Explaining Genre Theory, Narrative Theory and Postmodernism.

1. Emma Sutton
The audience responds to a media product in many ways, the approaches can be the way
they analyse the:
 Genre
 Narrative
 Semiotics
 Representation
In this article I will be looking at these four areas when analysing Leon, The Professional,
Pulp Fiction and Tangled.
Narrative
There are 3 theories’ that make up narrative. Todorov, Strauss and Propp. I will be using
these theories in Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction.
Tzvetan Todorov’s theory is that the story follows these 5 stages of narrative.
 Exposition
 Inciting Incident
 Rising Action
 Climax
 Denouement
The narrative doesn’t have to follow that order but they all include these stages.
Vladimir Propp, a literary critic, studied fairy tales and suggested that they all follow a
specific narrative structure. He discovered that there is a certain type of character to use in
every narrative structure.
The characters that are involved are:
 The Hero
 The Villain
 The Princess
 The Dispatcher
 The Helper
 The Donor
 The False Hero
The last theory is Strauss’ theory. Strauss studied myths and tribal cultures and examined
how stories reflect the values. This is called Binary Opposition. Binary Opposition is the
conflict between two qualities.
Leon: The Professional is a film created in 1995 by Luc Besson. The
film is about a 12-year-old girl called Matilda (Natalie Portman) who
teams up with a hitman named Leon (Jean Reno), who lives down
the hall, to avenge her family after a corrupt DEA agent Stansfield
(Gary Oldman).
The filmfollows a Linear Narrative and has the three act structure.

2. Emma Sutton
Act 1 is the Exposition/Inciting Incident
The Exposition in Act 1 is setting up the filmso it shows the location and introduces the
characters. The setting for this filmis New York, the characters are the Protagonist- Leon,
the victim/ heroine is Matilda and the antagonist is Norman Stansfield. This shows it follows
Propp’s Theory of Character types where they are the same.
The Inciting Incident is the incident that sets the plot of the film. In Leon it is when
Stansfield kills Matilda’s family.
Act 2 Rising Action
Rising Action is the part in the plot where it has a series of incidents that create suspense
and interest in the narrative. In the filmAct 2 includes Leon training Matilda to be an
assassin, He kills all of Stansfield men and Stansfield discovers where Leon and Matilda are
living.
Act 3 Climax/ Falling Action/Dénouement
The Climax in a filmis the most intense point in a film in the development of a film. For Leon
the climax is when Stansfield attacks the apartment.
Falling Action is the part of the film that is after the climax. The Falling Action for Leon is
when Leon kills both himself and Stansfield and Matilda escapes to the safety of the school
and is protected by Tony.
Dénouement is the final part of the film where everything is explained or resolved. In Leon
the Dénouement is when Matilda plants the plant into the ground to represent a new life.
The genre of Leon: The Professional is an Action-Thriller. I am going to use Lacey’s
Repertoire of Elements to show how the audience know the genre.
Setting- The setting is New York which is a metropolitan city. We can tell it is New York as it
shows iconic buildings like The Empire State Building and the Twin Towers. It also shows
New York’s yellow taxis.
Character- Like all films they have a Protagonist, Antagonist and a heroin/victim. For Action
the Protagonist is Leon who is a Hitman. The heroin/victim Matilda a 12-year-old girl who
lives across from Leon. The antagonist is Norman Stansfield. These characters are not like
the action movie tropes; the main protagonist is normally a handsome, powerful man but in
Leon: The Professional the main isn’t handsome but is powerful. The heroin/victim is
represented as a good looking, sexy female who is used as a love interest for the main
protagonist. In this film however the heroin is a 12-year-old girl. The antagonist in this filmis
a corrupt police officer. It’s ironic because police are seen as the good guys and people who
protect but they are the bad guys.
Iconography- Its set in a run-down area of New York known as ‘Little Italy’ where there is a
lot of gangsters live. This means there would be a use of guns and drugs involved. Guns are
used in an action film as they are used during fights. Drugs are used in action films as they
are used amongst gangsters and are the main causes of violence as people get into trouble
when they use them.

3. Emma Sutton
Style-The film starts with an establishing shot of the location where its set. During the shot it
plays calming music to create a mystery. It then cuts to an extreme close up of glasses and
remains in extreme close ups to keep hold of the mystery. The music changes every time it
introduces a new character. For Leon there is no music played when he is introduced to
keep the mystery remaining about who the character is. Is he a bad guy or a good guy?
When Matilda is introduced they play a calm, gentle tune to show she is a good guy but also
the victim of the story. She is sat behind a railing to show that she feels imprisoned behind
bars and can’t escape from her life. When the antagonist is introduced the music changes to
a deeper, scarier tune. It shows the back of his head to remain the mystery of who this
character is because all the audience know is that he is the bad guy.
Pulp Fiction
Directed by Quentin Tarantino, Pulp Fiction (released in 1994)
follows non-linear narrative structure following 4 interrelated
stories about a prize-fighter named Butch (Bruce Willis), young
lovers, Honey Bunny (Amanda Plummer) and Pumpkin (Tim Roth),
two career criminals Vincent Vega (John Travolta) and Jules
(Samuel L. Jackson).
Although the story is in a Non-Linear Narrative it still follows
Todorov’s theory of the 5 stages of Narrative. If it followed in a
linear Narrative this is how the film would look.
Exposition: In Pulp Fiction the exposition is when Butch’s father gives him the watch many
years ago. It then goes to the present day with Vincent and Jules doing their job shooting
crooks that are late with their payments to their boss.
Inciting Incident: For the Inciting Incident it is when Vincent accidentally shoots Marvin in
the head getting blood all over the inside of the car. They then have to go to Jimmy’s house
so they don’t get caught. While at Jimmy’s house they phone their boss to tell him what
happened and he sends his cleaner Wolf to sort out the mess.
Rising Action: After leaving Jimmy’s, Vincent and Jules go to a diner that then gets armed
robbed by the young couple Pumpkin and Honey Bunny. Jules gives all his money to the
couple and tells them to leave the diner. Vincent is then given the task to look after his boss
Marcellus, wife Mia. While he is babysitting her they go to a 1950’s themed restaurant
called Jack Rabbit Slims. There they have some food and join a dance competition. When
they return home, Mia has a drug overdose and Vincent goes to Lance’s house where he
then gives her an adrenaline shot to the heart.
Climax: After double crossing Marcellus by winning the fight, Butch has to now lay low by
living in a motel with his girlfriend Fabienne. He discovers that she hasn’t packed his father’s
watch so he then returns to his apartment to retrieve it. During his time at the apartment he
discovers a gun on the kitchen counter. He then hears a toilet flush and Vincent exits the
bathroom only for Butch to shoot him. On his way back to the motel he is stopped at a

4. Emma Sutton
traffic light where he is seen by Marcellus. He hits Marcellus with his car and he is then
chased to a pawnshop. The owner captures both of them and ties them in the basement.
They are then joined by a security guard named Zed and a man in a bondage suit named
‘the gimp’. Zed then rapes Marcellus in another room leaving Butch with the gimp. Butch
escapes but then just before he leaves he returns to help Marcellus, by killing Maynard and
leaving Marcellus to deal with Zed.
Denoument: Marcellus says to Butch they are even as long as he leaves the city and never
returns and to never mention anything about the rape. Butch leaves the shop on Zeds
chopper returns to the motel to pick up Fabienne and leaves Los Angles together.
Postmodernism
Postmodernism is a movement in art and philosophy and social science where society is no
longer governed by history and progress. Instead it is highly independent on past work
before WWII.
Intertextuality references to other forms or genres.
One technique that is used in Postmodernism is a Pastiche. A Pastiche is an imitation of
another work, artist or period.
In this scene there is Intertextuality
with the film The Seven Year Itch
(Billy Wilder 1955).
Quentin Tarantino made a pastiche
where the actress is recreating the
iconic scene with the actress Marilyn
Monroe.
Another postmodern technique that can be used is a Parody which is an imitation that
exaggerates the features of another piece of work with a more of a comedic effect.
In this second scene there is
Intertextuality with the film Saturday
Night Fever. In Pulp Fiction (Quentin
Tarantino, 1994) they made a Parody
of the film as John Travolta starred in
the film so there is use of Self
Referentially, so they made a Parody
because in Saturday Night Fever John was a handsome man who was good at dancing but in
Pulp Fiction he has isn’t as handsome as he used to be and not as good at dancing.
Reflexivity is when a film/TV show exposes the mechanics. It can be broken by either
characters addressing the audience or equipment are shown in screen

5. Emma Sutton
She draws a box when she
swears.
When an actor/actress reference their past work. It is often classed as a self-parody it’s
called Self-Referentially.
John Travolta starred in the 1978 filmGrease
(Randal Kleiser). They reaerated the scene in the
car as a Pastiche to the film.
A Bricolage is a technique where it pays homage to a genre or an era.
The restaurant is 1950’s themed and
so it’s paying homage to the era. It
has the iconic characters, uses of
colour, the cars and milkshakes.

6. Emma Sutton
Tangled
Tangled is a Postmodern Disney retelling of the Grimm Fairy-tale,
Rapunzel. Like in fairy tale it is about a girl who has been locked
in a tower all her life but there is a twist. Rapunzel (Mandy
Moore) is a Princess stolen by an old woman named Gothel
(Donna Murphy) because she has magic hair that can keep her
young. 18 years later a wanted thief, named Flynn Rider (Zachary
Levi), stumbles across the tower Rapunzel is hidden in whilst he
was being chased. The two embark on an adventure to go take
Rapunzel to see the floating lights that are only released on her
birthday.
Directed by: Nathan Greno, Byron Howard
Released: 2010
The genre for Tangled is a Fantasy and I am going to apply use Lacey’s Repertoire of
Elements to show how the audience know the genre.
Setting: The setting of Tangled is in a made up mystical land named Cornona. Like most
fantasy films they are set in worlds that don’t exist. It is also set in a forest which is also an
element in fantasy films as they are quiet and can be known to hold magical creatures. Even
though the filmdoesn’t have any magical creatures the forest is hiding Rapunzel who has
magical hair.
Character: This film follows Propps character theory. It has the hero which is Flynn. He has
the characteristics of a typical hero. He is an attractive male who rescues the heroin.
In the film the Princess (victim/heroin) is Rapunzel. Not only is she a princess but she is
someone who has to escape from the villain. She is also the love interest to the hero.
The villain in this story is Mother Gothel as she kidnapped Rapunzel when she was a baby
and held her hostage in her tower to use her magic hair.
The helpers are Pascal and Maximus as they are the sidekicks to Rapunzel and Flynn. Pascal
is a chameleon who is Rapunzel’s best and only friend and Maximus is a palace horse who
started out by chasing Flynn to arrest him but he then joins the side of the heroes and
eventually saves Flynn.
The Dispatcher is the floating lanterns that Rapunzel wants to discover. These send
Rapunzel and Flynn on their adventure.
The Donor is frying pan. This is a weapon the heroes used to aid them against the bad guys.
There isn’t any false hero in Tangled however there is false antagonists. Maximus is a false
antagonist however he is more of a sidekick character. So the false antagonists are the
‘Ruffians’ in the ‘Snuggly Duckling. They at first send for the guards to arrest Flynn and fight
about who is going to get the reward but then they redeem themselves when they help
Rapunzel and Flynn escape.
Iconography: There is use of colour representation on the characters. For Rapunzel she
wears a purple dress to show that she is royalty even though she didn’t know it herself. Her
hair is a golden colour which can represent treasure. For Mother Gothel she wears a red
dress and has black hair, both colours can represent evil. Black can also represent death

7. Emma Sutton
which could mean it is foreshadowing her death. Another iconic feature in Tangled that can
show that it is fantasy is they use of magic with Rapunzel’s hair. There is also uses of animal
creatures which are used as sidekicks.
Style: Tangled has a high key lighting to show that it is a positive story and when showing
the protagonists they have high key lighting to show that they are good and with the villains
they have more darker lighting. During the scene when Flynn goes back to save Rapunzel
from Gothel the lighting is darker in the tower to show that the villain has won and to
represent death. When Gothel dies and Rapunzel heals Flynn the lighting starts to restore
itself to show that good has won and to show that a life has returned.