NARRATIVE THEORIES

1. Narrative Theories
IN ‘THROUGH MY EYES’
BY AHMET BERK KANDIL

2. Propp’s Narrative Theory
Vladimir Propp developed a character theory for studying media texts and productions, which indicates that
there were 7 broad character types:
• The villain (struggles against the hero)
• The donor (prepares the hero or gives the hero some magical object)
• The (magical) helper (helps the hero in the quest)
• The princess (person the hero marries, often sought for during the narrative)
• The false hero (perceived as good character in beginning but emerges as evil)
• The dispatcher (character who makes the lack known and sends the hero off)
• The hero [AKA victim/seeker/paladin/winner, reacts to the donor, weds the princess
In my film not all of these character types appear due to the difference in the genre of
story. There is a villain, an unknown donor, and the hero.
The villain is the mysterious assailant who attacks the hero in the opening scenes, the
hero is the main character, the unknown donor is the stranger who placed the rifle
and the note on the coffee table.

3. Todorov’s Narrative Theory
Tzvetan Todorov's narrative theory suggests that all narratives follow a three part structure where
they begin with equilibrium, where everything is balanced, progress as something comes along to
disrupt that equilibrium, and finally reach a resolution, when equilibrium is restored.
These are the steps for all traditional stories:
1. Equilibrium (everything is as it should be) : Before the Black Friday Virus
2. Disruption (by an event) : Black Friday Virus
3. Recognition of disruption: Task Force formed
4. Attempts to repair disruption : In my film there are no attempts after the task force falls.
5. Return to equilibrium : In my film there is no return to equilibrium at least in the sense that
everything doesn’t go back to as it was but does calm down.
In ‘THROUGH MY EYES’ the film starts straight away at number 5 of the story and resets making
the disruption the moment when the survivor is shot, recognition of disruption when he wakes
up, attempts to repair disruption is when he hunts the bandit down into the forest and the
equilibrium is when the bandit finally steals everything he has. However all this is not shown in
the opening scenes but has rather been put into the final film.

4. Difference in Narrative Theory
The difference in my film is that it does not apply to one single
narrative theory, it applies to many and none, everything and
nothing as all elements of one theory are not present it is a mix
and match of many theories, an almost Frankenstein-like
narrative theory.
Todorov and Propp are the main contributors to the film’s
narrative theory but it also borrows from traditional theories
that are not written down but understood by the general
public/society as a whole such as survival of the fittest, the will
to keep going and also the way in which mankind will do
anything within their power to survive.