2. The narrative is what shapes the film, book or play.
It is through the narrative that the genre, themes,
representations, social issues or moral message
can be portrayed to the audience in an engaging
way.
A narrative structure is what majority of films,
books or plays have in common. For example many
films have a linear structure of beginning middle
and end. Or we could say that the structure of many
Hollywood films usually ends with a happy ending.
There are many theorists such as Vladimir Propp,
Todorov, Ronald Barthes etc. Who offer a different
accounts of how typical narratives are formed.
3. Todorov's narrative theory
Todorov’s narrative theory basically states that most
story's or plot lines follow the same pattern or path.
Which is as followed:
1) A stage of equilibrium - Everything is as it should be.
2) A disruption of order by an event.
3) A recognition that the disorder has occurred.
4) An attempt to repair the damage of the disruption
5) A return or Restoration of a new equilibrium
The stages to this theory create a circular structure as
opposed to a linear structure. This type of narrative
structure is very common and can be applied to many
mainstream film narratives.
4. When looking at some of the most famous narratives we can see how
Todorov’s theory works.
Here is an example of how I applied it to the story of little red riding hood.
5. Positives and negatives
This theory is very clear and easy to use when
creating your own narrative. Following the steps
can help you make a narrative interesting with as
many turn of events as you want.
However sticking to the five steps can take away
your freedom to be creative with the narrative.
Since many films and books have this similar
narrative style the audience may find it predictable.
Also since short films usually have a limited
number of characters and running time, a narrative
that follows each step usually becomes long. So
perhaps using this technique for a short film would
become tricky.
6. Two Cars One Night
Not all narratives follow the same theory or style. Some narratives challenge the
theory. The narrative of ‘two cars one night’ seems to conform to Todorov’s Theory
of Equilibrium and Disequilibrium at the beginning of the film, however it drifts away
from the theory half way through.
1. Equilibrium: The boys are
in the car at an empty car
park waiting for their parents.
(Everything is as it should be)
2. Disequilibrium: A car pulls up
beside with a girl waiting in it.
(Disruption of order)
3. Recognition:
(Recognition that the
disruption has occurred)
The boy shouts out to
the girl and is rude.4. Repair: (An attempt to repair the
damage of disruption) The girl
shouts back and is rude also. They
are now even in terms of child-
play.
5. New equilibrium: Now that
the boy and girl have got each
other back, they introduce
their self to each other.
... However it rebels against Todorovs theory by failing to repeat each step over again. Instead the narrative
expands on the new equilibrium – ‘Everything remains as it should’ be for the rest of the narrative. There is
no significant turn of events, twist or happy ending to the film. It simply just ends. This choice of narrative
method creates an effective naturalistic ending to the film. It portrays real life accurately, as life doesn't
always seem to go to ‘plan’, we don't always get the ending we want, its not something we can predict. The
narrative also supports the writers intentions of the film, which is to capture the small things in life which
have a big impact on us, as the storyline remains simple but very effective.
7. Vladimir Propp
In the 1920s Vladimir Propp analysed a whole series of Russian folk tales and noticed
that they were all very similar. He decided that the same events kept on occurring in
each of the stories, creating a consistent framework.
He then claimed that the characters take up the role of the narrative and that there are 7
specific characters necessary to do this.
1. The hero
2. the villain
3. The donor – gives the hero something to aid them
4. The helper – also aids the hero
5. The damsel in distress – normally the victim of the villain
6. The dispatcher – sends the hero on their journey
7. The false hero – appears to be good but turns out bad at the end
After Propp analysed the Folk tales he broke them down into narratemes or narrative
functions , which he claims are events which drive the narrative forward. He gives a list
of 31 functions, and claims that not every single function appears in every narratcive ,
however those which do appear are always in the order that he lists them in.
8. Vladimir Propp
Propp’s theory, like Todorov’s, can be very easy to
follow and use. The characters and their roles are
already listed and 31 turn of events are listed for
you to chose from and follow. However , following
this narrative structure would limit your creativity
and prevent you from creating something original. It
would also be very difficult to follow this structure
for a short film, since short film usually only have
3-4 characters rather than 7 and the running length
of short films are too short to follow the function
list which Propp provides.
9. Narrative structure for our film
For our short film we decided not to follow Todorov’s and Propp’s narrative theory
because we wanted to be creative and produce something original. We decided to
follow a non-linear narrative structure where there isn't a clear begging middle
and end. This would reflect the disorientation in the characters life and mind as he
suffers from mental illness. The structure will also conform to an ‘open structure’
where the audience is left wondering and they have to make sense of the narrative
themselves. The plot will jump back to the beginning at the end of the film to allow
the audience to understand the plot as a whole. This structure would be effective
in keeping the audience engaged and asking questions throughout. It will prevent
them from reaching escapism and getting lost in the story , instead keeping them
focused on understanding the social message that is being portrayed.
This structure conforms to Ronald Bathes theory of the five codes, as it will use
the enigma code. This is where clues are given throughout the film creating a
mystery and forcing the audience to make sense of the film themselves. There is
no clear answer given and we do this in our film by having a lack of dialogue and
leaving out parts of the narrative until the end when all is revealed.
