This document provides an overview of narrative theory and definitions related to narratives. It begins by asking the reader to define what a narrative is and provides some examples of where narratives can be found. It then defines key narrative concepts such as story versus narrative, linear versus non-linear narratives, and narrative structures. Specific narrative theorists discussed include Todorov and his concept of narrative equilibrium, Barthes' narrative codes, and Propp's characterization theory. The document aims to introduce foundational concepts in narrative theory.

1. AS Media
Narrative Theory

2. What is Narrative?
• Write down a one sentence definition of what
you think it means.
• While the term ‘narrative’ certainly is not used
as commonly as ‘story’, most people know
that it refers, in some way, to stories; in fact
stories are endemic to our lives.

3. Where do we see/hear narratives?
Task: Make a list of what stories/narratives you
have engaged with today.
• TV Programmes
• Novels or short stories
• Films
• Advertisements
• News stories in papers or on TV and radio
• Via the internet
• Through talk, ‘gossip’ and chat.

4. Watch “Narrative Analysis in Media Studies”
(3.40 mins) and answer questions on sheet.
•https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJfpqVtPHWI

5. Defining Narrative
• All media texts, fictional and non-fictional, moving image and still image
contain narratives. All media texts tell stories.
• Narratives – in any medium or genre, are ways of structuring and
representing
• Narrative is a temporal and spatial mode. In other words, a way of organising
both time and space in relation to each other.
• Narrative is defined as “a chain of events in a cause-effect relationship
occurring in time” (Bordwell & Thompson, Film Art, 1980). ADD TO GLOSSARY
• Narrative is ‘a way of organising spatial and temporal events into a cause-
effect chain of events with a beginning, a middle, and end that embodies a
judgement about the nature of events’ (Branigan, 1992).

6. What’s the Story?
What’s happening?
Who is involved?
Where?
When?
How can you tell?
What might have
happened before?
What might happen
next?

7. What’s the Story?

8. Story? Narrative? Plot?
• In Media, NARRATIVE is the coherence/organisation given to a series of
pieces
• We need narrative to make sense of things and we connect events and
make interpretations based on those connections.
• In everything we seek a beginning, a middle and an end.
• We understand and construct meaning using our experience of reality and
of previous texts.

9. Story vs Narrative
Story is the irreducible substance of a story
A meets B, something happens, order returns
…while narrative is the way that the story is told to the audience
Once upon a time, there was a princess…
• Key Concepts in Communication – Fiske et al (1983)

10. Story vs Narrative
Or..
THE STORY
a) Crime conceived
b) Crime planned
c) Crime committed
d) Crime discovered
e) Detective investigates
f) Detective identifies criminals
…may be told as
THE NARRATIVE
d) Crime discovered
e) Detective investigates
f) Detective identifies criminals
a) Crime conceived
b) Crime planned
c) Crime committed

11. Story vs Narrative
Or..
THE STORY
•Orphaned boy grows up in Indian slums,
enduring hardship and poverty.
•He meets and is separated from the love
of his life
•When older he decides to try and contact
her by appearing on a TV quiz show
•His success on the show leads
authorities to believe he is cheating.
•Boy is interrogated and tortured
•Boy tells police officer his back story,
explaining how he knew answers and his
motive for appearing on the show
•Boy returns to show where he is
successful and makes telephone contact
with his sweetheart
…may be told as
THE NARRATIVE
•Boy is interrogated and tortured
•Boy tells police officer his back
story, explaining how he knew
answers and his motive for
appearing on the show
•His time growing up is shown
through a series of flashback
sequences depicting his childhood
and adolescence. In doing so, his
experiences that lead him to no the
answers are revealed in parallel with
his appearance omn the show.
•Boy returns to show where he is
successful and makes telephone
contact with his sweetheart

12. Where do we see/hear narratives?
Task: In pairs, pick an event that has happened
to one of you today. How could you tell this
story differently for
1)An Action Film?
2)A News Report?
3)An E4 Reality TV Show?

13. What is narrative?
When discussing narrative we may look at the following:
• Narrative Structure
• Narrative Codes
• Themes
• Characters
It is necessary to consider and apply traditional theories before
looking at how they may have evolved

14. Narrative structure
When we look at narrative and narrative structure we can start to
see patterns that repeat. When location and character names
are removed, many stories begin to look the same…

17. Narrative Structures: Todorov
Franco-Bulgarian philosopher Tsvetan Todorov observed that conventional
stories start in a state of equilibrium, which is then disrupted, setting in a
motion a chain of events. The resolution of the story is the creation of a
new/different equilibrium.
Disequilibrium
Equilibrium
New
Equilibrium

18. Narrative Structures: Todorov
Tsvetan Todorov suggested that narratives are led by events in
a ‘cause and effect’ format.
The narrative starts with an equilibrium
An action / character disrupts the equilibrium
A quest to restore the equilibrium ensues
The narrative moves to a confrontation/climax
Resolution / equilibrium is restored

19. Can you apply this theory to 2-3 films you
have watched
Film NameFilm Name How it applies to TodorovHow it applies to Todorov’s theory’s theory
TitanicTitanic Rose is engaged Rose then leaves
her fiancee for
Jack; Jack then
dies
Rose continues
her life as an
independent
woman

20. Narrative Structures: Todorov
Texts that conform the audience’s expectations by following this
pattern can be described as ‘ideologically conservative’. They are
‘safe’, do not challenge the audience and are ‘comforting’. Most
mainstream texts are like this.
Other texts may challenge the viewer by not ending with a ‘return to
equilibrium’ and end with the characters in a different, possibly worse
situation than the start. These may be described as ‘ideologically
progressive’ as they promote a change in attitudes.
Some media texts seek to challenge audience expectations by leaving
open-ended or ambiguous narratives that leave the audience to
interpret what they understand by the ending. Narratives that only
have one possible interpretation are said to be ‘closed’.

21. Todorov: Key Ideas sumarised
 All narratives share a basic structure that involves a
movement from one state of equilibrium to another
 These two states of equilibrium are separated by a period of
imbalance or disequilibrium
 The way in which narratives are resolved can have particular
ideological significance.

22. Narrative Structures: Todorov
Read the Handout
Telling Stories – The Media’s Use of Narrative
www.curriculum-press.co.uk No.14
Available on Moodle here
https://moodle.strode-college.ac.uk/moodle/mod/folder/view.php?i
Class activity: On a Post-it note write down a question and
answer based upon the handout to test the rest of the class’s
understanding. Put it on the white board at the front of class.

23. Linear vs Non Linear Narratives
Narratives that ‘go in a straight line’ from beginning to end are said to be
linear.
However, many films play with this and jumble the order of events into a
non-linear structure.
e.g.:
Can you think of any examples?
AA BB CC D
AA BBCC D

24. Non-linear narratives: Pulp Fiction
If the seven sequences were ordered chronologically, they would run:
4a, 2, 6, 1, 7, 3, 4b, 5.
Sequences 1 and 7 partially overlap and are presented from different points of view; the same is true of
sequences 2 and 6.
1.Prologue—The Diner (i)
2.Prelude to "Vincent Vega and Marsellus Wallace's Wife"
3."Vincent Vega and Marsellus Wallace's Wife"
4.Prelude to "The Gold Watch" (a—flashback, b—present)
5."The Gold Watch"
6."The Bonnie Situation"
7.Epilogue—The Diner (ii)

25. Circular narratives
Narratives that begin and end at the same point are said to be
circular narratives.
Beginning
Middle
End
These are often used in films/programmes
that start at a climactic event then flashback
to the events building up to it.
It is also common in sitcoms and TV series
where stories do not continue through an
entire series so that audiences can ‘join in’ at
any point (e.g. The Simpsons, Friends, Black
Mirror, Inside No 9).

26. Narratives and manipulating time
In the case of Pulp fiction and other similar texts, the chronology
of the story has been reordered to make the film more
interesting and stimulating for the audience – like a puzzle.
There are several other ways, besides reordering, that narrative
manipulates time.
•Flashbacks show events from the past
•Flash-forwards show events from the future
•Ellipsis An ellipsis in media narrative leaves out a portion of the
story. This can be used to condense time, or as a stylistic method
to allow the reader to fill in the missing portions of the narrative
with their imagination

27. Narratives and manipulating time
Read Handout Telling A Good Tale – Further Narrative
Techniques Curriculum Press No. 26
Available on Moodle here
https://moodle.strode-college.ac.uk/moodle/mod/folder/view.php?id

28. Roland Barthes’ Narrative Codes
Action Code: (aka proairetic code) Something the audience knows and doesn't need
explaining e.g. someone being wheeled out on a stretcher tells us they are going to
hospital
Enigma Code: (aka hermeneutic code) something hidden from the audience, a
question/puzzle/enigma the audience wants to answer/solve (creates intrigue)
Semic Code: Something that the audience recognize through connotations
Symbolic Code: Something that symbolizes a more abstract concept e.g. a darker than
usual room of a murder scene could symbolize the depth of darkness and depravity
Cultural Code: (aka referential code) Something that is read with understanding due to
cultural awareness (e.g. youth culture use certain words that are understood by
that culture)

29. Propp’s Characters
• When analysing narrative we must also consider characters within the
narrative and how they work or ‘function’.
• Vladimir Propp, a Russian critic active in the 1920’s studied the narrative
of folk tales. He noticed folk tales were similar in many areas. They were
about the same basic struggles and they appeared to have stock
characters.
• He identified a theory about characters and actions as narrative
functions.
• Characters, according to Propp, have a narrative function; they provide a
structure for the text.
• Although his theory can be restrictive and not possible to apply to EVERY
narrative we may find it avoids treating characters as if they are
individuals and reminds us they are merely constructs. Some characters
are indeed there just to progress the narrative.

30. Propp’s Characters
• The Hero – a character that seeks something
• The Villain – who opposes or actively blocks the hero’s quest
• The Donor – who provides an object with magical properties
• The Dispatcher – who sends the hero on his/her quest via a
message
• The False Hero – who disrupts the hero’s success by making false
claims
• The Helper – who aids the hero
• The Princess – acts as the reward for the hero and the object of
the villain’s plots
• Her Father – who acts to reward the hero for his effort
*The character in the narrative does not actually have to be a father
or princess, just function the same way within the narrative

31. Character
Today’s texts are often more complex and the lead character may not necessarily have
‘heroic’ qualities. e.g. Homer Simpson (The Simpsons), Walter White (Breaking Bad). These
may be called ‘anti-heroes’.
More useful terms than hero/villain can be.
Protagonist: the leading character or one of the major characters in a play, film, novel, etc.
Antagonist: a person who actively opposes or is hostile to someone or something; an
adversary
These do not make a moral judgement about the character, just how we should relate to
them. You can have a lead character/protagnoist who is not necessarily ‘good/heroic’ but
who the audience is expected to identify with. Likewise you can have antagnosits whop
are not necessarily ‘evil’ (maybe a police officer just doing their job).

32. Characters: Archetypes
Archetype is a broader term for other ‘stock characters’ that we commonly see
in the media. e.g.:
•the ‘grumpy old man’,
•the ‘battleaxe / nagging mother-in-law’,
•the ‘under the thumb’, oppressed husband,
•the ‘jack the lad’,
•the ‘all brawn no brains male’,
•the sexually repressed bookish girl,
•The blonde bimbo
•the jock, nerd, etc.
These are like stereotypes. They act as a shorthand, quick way of communicating
a lot of information because the audience already holds a lot of expectations
about them. So when we see the way they are dressed/behave we make
presumptions about their personality and what will happen to them.

33. Binary Opposites, Narrative & Conflict
All stories are based upon conflict in one way or another
It is this conflict
(interests/countries/personalities/intentions/morals/etc) that leads to
the initial equilibrium being disrupted.
Many stories may feature more than one type of conflict.
These conflicts are often the result of friction between two binary
opposites.
What kinds of conflict can you think of that feature in media
narratives?
Task: Match the cards to identify the different types of story conflict.

35. Non-Fiction Narratives
It is easy to apply these ideas to films and fictional TV programmes. How
might you do it with others?
For example the narrative of a typical TV News report might look like this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtGSXMuWMR4
In groups discuss the narrative structure of the following:
•A TV News programme
•A (whole) magazine
•A 1st
Person Computer Game
•A football match on TV
•A newspaper article
•A pop song

36. Narrative: Summary
Narrative can be defined as ‘the way in which the story is told’.
We analyse the narrative structure:
•Todorov – equilibrium/disequilibrium/equilibrium, cause and effect
•Linear or non linear
•Conflict and binary opposites
We consider the themes – what are the topics/issues discussed?
We analyse the characters and their roles:
•Propp’s character types
•Archetypes
•Narrative agency
•Audience positioning
We look at the use of narrative codes
The degree to which a narrative conforms to, or challenges traditional
structures and audiences expectations will shape the audience’s response