Understanding Narrative Structure in Film and Media

1. NARRATIVE Film and Media Studies

2. What is Narrative? • Latin –NARRE- To make Known • Via • Causally related events • Connected • Sequenced • Logically presented

3. Definition 2 • “Narrative is a way of organising spatial and temporal data into a cause and effect chain of events with a beginning, middle and end that embodies a judgement about the nature of the events as well as demonstrates how it is possible to know, and hence to narrate, the events. “ Brannigan E. Narrative Comprehension and Film

4. Macro Features of Narrative • Structure • Aristotle’s beginning, middle and end. • Todorov’s equilibrium>disequilibrium>re-equilibrium • Propp’s “functions” • Vogler’s “twelve steps” • 2. Temporal order,temporal duration, temporal frequency • 3. Story and Plot • Explicitly presented actions/events • Implicitly inferred ationas/events • Non diegetic material (captions/titles,drama enhancing music etc.)

5. Micro Features • 1. Constructional Devices • Cinematography • Mise- en- Scene • Editing • Sound 2. Genre Associations Genre Codes (e.g. Iconography) Genre Conventions 3. Narrative Codes Levi Straus’s Binary Oppositions Barthes Narrative Codes Character Psychology Semiotic Analysis

6. Todorov • Initial Situation (Equilibrium) • Disruption (Non equilibrium) • Restoration (Re Equilibrium)

7. Propp 1928 • Morphology of the Russian Folktale 1928 • Types of Characters, Specific Forms of Action, function in the Narrative. • Thiry One Functions identified.

8. Specific research on narrative • Vladimir Propp • Russian Formalist in the 1930s • He wanted to see if there was a finite number of structures for narrative. He analysied Russian folk tales and found they could be classified into 5 categories. • He also identified seven archetypal characters.

9. Propp’s character archetypes • The Villain • The Donor/giver of knowledge • The Helper • The Princess (sought after person) • The Dispatcher • The Hero (or victim) • The False Hero

10. Propp’s character archetypes • The Villain Darth Vader • The Donor • The Helper • The Princess (sought after person) • The Dispatcher • The Hero (or victim) • The False Hero

11. Propp’s character archetypes • The Villain Darth Vader • The Donor Obi Won Kenobe • The Helper • The Princess • The Dispatcher • The Hero (or victim) • The False Hero

12. Propp’s character archetypes • The Villain Darth Vader • The Donor Obi Won Kenobe • The Helper Han Solo • The Princess • The Dispatcher • The Hero (or victim) • The False Hero

13. Propp’s character archetypes • The Villain Darth Vader • The Donor Obi Won Kenobe • The Helper Han Solo • The Princess Princess Leah • The Dispatcher • The Hero (or victim) • The False Hero

14. Propp’s character archetypes • The Villain Darth Vader • The Donor Obi Won Kenobe • The Helper Han Solo • The Princess Princess Leah • The Dispatcher R2 - D2 • The Hero • The False Hero

15. Propp’s character archetypes • The Villain Darth Vader • The Donor Obi Won Kenobe • The Helper Han Solo • The Princess Princess Leah • The Dispatcher R2 - D2 • The Hero Luke Skywalker • The False Hero

16. Propp’s character archetypes • The Villain Darth Vader • The Donor Obi Won Kenobe • The Helper Han Solo • The Princess Princess Leah • The Dispatcher R2 - D2 • The Hero Luke Skywalker • The False Hero Darth Vader (Luke’s dad)

17. Basic Plots • Romance: Boy meets girl / boy loses girl / boy finds girl(or Vice versa) • Bordwell and Thompson (1991) define narrative as “A chain of events in cause-effect relationship occurring in time and space. • The Kuleshov Effect: The linear connections we make between shots.

18. Definitions from Bordwell and Thompson (1991) • Plot: What we see on screen. Includes extra-narrative things. • Story: all that we know about the narrative including seen and unseen. • Diegesis: The total world of the story. • Parallelism: Parallel development of multiple storylines. • Cause and effect: Cause and effect. Causes can come from a character.

19. Chris Vogler 1992The Writers Journey • Archetypes • Hero • Mentor • Shapeshifter • Trickster • Herald • Allies • Shadow • Threshold Guardians • The Hero’s Journey • Ordinary World • Call to Adventure • Refusal of the Call • Mentor • First Threshold • Tests, Allies, Enemies • Approach to the Inmost Cave • Ordeal • Reward (seizing the sword) • The Road Back • Resurrection • Return with the Elixir

20. Levi Strauss • Binary Opposites (Macro) • Protagonist/Antagonist • Action /Inaction Binary Opposites (Micro) • Good looking / Ugly • Witty / Humourless

21. Barthes • Audience Decodes • Enigma Code (sets up a question to be answered later) • Semic Code (How characters, actions ,events, settings etc. take on meaning within a culture. • Symbolic Code - Binary Oppositions or Psychological symbols • Action Code - understood by cross reference to other narratives in our culture • Cultural Codes - understood through our interaction with the wider world.