The document discusses several theories of narrative and audience in film. It describes Claude Levi-Strauss's theory of binary oppositions driving conflict and resolution in narratives. It also outlines Vladimir Propp's 7 main character types that often appear in stories. Finally, it discusses Tzvetan Todorov's 5 stages of narrative structure and how these theories apply to analyzing the short film "PROMISE".

1. Narrative and Audience Theory in Film

2. Claude Levi Strauss
Claude Levi Strauss is the theorist behind binary oppositions.
He suggested that all narratives are driven by the constant
creation of conflict between two polar opposites, and that the
conflict must always end in a resolution of conflict (within
film). The opposites can be as simple as good vs evil,
although they don’t have to be a metaphor or simply light and
dark. Within our production Levi Strauss’ theory can be
applied to the counterparts of Ellie and Dave. The audience
can receive information in different ways so some could see
Dave as controlling and Ellie as Innocent, and kind hearted.
This is also inferred by the clothing that the characters are
dressed in for example, Ellie is mainly seen in light colours
while Dave is seen in dark colours thus showing two polar
opposites.

3. Vladimir Propp
Propp suggested that there are 7 main character types these are: The hero -
this character may not necessarily be the main character, but the hero fights
against the villain and is often lead by the donor, or shares a tight bond with
them. The villain – this character is the character that goes against the
“stereotypical” hero. They challenge the “good” in a film narrative. The
donor/enabler – this character prepares the hero or gives the hero some
magical object. This character is often a fairy godmother, particularly in fairy
tales. The helper – this character helps the hero on their quest. The helper
may also be found in a supporting role. The characteristic of a helper can
include intelligence, determination and courage. The princess – this
character is sought for during the narrative, and is often the person that the
hero marries at the end of the narrative during the celebrations. The princess
can sometimes fall for the false hero, before realising her mistake and falling
for the real hero. The false hero – this character is perceived as a good
character in the beginning, but later emerges as evil. The dispatcher – the
character who sends the hero off on their quest. The dispatcher often has an
early role in the narrative. This may be a family member such as a mother or
father. It can also be the princess's father, who gives the hero a set of quests
to be completed before he gains the hand of the princess. The dispatcher
may also be combined with another role, for example the false hero who
then trails along behind (perhaps disguised as a helper).

4. How does this apply to our own production?
The hero – The hero could simply be Ellie herself or some could perceive
Sam as being the hero as he is able to give Ellie the feeling of being loved
during her limited time.
The helper – this character helps the hero on their quest and so this can be
seen as Sam, as he is seen to confront Dave and thus supports Ellie on her
journey of convincing her father that she needs to live a ‘normal’ teenage
life.
The princess – Typically this is Ellie however we have challenged this
theory as Sam could be seen as the prize instead of Ellie herself.
The Villain – The villain does not have to be in fact a character but could be
Ellie’s illness which is seen to progress throughout the production. Some
could perceive as Dave also being the villain however we believe that Ellie’s
illness fits the category more appropriately.
As you can see the roles do actually overlap which is common among film
particularly within short film with the duration is limited and there are less
roles.

5. Todorov
Todorov simplified the idea of narrative theory and
suggested that conventional narratives are structured
using five main stages: 1) State of equilibrium 2)
Disruption of equilibrium 3) Recognition by main
characters of this disruption 4) Attempt to repair
disruption 5) Reinstatement of equilibrium- This
equilibrium is never identical to the original state of
equilibrium, as for equilibrium to be restored, the
characters must learn something; the characters
and/or situations are altered by the disruption.

6. How does this apply to PROMISE?
For the disruption of the equilibrium to be solved Ellie
had to convince her father that she needs Sam’s
company and he is restricting her from living a normal
life especially with her time being so limited.
Furthermore this works in correlation with Propp’s
theory of the 7 characters and the use of Levi Strauss
creation of conflict between two opposites thus
suggesting that all these theories work together in
order to build a narrative structure.

7. Audience – David Morely
Three Positions Morley outlined three hypothetical positions which
the reader of a programme might occupy:
 Dominant (or 'hegemonic') reading: The reader shares the
programme's 'code' (its meaning system of values, attitudes,
beliefs and assumptions) and fully accepts the programme's
'preferred reading' (a reading which may not have been the result
of any conscious intention on the part of the programme makers).
 Negotiated reading: The reader partly shares the programme's
code and broadly accepts the preferred reading, but modifies it in
a way which reflects their position and interests.
 Oppositional ('counter-hegemonic') reading: The reader does not
share the programme's code and rejects the preferred reading,
bringing to bear an alternative frame of interpretation. Morley
argues that 'members of a given sub-culture will tend to share a
cultural orientation towards decoding messages in particular
ways. Their individual "readings" of messages will be framed by
shared cultural formations and practice

8. How does this apply to PROMISE?
The main assumption is that the majority of our
audience are dominant (or 'hegemonic') readers thus
suggesting that reader shares PROMISE’s attitudes
towards certain topics e.g. parenting and how adults
can related to this, e.g. some would accept Dave’s
point of view but a younger audience may perceive
him as being over protected. Promise’s meaning
system of values, attitudes, beliefs and assumptions
will be fully accepted by the audience especially
towards illnesses.

9. Reception analysis
Reception analysis is a theory that focuses on the audience’s
reaction to a particular media text, with the audience interpreting
the meaning of the media and then providing judgment, which is
influenced by individual circumstances. Individual circumstances
can mean many things, with aspects like nationality, age and
religion being prominent circumstances. An example of this could
show an actor in a positive light throughout, which cuts anything
potentially negative about the actor to a bare minimum. A
member of the audience after viewing this, would analysise the
media and provide judgment based on their circumstances. This
theory is active, because the audience interpret the media based
on individual circumstances and have different opinions,
differentiated by a passive audience, who would consume the
media without any individual opinions or viewpoints on the media
text. Within PROMSISE, females are more likely to be
sympathetic towards Ellie’s situation and instantly be accepting
of the narrative thus they are an active audience by reacting to
what the production is implying. Others will react to PROMISE in
different if they can relate to Ellie’s interests seen within the