Narrative Theories

Propp's Theory

Vladimir Propp was a Russian critic in 1920. According to Propp characters have a narrative function and they provide a structure for the text.

Typical characters that Propp found were;

• A hero - a character who seeks something
• A villain - a character that opposes or stops the hero from getting something
• The donor - a character that provides a magical power
• The dispatcher - who sends the hero on the mission
• The false hero - who disrupts the hero's quest by making fake claims
• The helper - someone who aids the hero
• The princess - acts as a reward for the hero and the object of the villains plot
• The father - to acts to reward the hero

In a struggle scene Propp suggested this theory;

1. There is a struggle between the hero and the villain
2. The hero is branded
3. The villain is overcome
4. the state of disorder is settled

In the recognition scene Propp suggested this theory;

1. At this stage in the film, the hero is recognised
2. The false hero is unmasked
3. The false hero could be hurt or killed
4. The hero then could be rewarded by the princess or the object they were looking for

Todorov's Theory

Todorov stated in 1960 that videos often started with a state of equilibrium, where any potentially opposing forces are in balance. This is then disrupted by some event, setting a chain series of events. Problems are solved so that order can be restored to the world of fiction. There are five stages to his theory;

1. a state of equilibrium
2. a disruption of the equilibrium
3. a recognition of the disruption
4. an attempt to repair the disruption
5. a reinstatement of equilibrium

Barthes Theory

Barthes describes a text as a "galaxy of signifiers, not a structure of signifieds; it has no beginning; it is reversible; we gain accesses to it through several entrances". Barth said;

• The text is a tangled ball of threads
• The thread needs to be unravelled
• Once unravelled we reveal a series of potential outcomes and scenarios
• We start by looking at a narrative one way, from one view point
• You can then continue unravelling the thread and looking at the scenario in a completely different way

There are five codes;

1. The hermeneutic code
2. The proairetic code
3. The symbolic code
4. The cultural code
5. The semantic code

The Hermeneutic Code - the voice of truth
This is the way the story avoids telling the truth or revealing all the facts, in order to drop clues throughout to help create mystery.
The Proairetic Code - empirical voice
This is the way tension is built up and the audience is left guessing what happens next.
The Symbolic code - the voice of symbols
Similar to the Semantic Code, but acts on a wider level. Organising sematic meanings into broader and deeper sets of meaning. This is typically done using antithesis, where a new meaning arises out of opposing conflicts.
The Cultural Code - the voice of science
Looks at the wider cultural knowledge.
The Semantic Code - voice of the person
This points to any element in a text that suggests a particular, often additional meaning by the way of connotation the story suggests.

Levi - Strauss'

Straus argued that all narratives can be reduced to binary oppositions.

Binary Opposites such as;

Hero vs. Villain
Girl sv. Boy
Weak vs. Strong

Andrew Goodwin's Theory

1922 he released a book on the codes of music videos. 

• All music videos have certain genre characteristics, depending on the genre of music
• More often han not there is a relationship between the visuals and lyrics
• There is a relationship in-between lyrics and visuals
• The demanding record label will be evident in the video
• Artist iconography
• Motion of looking
• Intertextual