Research: Narrative Theory (Miss B)

Narrative Theory

What is narrative and why is it important to audiences? A narrative, in film, is a written order of events which all connect to each other, creating a story or plot. Every genre of film uses a narrative. They are found in the script which goes in chronological order. This is important to audiences to create meaning because, apart from the obvious in which a motion picture needs to be supported by a plot for engagement, the plot itself needs to be carefully created in terms of these four codes and conventions: genre, characters, form/structure & time. These all have links - for example, the thriller genre will need characters of both the protagonist and antagonist role, a somewhat unexpected structure of events and quite often, flashbacks or memories are effective within thrillers. With one out of place, the audience are sure to notice the lack of flow in the narrative which may cause confusion and a loss of interest. 

Vladimir Propp 

...a Soviet Folklorist, shared his theory on the idea of characters. He identifies a typical line-up of character roles and basic struggles in every film genre. Additionally, characters have a narrative function and provide a structure for the script.

HERO | A character that seeks for better things.

VILLAIN | A character who opposes or actively blocks the hero's quest

DONOR | A character who provides an object with magical properties

PRINCESS | Acts as the reward for the hero and the object of the villain's plots

FATHER | Acts to reward the hero for his efforts

FALSE HERO | A character who disrupts the hero's success by making false claims

DISPATCHER | A character who sends the hero on their quest via a message

HELPER | A character who aids the hero

These roles may stereo-typically be associated with but a 'fairytale' film. The characters he mentions could be argued to not always be included in every genre. If we take a look at thrillers, they often have a different approach. The father could also be the  villain, or they may not be a father. The protagonist might not be a hero but a misunderstood villain, like Catwoman. There is not always a female victim to save (princess) but the role is popular nonetheless.

Tzvetan Todorov

...a Franco-Bulgarian historian, created his own theory that connects to Propp's idea of 'same characters, basic struggles'.  He believed his research applied to any genre in the film industry. He commented on the structure, claiming it to go through three main stages: equilibrium, disequilibrium and new-equilibrium. In simpler terms; start, middle and end. A structure like this would fit perfectly with the mixture of characters that Propp defined. 

1. In an equilibrium, all characters and events seem stable. There are no problems or dilemmas. 
2. In a disequilibrium, something disrupting happens or change occurs which needs to be resolved.
3. In a newequlibrium, the disruption has been solved and the narration is closed. 

There are some films which fit this theory and some which do not.



Aristotle
...A Greek philosopher, created a narrative structure which he believed to be universal. It highly contrasts with Todorov's theory by jumbling up the ideas of start, middle and end.

1.  Falling action - the turning point in the story where the main character makes the decision, defining the outcome of the plot.
2. Denouement - the resolution in which all mystery is solved.
3. Rising action - the protagonist undertakes their goal and begins to work towards it.
4. Exposition - the audience gets to know the main character.
5. Climax - the greatest overall tension, a phase in which everything goes mostly wrong.

Thriller Narrative Structure

In a general and conventional thriller, I argue that Todorov's thriller makes the most sense. Think of Se7en - the protagonist unravels the antagonist's schemes in the end. However, this movie is a good example of how thrillers play around a twist. The disruption was never actually solved; the antagonist won in the end. The basic structure gets flavoured with complex surprises.

Conclusion

I like certain aspects of Propp's theory, but some characters I doubt would be conventional to a thriller such as the 'princess', unless she's a princess of evil or witchcraft. I feel that the majority are indeed necessary for any movie to achieve emotional response from the audience. If a 'hero' is almost always there, the audience will always like them and like their intentions. 
The Todorov idea is one I would like to include, too. Though sometimes technique includes jumping back and forth in time, twists, surprises & cliffhangers, a general flowing structure is what I need to do to make sure there is understanding. Say if an opening got reversed; it would't make sense. They're supposed to build up whereas playing it backwards shows the flashy parts first rather than the idea of the plot.
I don't think Aristotle makes much sense in his claims, I don't see any connection between the order of the codes and I want to avoid the wrong response as much as possible - like causing confusion when a shot is supposed to be clear, informative.