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1. Narrative Theory
DefinitionsofNarrative
 Narrative isdefinedas“achain of eventsina cause-effectrelationshipoccurringintime”
(Bordwell &Thompson).
 Narrative is‘a wayof organisingspatial andtemporal eventsintoacause-effectchainof
eventswithabeginning,amiddle,andendthatembodiesajudgementaboutthe nature of
events’(Branigan).
Narrative Theory
 Narrative theoryanalysesthe wayinwhichmediatextscommunicate meaningabout
events.
 Narrative theorycanbe appliedtorange of differentmediaincludingfilm,TV.Photographs,
and magazines.
 Narrative analysisof internetbasedmediaismore problematic,thoughmaystill be relevant.
For example,youcouldconsiderhow someone’sFacebookprofilecreatesanarrative about
theirlife.
Edward Branigan (1992)
 Braniganarguesthat narrative is ‘a way of organisingspatial andtemporal dataintoa cause-
effectchainof eventswithabeginning,amiddleandendthatembodiesajudgementabout
the nature of events.’
 Branigan’skeypointisthat the narrative will embodyajudgement –ideologyandnarrative.
VladimirPropp (1928)
 Proppwas a Russiantheoristwhosuggeststhatthere are a limitednumberof character
typesthat share a function.
 Whenan audience readsamediatextitdeploysitsknowledge of thesecharactertypesin
orderto decode the meaningof the text.
Tzvetan Todorov (1969)

2. Narrative Theory
Roland Barthes (1960s)
 RolandBarthes'narrative theoryclaimsthata narrative can be brokendownintofive codes
or setsof rulestohelpthe readermake sense of it.
 He emphasisesthe active role of readersincreatingmeaning,andtheir‘culturallyformed
expectations’.
 The 5 codes:
1. Action code whichrefersto the eventstakingplace throughactione.g.afightor a chase
2. Referential code whichreferstothe informationandexplanation
3. Semantic code whichreferstothe charactersand characterisation
4. Enigma code whichisa narrative device thatteasesthe audience bypresentingapuzzle or
riddle tobe solved.Workstodelaythe story’sendingpleasurably.
5. Symboliccode whichreferstothe connotationsof signs
Claude Levi-Strauss(1972)
 Social Anthropologist.
 Studied mythsof tribal cultures.
 Examinedhowstoriesunconsciouslyreflectthe values,beliefsandmythsof aculture.
 These are usuallyexpressedinthe formof binaryoppositions.
 His researchhasbeenadaptedbytheoriststoreveal underlyingthemesandsymbolic
oppositionsintexts.
 A conflictbetweentwoqualitiesorterms
Allan Cameron:Modular Narratives (2008)
Since the early1990s there has beena trendtowardsnarrative complexitywithinpopularcinema.
Anachronic
Modifiedflashbacks/flashforwards
No cleardominance betweennarrativethreads
Forking-Path
Alternativeversionsof the story
Outcomesthatmightresultfromslightchanges
Episodic
Collectionof storiesjoinedbyacommontheme
SplitScreen
Spatial ratherthan temporal lines

3. Narrative Theory
PostmodernNarratives
 Some theoristssuggestthatpostmodernnarrativesare differentfrompreviousnarrative
structures.
 Characteristicsof postmodernnarrativesinclude:
o Irony,playfulness,andblackhumour
o Intertextuality
o Pastiche
o Metanarratives
o Extreme self-reflexivity/self-awareness
o Temporal distortion
o Hyperreality
Postmodernapproach – Pastiche
 FredericJamesonarguesthatpostmoderntextsare characterisedbypastiche.
 A pastiche isan imitationof anothergenre ortext.
 Jamesonarguesthat "Pastiche is...the imitationof a peculiaror unique,idiosyncraticstyle,
the wearingof a linguisticmask,speechin a dead language.”
 LindaHutcheondisagreeswiththisview arguingthatpostmoderntextsuse pastiche ina
knowingwayacknowledgingthe constructednature of representation.