Propp's Character Roles and Narrative Functions - Unit G324

1. Soap Opera Genre –
Propp’s Character Roles
Propp’s Narrative Functions
Name: TJ Salango
Candidate Number: 1220
Center Name: St. Andrew’s Catholic School
Center Number: 64135
OCR Media Studies – A2 Level
Unit G324: Advanced Portfolio

2. Propp’s Character Roles
Trailer 1: EastEnders: Mother’s Day 2016 Trailer
The ‘donor’ (one who prepares the hero or gives the hero some magical
object) in this trailer is the young boy who enters the house with flowers in
his hands, which may act as a vital symbol in the show. During the mother’s
rage, the flowers deteriorate at an unusual and unnatural pace as he offers it
to another woman, which could ‘signify’ (De Saussure) the destruction of
relationships in the soap opera. His grey clothing may connote his neutral and
passive feelings, or that he is a minor or isolated character.

3. Propp’s Character Roles
Trailer 1: EastEnders: Mother’s Day 2016 Trailer
The ‘false hero’ (one who is perceived as good character in beginning but
emerges as evil) and The ‘villain’ (one who struggles against the hero) in this
trailer appears to be the mother; the knife she is pictured holding may
connote crime or murder, which is exacerbated by the dark red lighting - her
expression turns villainous, staring at the other man with what is perceived as
bad intention. This particular trailer uses no diegetic dialogue, so is difficult to
depict the true emotions of the characters – however, the non-diegetic
soundtrack features the lyrics “Mother… Make me a bird of prey/ So I can
rise above…” which subtly connotes that themes of violence, conflict and
deception will be present in the soap.

4. Propp’s Character Roles
Trailer 2: Nowhere Left To Run - Coronation Street
The ‘villain’ (one who struggles against the hero) in this trailer is presumably
the man chasing the other three characters through town, up until they reach
a dead end whereby his frustrated facial expression denotes themes of anger
and violence. His fully dark clothing and aggressive nature hint that he is the
antagonist of the trailer. The song used in the trailer, ‘Devil’s Whisper’ by
Raury may be interpreted from the villain’s perspective; its lyrics, “You better
run, run from the devil”, strongly denote the villain’s evil character.

5. Propp’s Character Roles
Trailer 2: Nowhere Left To Run - Coronation Street
The ‘heroes’ (AKA victim/seeker/paladin/winner, one who reacts to the donor
and usually marries the princess) in this trailer are presented by the three
victims running away from the supposed drug dealer; their innocence and
peaceful manner is demonstrated through their lack of violent behavior and
passive resistance towards their attacker, despite the possible trouble and
commotion that he’d caused prior to the chase. Both of the women’s
dependence on this one man again signify their weakness and inability to
fight back – this is anchored by their positioning at the end of the trailer, they
are depicted holding onto him and relying on him for safety.

6. Propp’s Narrative Functions
‘VILLAINY or LACKING’:
The villain harms or injures a family member, including but not limited to abduction, theft,
spoiling crops, plundering, banishment or expulsion of one or more protagonists, committing
murder, threatening a forced marriage, providing nightly torments and so on. Simultaneously
or alternatively, a protagonist finds they desire or require something lacking from the home
environment (a potion or artifact etc.). The villain may still be indirectly involved in the latter
option, perhaps fooling the family member into believing they need such an item. Although
there is no direct conflict in this trailer, the mother shows obvious signs of harmful intention,
which is anchored by the large kitchen knife she holds with a threatening demeanor. This is
again anchored by the dark red lighting and the lyrics of the song, “Mother… Make me a bird of
prey”. The language implies some sort of battle for survival, and the imagery of nature
connotes themes of violence and reality.
Trailer 1: EastEnders: Mother’s Day 2016 Trailer

7. Propp’s Narrative Functions
‘STRUGGLE’:
This is defined by the hero and villain meeting and engaging in conflict directly, either in battle
or some nature of contest. The intense stare down between the mother and the younger man
connote conflict between the two. Her expression appears much more domineering than his,
suggesting that she possesses some sort of threatening advantage over him. Despite the fact
that there is no physical contact between the two, the shot-reverse-shot used in the trailer acts
as a representation of their internal conflict. Again, the harsh red lighting adds to the
intimidation of the scene.
Trailer 1: EastEnders: Mother’s Day 2016 Trailer

8. Propp’s Narrative Functions
Trailer 2: Nowhere Left To Run - Coronation Street
‘PURSUIT’:
The hero is pursued by some threatening adversary, who perhaps seek to capture or
eat them. All 3 victims, who are presumably the heroes of the soap opera, leave
their houses, or place of safety, in order to flee their attacker. The entire trailer
focuses on their ‘pursuit’, with the non diegetic lyrics of the song playing in the
background, “You better run, run from the devil”. It is unclear what the antagonist’s
purpose is without much contextual knowledge, but it is obvious that he possesses
some sort of bad intention, especially with the deeper meaning behind the lyrics of
the song.

9. Propp’s Narrative Functions
Trailer 2: Nowhere Left To Run - Coronation Street
‘DELIVERY’:
The villain succeeds at recon and gains a lead on their intended victim. A map is
often involved in some level of the event. In this instance, the villain starts off
chasing the 3 protagonists from a distance, but soon appears to gain advantage of
their victims as they slow down, hitting a dead end. By the end of the trailer he is
depicted approaching the cornered victims with a manic, intimidating expression on
his face; his mouth is agape as he is catching his breath, whilst the three huddle in
despair over the cliff. The caption of the trailer, ‘Nowhere left to run’ adds to the
severity of their situation.

10. Propp’s Narrative Functions
Trailer 2: Nowhere Left To Run - Coronation Street
Binary opposition (Levi Strauss) of Good vs. Evil: The definitive line between good
and evil is depicted in this trailer, featuring a main antagonist and 3 obvious
protagonists who are fleeing to save their lives. In this trailer the protagonists are
defined by the fearful man and the two other women, running in terror from a man
wearing all black. The general frightened facial expression of these three characters
compared to the intimidating and confrontational appearance of the antagonist is
what separates the two oppositions.