media notes

1. Narrative theory
Narrative refers to the telling of a story through “a chain of events in a cause-effect
relationship occurring in time” (Bordwell and Thompson).
Narrative is a way or organising spatial and temporal events, with a time specific structure
(beginning, middle and end). (Branigan).
Narrative theory analyses the way that media texts communicate meaning about events.
Narrative theory can be applied to range of different media including film, TV. Photographs
and magazines.
Narrative analysis of internet based media is more problematic, though may still be
relevant. For example, someone’s Facebook profile could be considered a narrative of
somebody’s life.
Edward Branigan (1992) argues that narrative is “a way of organising spatial and temporal
data into a cause-effect chain of events with a beginning, a middle and end that embodies a
judgement about the nature of events”.
Vladimir Propp (1928) – Study folk stories that led him to realise that there are a variety of
similar reoccurring characters in storylines that share a function. These were:
-The villain.
-The Hero, or a character who seeks something.
-The donor, who provides an object with some magic property.
-The helper, who aids the hero.
-The princess, reward for the hero, and object for the villain’s scheme (can be male).
- Her father, who rewards the hero.
-The dispatcher, who sends the hero on his way.
-The false hero, the character who also lays claimto the princess but is unsuitable and
causes complications.
Tvetan Todorov (1969) – 1. Equilibrium 2. Disruption of the equilibrium 3. Recognition of
the disruption 4. An attempt to repair the damage 5. New equilibrium
Roland Barthes (1960s) - 5 codes
Barthes narrative theory claims that narrative can be broken down into five codes or sets of
rules to help the reader make sense of it.

2. He emphasises that active role of readers in creating meaning and their culturally formed
expectations.
The five codes:
-Action code which refers to the events taking place through action e.g. a fight or a chase.
-Referential code which refers to the information and explanation.
-Semantic code which refers to the characters and characterisation.
- Enigma code which is a narrative device that teases the audience by presenting a puzzle or
riddle to be solved. Works to delay the story’s ending pleasuring.
- Symbolic code which refers to connotations of signs.
Claud Levi-Strauss(1972) – a social anthropologist.He examinedhow storiessubconsciouslyreflect
the values,beliefsandmythsof aculture.Theyare usuallyexpressedinthe formof binary
oppositions.Hisresearchhasbeenadaptedbytheoriststoreveal underlyingthemesandsymbolic
oppositionsintext.
Allan Cameron- Modular Narratives(2008)
Anachronic:
Modifiedflashbacks/flash-forwards
No cleardominance betweennarrativethreads
Forking-path:
Alternativeversionsof the story
Outcomesthatmightresultfromslightchanges
Episodic:
Collectionof storiesjoinedbyacommontheme
Splitscreen:
Spatial ratherthan temporal lines
PostmodernNarratives
Some theorists suggestthatpostmodernnarrativesare differentfrompreviousnarrative structures.
Characteristicsof postmodernnarratives:
- Irony,playfulnessandblackhumor
- Intertextuality
- Pastiche

3. - Metanarratives
- Extreme self-reflexivity/self-awareness
- Temporal distortion
- Hyperreality
Narrative analyse involvesconsideringarange of elements(includingmise-en-scene,editing,
camerawork,sound,aswell asevents) create meaningforthe audience.
Narrative analysisfocusesonhowthe meaningsmade bythe audience are constructed.
TaylorSwift– You belongwithme,musicvideoexample:
Theorist Example
Propp Classicexample of love triangle
Taylor-Hero
Bad Taylor- villain
Boy nextdoor- prince
Althoughitisa modernmusicvideoPropp’s
theorystill applies.
Todorov FollowsTodorov’snarrative theorywhere it
starts off with an equilibriumroutine where
theybothcommunicate.Thisequilibriumis
disruptedbythe villainwhere the herofinds
out he’sina relationship.Theyeventuallyget
togetheratprom and the equilibriumis
restoredbutthe characters are now different
fromwhere theywere inthe beginning.
Barthes Both the sematiccode and the enigmaticcode
couldbe appliedtothe musicvideo.The
sematicrelationshipbeingthe relationship
betweenthe three maincharacters.The
enigmacode beingthe questionof whothe boy
will pickoutof the twogirls.
Levi-Strauss Binaryoppositesof the blondandbrunette are
used.Thisisfurtheramplifiedbythe character
traitsof the band playerandthe cheerleader.
The blonde isshow to have the advantage over
the brunette girl due tothese oppositions.