Notes on theory videos

Notes on narrative theory part 1

Propp’s seven character types

The hero

The villain (struggles against the hero)

The donor/helper (helps the hero in the quest)

The princess (often sought for during the narrative)

The false hero (perceived as a good character in the beginning but emerges as evil)

The dispatcher (character who sends the hero off)

Todorov’s narrative theory

1: Equilibrium – Where our story is in a state of calm and all is right.

2: Disruption of order – An event happens that disrupts this equilibrium.

3: Recognition of disruption – Our main character realises what has happened and seeks a solution.

4: Attempt at resolution – Our protagonist conducts a plan that may be able to solve their issues.

5: New equilibrium – The issue has been solved and the equilibrium is restored.

Levi Strauss – Binary oppositions

All narratives are driven by a constant creation of conflict and that the narrative can only end on the resolution of the conflict. This can be as simple as Good vs Evil, light and dark, fear and confidence.

Notes on Narrative theory part 2

Roland Barthes Narrative Codes

Hermeneutic code – Enigma Codes: Things that makes the audience ask questions

Proairetic code – Action Codes; Any action that moves the narrative forward

Allan Cameron – Modular Narratives

Anachronic – Modified flashbacks and flash-forwards, No clear dominance in any narrative threads

Forking path – Alternative versions of the story, Outcomes that might result from slight changes.

Episodic – Collection of stories joined by a common theme

Split screens – Spatial rather than temporal lines

Film narrative – Structuralist Theories

Todorov Enigma resolution

·         Equilibrium/Enigma/Alignment

·         Upset (disequilibrium)

·         Recognition – enigmas?

·         Attempt to restore order/solve problem

·         New Equilibrium – balanced is restored

·         Audience response?

Joe Campbell – The Hero’s Journey

The journey can be literal or metaphorical but nearly always focuses on one person – the hero. The audience is aligned with the hero. This is the “quest motif”. This encourages the audience to identify or emphasise with the “hero” figure.

 1: Call to adventure (hero is obliged to act)

2: Refusal of call (hero reluctant to act)

3: Magic Potion (hero has a special gift)

4: Crossing the threshold (becoming the hero)

5: Road of trials (tests of endurance)

6: Return to own world (hero has changed)

Propp character functions

Vladimir Propp developed a character theory which indicates that there were 7 broad character types in the 100 tales he analysed, which could be applied to other media.

1: The villain or the false hero (struggles against the hero)

2: The donor (prepares the hero or gives the hero some magical object)

3: The (magical) helper (helps the hero in the quest)

4: The princess (person the hero marries, often sought for during the narrative – object of the quest)

5: Her father (an older powerful, controlling figure)

6: The dispatcher (character who makes the lack known and sends the hero off)

7: The hero or victim/seeker hero, reacts to the donor, weds the princess

Karl Marx - Political Theory

Problems with capitalism

1: Modern work is alienated

2: Modern work is insecure

3: Workers get paid little whilst capitalists get rich.

4: Capitalism is very unstable

5: Capitalism is bad for capitalists.

Antonio Gramsci – Hegemony

Power and culture

Conan the barbarian – Riddle of steel: Beliefs beat bullets, Control beliefs and you control people, people don’t control ideas… ideas control people, people don’t wield power…power wields people.

Cultural Hegemony

Harry Potter – Voldemort’s name: Action reflects belief. Not saying his name is not a reflection of his power rather that his power is that we do not say his name.

The Lord of the Rings – The one ring: we never know what the ring truly does, it’s the idea of the ring and the concept of it that affects people’s behaviour which demonstrates real power.

Aladdin – Power of the genie: In order to keep power he must act in a certain way which does not reflect who he truly is.

Pierre Bourdieu – Field Theory: We in our everyday life go to many fields where we adopt or change identities. Your identity is given to you by society and not created by you.

Ethnicity and Postcolonial Theory Paul Gilroy

What do you know about the British Empire?

·         At its height, it was the largest empire in history and, for over a century, was the foremost global power.

·         By 1913, the British empire held sway over 412 million people

·         23% of the world population at the time

·         By 1920, it covered 13,700,000 sq. mi, 24% of Earth’s total land area

 What is meant by colonialism?

·         The policy or practice of acquiring full or partial political control over another country, occupying it with settlers, and exploiting it economically.

What is meant by post-colonialism?

·         The political or cultural condition of a former colony. A theoretical approach in various disciplines that is concerned with the lasting impact of colonization in former colonies.

Can you make some sentences with the phrase 'colonial discourse'?

·         Colonial discourses continue to inform contemporary attitudes to race and ethnicity in the post-colonial era.

What point does Paul Gilroy make about multiculturalism?

·         “Multicultural society seems to have been abandoned at birth” – Paul Gilroy (2005)

What is meant by civilisationism?

Civilisationism constructs racial hierarchies and sets up binary oppositions.

What is meant by 'Otherness' or 'othering' a group of people?
Othering is the process of casting a group, an individual or an object into the role of the 'other' and establishing one's own identity through opposition to and, frequently, vilification of this Other