Propp's character roles

1. Soap Opera Genre –
Propp’s Character Roles
Propp’s Narrative Functions
Name: Tom Owen
Candidate Number: 3103
Center Name: St. Andrew’s Catholic School
Center Number: 64135
OCR Media Studies – A2 Level
Unit G324: Advanced Portfolio

2. Prop's Character Roles
The ‘villain’ (struggles against the hero)
The ‘donor’ (prepares the hero or gives the hero some magical object)
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, usually
marries the princess

3. Propp’s Character Roles
Trailer 1: EastEnders
The ‘Hero’ (prepares the hero or gives the hero some magical object)This
trailer conveys the hero to be a father, who is suffering from a loss and is
being kept in prison for this crime, when he is infact innocent. He is conveyed
as this through scenes of compassion with bright lighting outside of the
prison, to convey his true kind nature.
The ‘villain’ (perceived as good character in beginning but emerges as evil) is
the same character as The ‘false hero’ (struggles against the hero) in this
trailer appears to be the male protagonist (the son) as he is conveyed as a
compassionate character around his family, whereas he is clearly depicted to
be a crafty character in reality. The Villain always enters the plot and attempts
to harm an innocent protagonist which is known as “Villainy”. This will later
lead to a confrontation between the Hero and the Villain.

4. Propp’s Character Roles
Trailer 2: Nowhere Left To Run - Coronation Street
The ‘villain’ (struggles against the hero) is connoted to be the middle aged
male protagonist. He is seen clearly to be making characters feel
uncomfortable and intimidated. He is also conveyed to be spying on others in
matters which do not concern him. This signifies that he is a bully and enjoys
acting inn this way, as he is connoted to show little remorse. Therefore, he
clearly owns the characteristics which would stereotypically be associated
with a ‘Villain’.
The ‘heroes’ (AKA victim/seeker/paladin/winner, reacts to the donor, usually
marries the princess) in this trailer is depicted as the younger male
protagonist who publically stands up to the villain, despite the odds not being
in his favor during a confrontation. During the rest of his scenes, he is
surrounded with high-key lighting and depicted to act pleasantly to all other
characters.

5. Propp’s Narrative Functions
‘VILLAINY or LACKING’:
This is where the villain of the storyline causes the family member of the Hero or
one of the Hero’s friends to be killed or harmed and does not confess to being guilty
for this crime. Furthermore, he may act in the way of a compassionate character
around others, however he is clearly depicted to be a crafty character and the
majority of his scenes are in low lighting to portray his darker identity, whereas the
Hero is in scenes with high-key lighting to create a clear contrast between the two.
‘STRUGGLE’:
The villain and Hero have a tense confrontation in low lighting to contribute to their
already strained relationship. This conveys the reality of the ‘Villain’ and his true
character is exposed to the ‘Hero’, who believed that he was innocent. Towards the
concluding clips of the trailer, the villain is exposed to the other characters for the
type of person that he really is and this concluded the trailer. We will also ‘Repeat’
(Steve Neale-1980) this in our own trailer as it will create an engaging storyline for
our multi-narrative strand.
Trailer 1: EastEnders: Mother’s Day 2016 Trailer

6. Propp’s Narrative Functions
Trailer 2: Nowhere Left To Run - Coronation Street
‘DELIVERY’:
The villain is conveyed to be perused by the other characters towards the end of the
trailer. However, they have little success, until he confronts the much younger ‘Hero’
when he is by himself and intimidates him. This therefore depicts how this character
owns negative characteristics which help to connote him as the Villain.
‘PURSUIT’:
The hero is pursued by the villain throughout the trailer, which is intimidating, as the
hero is much younger and much less aggressive than the villain. However, this leads
up to a confrontation which takes place at the end of the trailer. Consequently, this
links to the conventional structure of a regular plot.
Binary opposition (Levi Strauss) of Good vs. Evil: The difference between good and
evil is depicted in this trailer, as there is a clearly seen contrast between the nature
of the villain, the other characters and the Hero. It is also taken further by uses of
high-key lighting for the hero and dim lighting in scenes for the Villain.