Propp character types in Harry Potter
In the 2001 film ‘Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone’ directed by Chris Columbus: Propp’s theory of stock characters can be applied
Harry is the hero, because he is the protagonist carrying out the quest.
Voldemort is the villain because he is the main antagonist, and actively blocks and opposes Harry’s quest.
Dumbledore is both the donor because he provides Harry with the knowledge of his origins and magical abilities. He is also the dispatcher because he sends Harry on his quest.
The helpers are Ron and Hermione because they aid the hero, Harry, throughout the film.
The princess can be considered Ginny because she is the object of Harry’s affections.
Draco is the false hero because he disrupts Harry’s success by making false claims.
The Heroes Journey, Terminator 2
THE ORDINARY WORLD, John Connor is a adopted kid living a normal life.
THE CALL TO ADVENTURE, is saved by the T-800
REFUSAL OF THE CALL, doesn’t want to be apart of this.
MEETING WITH THE MENTOR, talks with the programmed T-800 who reveals who John is going to become.
CROSSING THE THRESHOLD, John wants to save his mother
TESTS, ALLIES AND ENEMIES, Sarah is trying to be convinced she is crazy.
APPROACH, John, Sarah and T-800 escape and go to one of Sarah’s former friends
THE ORDEAL, The heroes break into the lab to retrieve the arm and chip.
THE REWARD, They steal the arm and chip though Dyson sacrifices himself.
THE ROAD BACK, trying to escape the T-1000 in the SWAT car.
THE RESURRECTION, A believed to be dead T-800 saves John and kills the villain before destroying himself.
RETURN WITH THE ELIXIR, John and Sarah can live safely preventing doomsday by destroying the arm and chip.
Propp’s character types
Star Wars – A New Hope (1977, George Lucas)
Propp’s character types are listed as below:
- The Hero – a character that seeks something
- The Villain – who opposes the hero on their quest
- The Donor – who provides the hero with a magical object
- The Dispatcher – who sends the hero on their quest through a message
- The False Hero – who disrupts the hero’s quest by making false claims.
- The Helper – who helps the hero
- The princess – acts as a reward for the hero and a the object of the villains plots.
- Her Father – who acts to reward the hero for their efforts.
Here is how it links into a movie, for example Star Wars: A New Hope (1977, George Lucas:
- The hero – Luke Skywalker, looks to become a Jedi and defeat Darth Vader
- The Villain – Darth Vader, looks to rein terror on the galaxy and defeat Luke Skywalker
- The Donor – Obi Wan, presents Luke with lightsaber
- The Dispatcher – R2D2, Comes to Luke with message from Princess Leia
- The Princess – Leia, needs saving from the empire
- The Helper – Han Solo, alongside with chewbacca he helps Luke.
- The Father – (Spoiler Alert) Darth Vader, does not fit particularly well into the structure as Darth Vader does not reward Luke. Additionally, he is only revealed to be the father later on so it is not immediately obvious who the father figure is.
Narrative Theory in “Baby Driver” 2017 (Dir. Edgar Wright)
THE ORDINARY WORLD – Baby being a getaway driver.
THE CALL TO ADVENTURE – Sees Deborah, then meets her in diner .
REFUSAL OF THE CALL – Knows that she could get hurt if they are together.
MEETING WITH THE MENTOR – Talks with deaf foster father Joseph.
CROSSING THE THRESHOLD – Asks Deborah on a date.
TESTS, ALLIES AND ENEMIES – The heist goes wrong, then crew goes to the diner where Deborah works.
APPROACH – Baby tries to run away but gets caught by heist crew .
THE ORDEAL – Final heist: Baby kills Bats(antagonist) and runs away from police + remaining crew members.
THE REWARD – Baby escapes to find Deborah.
THE ROAD BACK – Deborah is being held captive by Buddy; he has to fight and kill him and run away from police with Deborah.
THE RESURRECTION – Baby sacrifices himself to police in order to save Deborah, ends up serving prison time.
RETURN WITH THE ELIXIR – Baby gets released from prison after serving a short sentence for good behavior and meets Deborah again.
Propp’s Character Types
Man with No Name=Sarah Connor, the hero
Tuco= T-800(Arnold Schwarzenegger), the helper
Angel Eyes=T-1000, the villain
Gold=John Connor the prize
Carson=Future John Connor, dispatcher
General=Miles Bennet Dyson The donor
Bounty Hunters/The Law=Dr Peter Silberman, False heroes
Man With No Name 
Sarah
| Area of film | Film 1 | Film 2 | Possible topics |
| Director: David Fincher | Zodiac | Social Network |
Film Focus for Comparative Study
The Focus of my comparative study will be from the film theory of Masculinity, and I will be asking the question: ‘How much does the authoritarian masculinity of Fletcher from Whiplash and Hartman from Full Metal Jacket to drive the narrative.
Practice Photos Including Shot-Reverse-Shot
Establishing Shot 
Shot 
Reverse Shot
Comparative Study
The films i’ll be comparing are:
‘Scott Pilgrim vs. The World’ (Edgar Wright, 2010) and ‘Strike’ (Sergei Eisenstein, 1925)
I’ll Be looking at the Editing in both of these films, and how Edgar Wright has been influenced by Sergei Einstein.
