2. Narrative
ˈnarətɪv/
noun
noun: narrative; plural noun: narratives
Narrative is a timeline of events that are connected to make a story. The narrative can
be spoken or written, and can developed using characters. It represents a particular
situation or process, and it can interpreted by an audience in different ways. Narrative
can be very simple and straightforward, or can feature a twist or jump back in time.
3. The main storylines included in soaps focus around real issues that the audience may be
subject to in their everyday lives. The soap emphasises on these issues and is used as a
way of learning to understand or cope with issues. The soap will influence the audience in
a passive way, helping them to make decisions and being used as a way of escaping their
everyday lives.
Soap operas will present these ideas through the use of multi-strand narrative which
feature a number of different characters and issues. For example, soaps like Doctors
feature medical professionals and show the dramas both within their work and their
everyday life. This could feature characters who are dealing with patients with mental
health issues, whilst the doctor themselves may be struggling with money issues or some
other issue that is dramatically affecting their lives. The audience will be able to see all of
these issues going on and understand how people struggle both within their career and
everyday life, and may be going through a similar problem. By featuring this type of multi
strand narrative, the audience can relate to it easier and still be entertained.
The soaps use a non-linear narrative to enable their audience to understand what is going
on in the soap even if they have only just started watching it. For example, you could
begin to watch Hollyoaks one evening and still understand what is going on due to the
previous footage being shown at the beginning.
A hook or cliff-hanger is a very conventional feature within soap narratives. The cliff-hangers
can create suspense and add to the drama, making it more entertaining for the
audience.
4. Applying theories
Propps theory can relate to the narrative within a soap trailer, as the characters
featured can be recognised as the hero, princess and villain in a particular
storyline.
For example, the character of Sienna Blake is seen by the audience as the villain in
the storyline where Maxine is trying to leave with her brother Mark after being in
an abusive relationship with Siennas father. Maxine is seen as the princess who is
being threatened by Siennas lies and Mark is seen as the hero who is trying to
protect her.
5. Todervos theory also links to the narratives used in a soap trailer, as the idea of an
‘enigma code’ can be used in a ‘whodunit’ storyline related to murder. There can
be a riddle or puzzle used to try and keep the audience guessing who did it.
For example, Eastenders aired a storyline at Christmas that involved Lucy Beale
being murdered. The audience are kept guessing right until January 2015 to find
out who did it, which keeps the viewers interested and promises a large viewing
figure because the audience will want to find out who did it after a long time of
waiting.
6. Strauss’ theory of binary opposites can also be applied to soap trailer narratives.
The idea of using opposite characters helps to continue the storyline along and
reiterates the multi-strand narrative used.
This can be seen in the trailer of Will vs Dodger from Hollyoaks, where the
characters are presented as binary opposites; Will being weak and unattractive
and his brother Dodger being strong and attractive. The use of these contrasting
characters enabled Hollyoaks to develop a whole storyline built around the
jealousy Will had for his brother.
7. In my production I will use a multi-strand narrative to enable me to feature more than
one character. This will help to keep the audience entertained as it is a key convention of
the soap genre. Different types of characters can feature in different storylines about
everyday issues, helping me to represent a wider variety of characters to the audience,
enabling them to be able to relate to the soap and want to watch it in the future. By
using different storylines I can use lots of jump cuts and dramatic music to build tension
and keep the soap going without focusing on the same thing for weeks on end.
I will also use the theories of Propp, Toderov and Strauss as these will make the storylines
easier to understand. For example, Propps theory shows the audience the good and the
bad in a storyline. Toderovs theory will help to make the soap more interesting, and as I
am making a trailer a ‘whodunit’ storyline will work well because it can keep the
audience guessing as to what has happened. Strauss’ theory will help me to produce
storylines based around the characters to make them look more realistic, and by
featuring these characters in the trailer the audience can identify who is who even if they
haven’t seen the soap before, which might interest them in watching it as they feel it is
simple to understand.
