Prop's Character Roles and Narrative Functions

1. Soap Opera Genre –
Propp’s Character Roles
Propp’s Narrative Functions
Name: Giacomo Pisa
Candidate Number: 3111
Center Name: St. Andrew’s Catholic School
Center Number: 64135
OCR Media Studies – A2 Level
Unit G324: Advanced Portfolio

2. Propp’s Character Roles
East Enders Christmas special trailer 2015
The ‘villain’ who struggles against the hero is easily apparent from the East Enders trailer. The
villain is a child, which contrasts most series where the villain is typically an older male
protagonist. However it is easy to tell that it is the boy who is the villain as when his face is seen
in the trailer, it is covered by the black background whereas the rest of the characters are easily
visible in the light. In addition to this his face has a scratch on it showing blood which symbolises
how he has been in conflict with the ‘hero’ of the series. The black background connotes the
theme of evil that the protagonist brings to the series as well as his dark and unpredictable
character.
As well as the ’villain’ in the trailer there is also possibly a ‘false hero’ who is originally perceived
as a good protagonist before ending being an evil protagonist. This is evident mid way through
the trailer when a middle aged male protagonist walks patronizingly towards a female protagonist
while using the verbal code “what have you done?” whilst accusingly pointing his finger in her
face. This denotes how he is blaming the woman for something she has done which likely won
over his evil. Additionally by walking close to the female the male protagonist is being
purposefully intimidating to try and scare the female protagonist and emphasize his dominance
over her. This proves that he can be seen as a ‘villain’ because of his intimidating stature and
accusingly blaming another protagonist when evidently it is his fault that a crisis has occurred as
he is trying to pass blame to another protagonist that he is easily dominant over.

3. Propp’s Character Roles
Hollyoaks Summer Of Secrets 2017 trailer
In the Hollyoaks trailer there is no real apparent ‘villain’ until the very last scene,
where a protagonist is seen wearing an all black hoodie running away from
another protagonist. A hoodie is stereotypically seen as a piece of clothing
associated with crime and this is reinforced in the trailer with the hood covering
the face of the villain. In addition to this the fact that the hoodie is covering the
identity proves that this protagonist is the ‘villain’ because traditionally the
identity of the villain will remain secret and then in the series the protagonist will
try to discover who the ‘villain’ is. Despite there initially being no evidence of an
apparent ‘villain’ until the last scene of the trailer it is inevitable that a villain was
going to be included in the trailer because traditionally it is essential in soap
operas that there is a ‘villain’. This is because this protagonist is the main cause of
conflict and dilemmas which in turn cause drama and this element of drama is the
reason why people watch soap operas and soap operas have such a large
audience.

4. Propp’s Narrative Functions
East Enders Christmas special trailer 2015
There is a ‘struggle’ at the end of the trailer when the car is seen crashing and rolling off
the road which is most likely the work of the villain. The car crash therefore represents
the conflict in the narrative as the protagonists endure suffering and face a struggle to
survive the ordeal and return to normal life. Furthermore it is obvious that a car crash
provides a great deal of drama because the audience are left pondering from the trailer
what the outcome of the ‘struggle’ is for the protagonists who were involved. It is likely
that the protagonists involved are well liked by the audience and therefore people have
built ‘personal relationships’ (Katz’s Uses And Gratifications Theory) and are concerned
for the well being of the protagonists as a result of their ‘struggle’. This means the
audience are likely to keep watching to discover the welfare of the protagonists.
Additionally, there is an element of ‘pursuit’ in the East Enders trailer as the heroes in
the car are fleeing from a bad situation before crashing off the road. It is not clear exactly
what forced the car to crash so heavily off the road but the fact that the car was
travelling at such a high speed suggests that the protagonists inside the car were
attempting to get away from some sort of evil behind them.

5. Propp’s Narrative Functions
Hollyoaks Summer Of Secrets 2017 trailer
Similarly to the East Enders trailer, there is another ‘pursuit’ in the
Hollyoaks trailer and again we the audience are not clear on why the
protagonist is being chases. This is because it does not give away the
storyline of the soap opera but does prove to the watching audience
that there is a lot of drama in the upcoming series. Also, by not
revealing the face of the protagonist who is being chased, the
institution is building tension and suspense which draws the audience
in and makes them want to find out the face under the hoodie,
meaning they are likely to watch the series when it comes out.