of stability
comes a force of disequilibrium or disruption;
an evil outsider or an event, that disrupts this
stability.
3. New equilibrium: By some mechanism, the evil
is removed or the event is restored to a new
harmony, in the form of a new equilibrium.

4. BARTHES ENIGMA AND ACTION
CODE
• Barthes argued that narrative works through a series
of codes that are used to control the way in which
information is given to the audience. Two of these
codes are particularly important, to understand how
narrative functions in media texts.
I. Enigma Code: A narrative device that teases the
audience by presenting a puzzle or riddle to be
solved. For example is the hero going to survive.
II. Action Code: A narrative device by which a
resolution is produced through action, for example a
shoot out. The action code is often considered to be
present within the male genre.

5. Strauss’s Binary Opposition
• Strauss claimed that narratives could only
be understood through conflict, between
oppositions – good versus evil. He called
these oppositions binary oppositions.
• Exercise: What are the binary oppositions
in Simpsons.

6. LINEAR NARRATIVE AND
PARALLEL ACTION
• Linear Narrative: A plot that moves
forward in a straight line without
flashbacks or digressions.
• Parallel Action: A narrative device in
which two scenes are observed as
happening at the same time by
crosscutting between them.

7. PROPP’S CHARACTER THEORY
• Vladmir Propp studied fairy stories and found
that certain character types consistently
repeated themselves, performing similar
functions. Propp identified 8 characters and their
functions.
• Some characters perform more than one
function.
• He called them character roles or spheres of
action.
• Not all characters have to be present.

8. • The hero - Shrek
• The villain – Lord Farquadd
• The donor (offers gifts with magical properties) – fairy
• Her father (rewards the hero for his efforts) – The
resistance
• The dispatcher (sends the hero on a mission) - Obi-Wan
Konebi
• The helper (aids the hero) – Chewbacca, Hans Solo
• The princess (hero’s reward) – The Princess
• False hero – Darth Vader

9. PROPP’S CHARACTER THEORY
Star Wars
• The hero - Luke
• The villain – Darth Vader
• The donor (offers gifts with magical properties) – Obi-
Wan Konebi.
• Her father (rewards the hero for his efforts) – The
resistance
• The dispatcher (sends the hero on a mission) - Obi-
Wan Konebi
• The helper (aids the hero) – Chewbacca, Hans Solo
• The princess (hero’s reward) – The Princess
• False hero – Darth Vader

10. CLASSICAL HOLLYWOOD
NARRATIVE (CHC)
• The dominant form of storytelling in films
is based on CHC. The narratives are easy
to follow and the endings are often in the
favour of good and the hero with whom we
are positioned to empathise. These
narratives are seen as satisfying and
uplifting.

11. ANTI-NARRATIVE & MODE OF
ADDRESS
• Anti Narrative: A text that seeks deliberatively
to disrupt narrative flow in order to achieve a
particular effect, such as the repetition of images
or the disruption of order of events.
• Mode of address: The way in which a particular
text will address or speak to its audience
verbally or visually. This has important
implications for the way in which the audience
responds to the text. For example voice overs
are used to convey factual information, which we
the audience rarely challenge.
• Another example is the way a children’s
programmes mode of address will be different to
the News.