Narrative theory examines the elements that make up stories in media like films. Theories explore concepts like binary oppositions between characters, the four or five act story structure, and how directors symbolically represent ideas. For example, in Groundhog Day, Harold Ramis traps the audience in the same day loop as the main character to convey a message. The documentary also discusses theorists like Levi-Strauss who believed meanings come from opposites, and Joseph Campbell's monomyth theory of the hero's journey common to all stories.

1. Narrative
Theory in Film

2. WhatisNarrativ
theoryisthethoughtprocessbehindtheelementswithinan
ofanarrativeinapieceofmedia.Theoristswhostudy
definewhatisdistinctiveaboutthewaystoriesareorcanbe
iscompletelydependantontheelementswithinanarrative:
,characters,actions,themesandanyintendedmessage
differentformsofstorytellingcanhelpextendonecertainide
rcharactertrait.
ple,inthefilmGroundhogDay,HaroldRamischoosesto
samepiecesoffilmtotheaudienceoverandoveragainso
udiencetoofeeltrappedon2nd
ofFebruaryinPittsburgh.
lly,withoutthefouractstructureinwhichTodorovtheorised,
neverbeabletoseetheclearjourneythatPhilConnorsgo
omwastinghisdayshatinghislifetocherishingevery
fitandmakingeachdaynewandworthwhile.

3. Levi-Strauss–Bin
-StrausswasaFrenchanthropologistwhobelievedthatweformmeanings
otsimplyfromtheirowndefinition,butfromtheiropposite.Forexample,we
istinguishaheroinanarrativebecauseweunderstandthatthereisavillai
theoryofbinaryopposites.
binaryoppositesareusedinnearlyeveryfilm–moreobviouslyinactionfil
ars’withDarthVaderandLukeSkywalkeror‘TheDarkKnight’withBatman
er,althoughsometimesbinaryoppositesinfilmcanbemoresubtle:youha
nstrealityinEliaKazan’s,‘AStreetcarNamedDesire’whereVivienLeigh’s
bois’representsillusioninherdesiretoremainyouthfulandclingontothe
decadence,whereasMarlonBrando’s‘StanleyKowalski’representsthe
ofrealityinhisforcefulviolenceandstronglinkstomodernity.

4. Todorov–Four/Fiv
een,sincetheworksofAristotleandEuripidesstorieshavealways
nacts.Putinthesimplestterms,allstorieshaveabeginning,a
anend.
,writershavealwaysstruggledwiththesecondact.Often,a
andanendareeasytocomeupwith,howeveritisthebitinthe
chhascausedconfusionfordecades.Tomakethiseasiertodeal
condactwassplitintotwoorthree,creatingthefour/fiveact
fEquilibrium
tiontotheEquilibrium
ionthatDisorderHasOccurred
toRepairtheDamage
aNewEquilibrium

5. Tarantino’s‘FromDuskTill
Structure
StateofEquilibrium
Geckobrothersareontherunascriminalsfortheirrecentrobberyofa
.TheyplantoGotoMexicotoescapethepoliceandkidnapafamilyto
themthereintheirRV.
DisruptiontotheEquilibrium
yhavetostayatatruckersandbikersbar,‘TittyTwister’overnightwhilst
waittomeettheirpartnerCarlosatdawn.
RecognitionthatDisorderHasOccurred
dancersinthebarrevealthemselvestobevampiresandRichardiskilled.
FullerfamilyaswellasSethGeckoarelockedinthebar,surroundedby
usvampiresandhavetofightfortheirlives.JacobFullergetsbitten.
AttempttoRepairtheDamage
ymanagetofightoffmostofthevampiresandcomeupwithaplanwhilst
edinastoreroom.Theyrealisethattheymustactquickly,otherwise
bwillturnintoavampire.EventuallyJacobturnsandtheyareforcedto
imoutofhismisery.Thetwosurvivors,KateandSethcontinuetofight
dawnwhenthedaylighthelpsthemdefeatthelastofthevampires.
turntoaNewEquilibrium
osturnsup,SethcontinuesontherunasacriminalandKatedrivesoffin
Vtobeginhernewlife.

6. RolandBarthes–
nifiers,notastructureofsignified;ithasnobeginning;itisreversible;we
itbyseveralentrances,noneofwhichcanbeauthoritativelydeclaredto
e;thecodesitmobilizesextendasfarastheeyecanread,theyare
...thesystemsofmeaningcantakeoverthisabsolutelypluraltext,buttheir
erclosed,basedasitisontheinfinityoflanguage..”
inwhichRolandBarthesdescribedtext.Basically,heisexplaininghow
oftangledmeaningswhichneedstobeunravelledandonceunravelled,
tandthemanydifferentbranchesofconnotationswhichcomewiththe
tionofthetext.Thewaytoseethesedifferentconnotationsisbylookingat
eoftextfromdifferentperspectives.Barthestheorysaysthattherearefive
realwaysfoundinthenarrativeoftexts:
euticCode
Proairetic
cCode
Code
icCode

7. TheHermeneu
Thisisthewaythatthestoryavoidstellingthetruthor
revealingallthefactsinordertodropcluesin
throughouttohelpcreatemystery.
ThiscodeisusedbrilliantlyinDavidFincher’sfilm
FightClubtoforeshadowthefactthatthenarratorisin
factTylerDurden.
Tyleristhenarrator’sbinaryoppositeandhesoon
growstoidolisehim,creatingamen-onlyfightclub
whichbeginstocatchonallacrossAmerica.
FincherdropsinhintsofthetruththroughMarla’s
involvementinthenarrativeaswellasleavinghuge
chunksofthestoryoutandputtingitdowntothe
character’sinsomnia.

8. TheEnigma/Proa
hisisthecodewhichbuildsuptensionandleavestheaudience
uessingwhathappensnext.
hiscodeisfamouslyusedinallhorrorfilmstocreatethe
uspensethatthecharactersareindanger.Forexample,in
uillermoDelToro’sfilm‘Pan’sLabyrinth’,thestoryisledbya
hildandsotheaudienceareimmediatelyplacedinavulnerable
ositionduetothechild’slustforadventure.Thechoiceofusinga
hildasthestory’sleadinstantlycreatesthetensionofdanger
ecausewenotonlyfearforthechild’ssafety,butalsothechild’s
aivetycreatesanunsafeatmosphereastheyareunawareofthe
angertheyareputtingthemselvesin.
oreover,weseethisinotherhorrorfilmsclassicallywiththe
arkness,emptyframespace,thesilenceandlongcorridors.Allof
heseaspectsstimulatefearoftheunknown.Whensomethingis
issingfromaframe,orthereisacertainemptinesstothefilm,the
udience’smindsautomaticallyassumethatitistheretobefilled.
Earethrownoffbytheunconventional.

9. TheSemanti
icCodereferstotheconnotationwithinstorieswhichhelpgivethefilman
ing.Thisistheanalysisbehindthedenotationofthewordsorpropsoracti
telling.
Beauty,wecanseehundredsofsemanticswhichconnotetheAmerican
hertheunrealisticillusionoftheAmericanDream.Firstly,theBurnhamhou
bluewindowsandredroses,togetherthiscreatestheideaofAmerican
urityandwealth.Nonetheless,oneofthefirstimagesweseeintheopening
CarolynBurnhamcuttingaredrose,connotingthefilm’smajorplotpoint.
s’choicetousearedrosewasnotonlysymbolicofpatriotismbutalsolove,
ndanger,allofwhichcontributetothestorylineofAmericanBeauty.Thefa
gcutdown,foreshadowstheunhappyendingofthefilm,sayingona
el,thattheAmericanDreamisanillusion.

10. TheSymboli
orkswiththeSemanticCode,however,onabroaderscale,organisingallth
desintofewoverallmeaningsorthemes.
meexample,withAmericanBeauty,whereasthesmallerconnotationsfro
ngcutdownandthewhitepickethouse,weareabletocometoanoverall
hatthefilmisabouttheillusionanddisintegrationoftheAmericanDream.
eredoftheroseconnoteslustbutitalsoconnotesbloodandanger.This
ymboliccodeforeshadowstheendingofthefilm.

11. TheCultural
odethatplaysonpeople’spre-existingknowledgeregardinghistory,scienc
Thismaybeusedinfilmtoformthebasisoftheplotline,anaspectthat
dtobeexplained,justaccepted.
LifeIsBeautiful’byRobertoBenigni,theactiontakesplacewithinWorldWa
hestoryofafatherandsonwhoarevictimsoftheHolocaust.TheCultural
dinthisfilminthewaythattheaudiencedon’thavetobetoldwhatisgoing
ntotheHolocaust,wesimplyacceptthatthefilmissetinthisseriesof
ourownknowledge.Thefilmfocusesontherelationshipbetweenthefathe
texplainingwhattheHolocaustwasandwhathappenedduringit.

12. Propp–Charac
orysuggeststhatthereareeightcharacterrolesineveryfilm:
acharacterthatseekssomethingout
-thepersonwhoopposesoractivelyblocksthehero’squest
–whoprovidesanobjectwithmagicalproperties.
tcher–whosendstheheroonhis/herquestviaamessage.
Hero–whodisruptsthehero’ssuccessbymakingfalseclaims.
r–whoaidsthehero.
ss–actsastherewardfortheheroandtheobjectofthevillain’s
–whoactstorewardtheheroforhiseffort.
thistheorytoGilJunger’sfilm‘10ThingsIHateAboutYou’,weca
esinaction:

13. Propp’sTheory:‘10T
CameronJames(JosephGordon-Levitt)
-KatStratford(JuliaStyles)
BogieLowenstein(KyleCease)
her–Michael(DavidKrumholtz)
ero–JoeyDonner(AndrewKeegan)
–PatrickVerona(HeathLedger)
s–BiancaStratford(LarisaOleynik)
WalterStratford(LarryMiller)

14. Lyotard’sTheory:
eorysaysthatthemeta-narrativeswhichadduptocreatethemodernist
refalse.HesaidthatEnlightenmentthinkerswerepiecingtogetherareality
asofaschematicsystemwhichneglectslargegroupsofpeople.For
eEnlightenmentsaidthatamanandawomanweresupposedtocome
havechildrenbecausethat’swhatsciencesuggests.However,thisideolo
homosexuals.Insomeways,meta-narrativescreatetotalitarianstates,for
NazirulesuggestedthatweshouldallbeofanAryanrace,weshouldbe
alandweshouldallbefitandhealthy.Thismeta-narrativerejectedany
mosexualandraciallyorculturallydifferentpeople.
ilm,Lyotard’sworkasanaestheticiancomesintoplay.Hecontributedso
understandingoffilmbyunsettlingtheassumptionsandcertaintiesofearli
ichunderpinnedhowfilmhasbeenconceptualised.Allhegemonicparadigm
rganisationandbehaviour:Marxism,Christianity,science,fascism,languag
dbythePost-modernisttheory.
ory,signsaregivenaformof‘hyper-reality’,theyaresomehowmorereal

15. Post-Modernis
theideaof‘hyper-reality’,webegintounderstandhowLyotard’stheory
ctsfilmtoday.Anotherpost-moderntheorist,FredricJameson,suggests
thekeyfeaturesofpost-moderncultureare:self-referentiality,irony,
icheandparody.
example,intheMontyPythonfilm‘TheHolyGrail’,thereareseveral
ricalandpoliticalundertonestotheplotwhichchallengethemeta-
ativeidealsofsuchhegemonicparadigms.Nonetheless,themost
gnisableformofpost-modernismisthroughthewaythefilmiswrittenin
eta-fictionformatwheretheaudienceareconstantlydrawntothe
ledgethattheactioninthestoryisunreal.Thishelpstoaddhumourto
film.Allaspectsofthefilmhelpstrengthenthepost-modernfeel,from
hyper-realcostumesandart-designtotheexaggeratedaction.
itionally,SpikeJonze’sfilm‘Her’,whichtellsthestoryofamanwhofalls
vewithhisoperatingsystem,isknee-deepinpost-modernisttheory.The
questionshowrealanyone’srealitytrulyisandhowgenuinehuman
tionsare.Oneofthetropesofpostmodernismistobreakthe
ndariesofreality,proposingthateverythingisasimulatedreality-adata
emetchedintoourminds.Jonze’sfilmsuccessfullyblursthelines
eenhumanityandmachine,suggestingthecapabilityoffuture
nologyandthedeclineofhumanity.
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16. JosephCampbell:Mono
l’stheory,otherwisereferredtoas‘theHero’sJourney’isacycleinwhichthe
throughouttheplot.Thetheorysuggeststhatthereistwelvestagestoeveryhero’s
gesinclude:
-Theherohasanormaleverydayexistence,peaceful,calmandordered.
dventure-Aserioussituationemergesthatthreatensordinarylife,theheroissummonedto
mission.
andRefusaloftheCall-Theherofeelsoverwhelmedbythetaskandeitherfeelsinadequateto
simplydoesn’twanttodoit,doesn’tbelievethatit’sessentialorsomeoneelserefusesonthe
DiscoveringaMentor-Theheroleavestheiroldlifebehindandmeetsamentor/friendwhowill
dthem.
ssingthe‘Threshold’-Theherohaslefttheirhomeandembarksonajourney,smallchallenges
FindingAllies/Enemies-Theheroandtheiralliesapproachachallengingplace.
ts/Challenges-Theherogoesthroughmanychallenges,eachmakingthemstronger.
iscoversthe‘Treasure’-Theheromustenteraplaceofdarknesstolearn/collectsomethingof
illbethekeyinthefinalbattle.
/Result-Themostchallengingtest,mortalenemy,reacharesolution.
esurrection-theherois/isthoughttohavedied,onlytoreturnagain,surprisingeveryone.
/ReturningwiththeElixir-Theherobringsbackthesolutiontorestoretheirordinaryworld.
n-Theheroahsimproved/changedandnowtheyreceivetheirreward/claimtheirnewplaceinthe

17. TheHero’sJourney:‘T
hCampbell’stheory,otherwisereferredtoas‘theHero’sJourney’isacycle
chtheprotagonistgoesthroughouttheplot.Thetheorysuggeststhatthereis
stagestoeveryhero’sjourney,thesestagesinclude:
1:StatusQuo-OrdinaryfarmboyworkingforButtercup’sfamily,theyfallmadlyinlove.
:A‘call’toAdventure-WesleygoestoAmerica,ButtercupisforcedtomarryevilPrince
rdink.ButtercupiskidnappedbyVizziniandhiscrew,Wesley’squestistosaveButtercup.
:AssistanceandRefusaloftheCall-WesleylovesButtercupsomuchthathenever
hisactions.
:Departure/DiscoveringaMentor-WesleyworkedwithDreadPirateRobertandwas
dbyhim.
:Trials/Pressingthe‘Threshold’-Hashadtoreturnhometosavehistruelove.
:Approach/FindingAllies/Enemies-WesleyconfrontsVizziniandhiscrew:
7:Crisis/Tests/Challenges-hefenceswiththeworld’sbestswordsman,outsmartedthe
mind,climbedthecliffsofinsanityandwrestledwiththestrongestgiant.
:Collects/Discoversthe‘Treasure’-WesleysavesButtercupbutPrincesHumperdink
emandsendsWesleytothezooofdeath.WesleyisalmostdeadwhenInigoandFezzik
.
:Showdown/Result-InigofacesPrinceHumperdinkandclaimshisrevenge,Wesley
uttercupagain.
0:Return/Resurrection-Theyallreturnhometogetherasfriends,Wesleyhasnew
isdom,henowknowshispriorities.
1:NewLife/ReturningwiththeElixir-InigoandFezzikbecomebestfriendswithWesley
ttercupandthehappycouplegetmarried.
2:Resolution-Theyliveahappy,ordinarylifetogether.
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