| Narrative theory plays a key part in media, it is studying the construction of a story and how it is presented to the audience. Todorovs theory of equilibrium states that the majority of story lines follow the same pattern. Starting with an equilibirium, then a distribution, a disequilibruim, restored order and then back to the equilibrium. Equilibrium is the beginning of the story, where the characters are happy and there are no problems. Distribution is the second stage of the story where everything starts to corrupt and a problem occurs. Disequilibrium is the part of the plot where everyone discovers the problem and there is lots of chaos. Restored Order is when the characters try and restore everything back to normal. Equilibrium Again is the final part of the story where the problem is finally resolved and everyone is now happy again. An example of a music video that supports Todorovs theory would be Taylor Swifts music video to her song 'Blank Space'. Everything starts off normal between a couple, then they start to argue and break up. Towards the end, equilibrium is restored when a new man turns up at her door and she becomes happy again. A man named Levi Strauss was a social athropologist who studied and had great intrest in myths of tribal cultures and the stories behind them. He had a theory that all narratives could be reduced down to binary oppositions. This is when the use of opposites are used in order to create a narrative. For example weak or strong, good or bad, old or young and man or woman. An example of Strauss' theory of binary opposites would be Katy Perrys music video of Roar as it is an example of Man vs Nature. Barthes semiotic codes are a series of codes referring to different meanings of features throughout a film. The Enigma Code refers to any part of the story that is not explained at first and so it builds tension. The Action Code is an action that triggers events in a film and tension is built. The Semantic Code is the connotations throughout the film which support the narrative in an unspoken way. The Symbolic Code is the use of opposites, similar to Strauss’ theory of binary oppositions. They are used to build up the plot. The Cultural Code is looking at the audiences ideology and wider cultural knowledge. An example of Barthes theory would be: -Enigma Code: Katy Perry - Wide Awake -Action Code: Taylor Swift - Bad Blood -Symbolic Code: Christina Perri - Jar of Hearts -Cultural Code: Ed Sheeran - A Team Vladimir Propp was a Russian critic who identified a theory about characters and actions as narrative functions. There are 8 main character types… The Hero who saves the day The Villain who struggles against the hero and often causes disequilibrium. The Helper is often magical assists the hero on his mission. The Princess/Prize is often the goal for the hero to rescue. The Anti-hero usually takes the credit for the heroes work. The Doner usually offers the hero something in order to help them throughout their quest. The Father is usually the one who gives the hero the task. The Dispatcher identifies the problem. An example of Propps theory would be in Taylor Swifts song 'Bad Blood'. Her music video consists of 4 characters which are: -The Hero (Taylor Swift) -The Villain (Selena Gomez) -The Donor (Kendrick Lamar) -The Helper |
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