Narrative Theory

• “Structuralism has been very powerful in its influence on narrative theory. Its main virtue is that it is most interested in those things that narratives have in common, rather than in the distinctive characteristics of specific narratives.” – Turner p.85 ‘Film as Social Practice
• Many narratives (Film, TV, Radio) are usually LINEAR and SEQUENTIAL, in that they start at ’00:00′ and run for a set length. This means that they normally have a beginning, middle and end. 

Narrative…story…plot

• According to Thompson (1990) ‘in studying narrative structure, we can seek to identify the specific narrative devices which operate within a particular narrative, and to elucidate their role in telling a story . . . it can be illuminating to focus on a particular set of narratives . . . and to seek to identify the basic patterns and roles which are common to them.’ (288)
• STORY is often associated with themes and meaning and can be decoded from all of the different elements that are used, for example, the characters, setting, props and themes etc.
• PLOT is the way in which the story (elements/themes/ideas/meaning) is organised and sequenced.

Todorov – Tripartite Narrative Structure

• Every narrative has a beginning, middle and end

Propp – Character Types

• Hero
• Helper
• Princess
• Villain
• Victim
• Dispatcher
• Father
• False Hero

Spheres of Action

• As Turner makes clear ‘these are not separate characters, since one character can occupy a number of roles or ‘spheres of action’ as Propp calls them and one role may be played by a number of different characters’ (2000:78)

 Propp proposed that his list of stock characters are structured into a narrative that has 31 different functions that play an important role in organising character and story into a plot. Without going into detail for each, overal they can be dvided into the following sections:

1. PREPARATION
2. COMPLICATION
3. TRANSFERENCE
4. STRUGGLE
5. RETURN
6. RECOGNITION

Levi-Strauss – Binary Opposites

• Levi-Strauss examined the nature of myths and legends in ancient and primitive cultures, from this analysis he suggested that myths were used to deal with the contradictions in experience, to explain the apparently inexplicable, and to justify the inevitable’ (Turner 2000:83)

Satellites and Kernels

• Kernels: key moments in the plot / narrative structure
• Satellites: embellishments, developments, aesthetics

Barthes: Proairetic and Hermenuetic Codes

• Proairetic code: action, movement, causation
• Hermenuetic code: reflection, dialogue, character or thematic development
• Enigma Code: the way in which intrigue and ideas are raised, which encourages an audience to want more information.

Key Words:

• Ellison/Ellipsis = when you cut things out so things don’t take too long, ie the book burning scene in Memento
• Flashbacks = going back in time. In Memento, these are clearly identified by the black and white scenes
• Flash forwards = going forward in time
• Foreshadowing = flagging up something that needs to be known or will be fully developed later
• Dramatic Irony = we know something as an audience, but the characters don’t
• Parallel/simultaneous narrative = when time run simultaneously and two stories are running at the same time
• Light and Shade = you need some balance, you need to have some heavy stuff, then comedy like jokes. You can’t have the heavy intense stuff (Light) all the way through without any cuts of more calming scenes (shade)
• Non-sequitur= short story lines which can make up part of an enigma