parallel narrative- where separate stories/narratives take place simultaneously/at the same time.

proairetic Code:  action, movement, causation

 hermenuetic Code:  reflection, dialogue, character or thematic development

Enigma code: Raise ideas for the audience to intrigue them which makes the audience want more information

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.

Started with the ending reversed and then jumped to “present day”

Monologue

Middle: attacked acused guy and there was a confrontation, killed him. reverses back to the very start of the day again, giving away clues and hints as well as lean what Lenard is like. He doesnt remember anything in short term but remembers his wife dying. writed himself notes to remember things so he can find his wifes killer

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

Narrative:

story:

plot:

Binary Oppositions: how a story will always have a good protagonist and a bad antagonist

Ellison or Elipsis- Flash forward or flashback and some content can go missing such as a half hour to meet someone. These also tend to break a linear sequence.

Dramatic Irony: audience know something that the characters of a narrative don’t.

Foreshadowing: Where something/ plot line is hinted at before the event occurs.

• narratives are made of many things : sound,image,text,etc…
• follow a theme
• usually linear + sequential
• narratives tell stories through linear communication

MOMENTO

• there isn’t a clear narrative
• repeats itself
• narrative is fragmented – just like momento with Leonard’s condition
• inconsistent narrative (jumps from present to future)

CLAUDE LEVI-STRAUSSE

• narrative based on binary opposition
• good vs evil
• key themes create a set of messages which the audience can decode and understand
• audience can make judgments about characters

ELISION AND ELLIPSIS

• some elements are missing
• not linear, not real time
• flashbacks and flash forwards

• parallel / simultaneous narrative
• makes audience fill in the gaps (E and E)

• dramatic irony (telling audience something characters don’t know)
• foreshadowing
• use of light and shade (contrast)

BARTHES

• proairetic code – action, movenment
• hermenuetic code – reflection, dialogue, character development
• enigma code – way intrigue ideas are raised

Roland Barthes – Proairetic and Hermeneutic Codes

• Proairetic code: action, movement, causation
• Hermeneutic code: reflection, dialogue, character or thematic development

Vladimir Propp – 8 Stock Character types, Spheres of Action

8 STOCK CHARACTER TYPES

1. Hero
2. Helper
3. Princess
4. Villain
5. Victim
6. Dispatcher
7. Father
8. False Hero

SPHERES OF ACTION

The types of character types we identify with and adopt. Each character follows an individual narrative with multiple different functions that is essential in organising the characters in a plot. These narratives can be watered down and divided into 6 types of mini narrative plots:

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

Todorov – Narrative Structure = Equilibrium, Disruption, New Equilibrium (Includes resolution)

• Equilibrium
• Disruption
• New equilibrium

Seymour Chatman – Satellites & Kernels

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

Levi-Strauss – Binary opposition

NARRATIVES (=myths) are STRUCTURED around BINARY OPPOSITIONS, e.g. Love VS Hate, Good VS Bad

Tripartite narrative structure (Tztevan Todorov)

• Equilibrium
• Disruption
• New equilibrium

This structural approach could also be referenced to Freytag’s Pyramid exposition, inciting incident, rising action, climax, falling action, resolution, and denouement as illustrated below.

Vladimir Propp (Character Types and Function)

STOCK CHARACTERS 

1. Hero
2. Helper
3. Princess
4. Villain
5. Victim
6. Dispatcher
7. Father 
8. False Hero

Often there is a villain who has done something to a victim. This means that we need a hero, who (often) accompanied by a helper is sent out (by a dispatcher) to fight the villain. The dispatcher or similar donor(such as a father figure) prepares the hero in his ‘quest‘ and gives the herosome magical object. Thehero generally meets the princess as part of his quest / journey which usually provides a happy ending. During the narrative we (and the princess) may be presented by a false hero.

Spheres of Action

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

Claude Levi-Strauss (Binary Oppositions)

BINARY OPPOSITIONS eg: good v evil; human v alien; young v old etc etc. 

Elision- speeds up, simplifies, and generally enhances the flow of conversation.

Ellipsis- Ellipsis concerns the omission of a section of the story that is either obvious enough for the public to fill in or concealed for a narrative purpose, such as suspense or mystery.

Seymour Chatman: Satellites & Kernels

• Kernels: key moments in the plot / narrative structure -absolutely essential to the story / plot / narrative development
• Satellites: embellishments, developments, aesthetics

Roland 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 encourage an audience to want more information.

I am highlighting the sequential nature of the movie

starts in reverse photo preveiw. two stories simultanios black and white difference

pre story reexplaining the start

Satellites and kernels (Seymour Chatman)

Character types and function (Vladimir Propp)

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.

Thompson makes a distinction between a narrative which may be regarded, broadly speaking, as a communication which ‘tells a story’. The story generally consists of characters and a succession of events, combined in a way which displays a certain orientation or ‘plot’. As such, narrative is the overall structure involved in communication, which can be broken down into: ‘story’ and ‘plot’.

1. Tztevan Todorov (Tripartite narrative structure):

A really good way to think about NARRATIVE STRUCTURE is to recognise that most stories can be easily broken down into a BEGINNING / MIDDLE / END. The Bulgarian structuralist theorist Tztevan Todorov presents this idea as:

• Equilibrium
• Disruption
• New equilibrium

2. Vladimir Propp (Character Types and Function) STOCK CHARACTERS to structure stories

CHARACTERS FUNCTION TO PROVIDE NARRATIVE STRUCTURE:

1. Hero
2. Helper
3. Princess
4. Villain
5. Victim
6. Dispatcher
7. Father
8. False Hero

Seymour Chatman: Satellites & Kernels

• Kernels: key moments in the plot / narrative structure
• Satellites: embellishments, developments, aesthetics
• This theory allows students to break down a narrative into 2 distinct elements. Those elements which are absolutely essential to the story / plot / narrative development, which are known as KERNELS and those moments that could be removed and the overall logic would not be disturbed, known as SATELLITES. Think about the way satellites orbit something bigger like a planet. Satellites can therefore be thought as useful to develop character, emotion, location, time and so on, but NOT ESSENTIAL. In this way they are really useful creative elements but not essential to the story.

Roland Barthes: Proairetic and Hermenuetic Codes

• Proairetic code: action, movement, causation
• Hermenuetic code: reflection, dialogue, character or thematic development
• Enigma: the way in which intrigue and ideas are raised – which encourage an audience to want more information. (creates puzzels/questions)

Although the words proairetic and hermenuetic may seem very complex, it is easy for students to grasp in that moving image products are either based around ‘doing’ / ‘action’ or ‘talking’ / ‘reflection’. Look at this sequence from Buster Scruggs (Dir J Coen E Coen 2018), which is basically divided into ‘some talking’ (hermenuetic codes) which leads into ‘some doing’! (proairetic codes)

Key words: Elision- Ellipsis where you miss things out

time often moves backwards (flashbacks) or forwards (flash forwards) at moments which break the linear sequence. 

Time can also run simultaneously, in that it is possible to play-out different narratives at the same time: simultaneous or parallel narratives. 

Narrative strands are even able to be flagged up as something that needs to known (or will be fully developed) later, known as foreshadowing. This raises the concept that the audience are then given some information, feelings, ideas or logic that the on-screen actors do not have access to, which is called dramatic irony.

As such, some elements may emerge and play out but actually turn out to be of little value, meaning or consequence to the overall / main parts of the narrative – these can be called non-sequitars. Nevertheless, the use of light & shade is very important in terms of constructing an effective and enjoyable narrative.

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.

• elision – ellipsis = cutting things out to make it shorter
• flashback = ( idea for music video – flash back of characters death)
• flash forward =
• fore shadowing =
• dramatic irony =  given some information, feelings, ideas or logic that the on-screen actors do not have access to
• memento – parallels between structure and memory
• light and shade = dark serious scenes to light comedy scenes
• non – sequitars = when theres no way out

• Narratives are organised around a particular theme and space and are based in an idea of time. 

• many narratives (Film, TV, Radio) are usually LINEAR and SEQUENTIAL

• beginning, middle and end

• narrative =as a communication which ‘tells a story’
• Tztevan Todorov (Tripartite narrative structure):

• Equilibrium
• Disruption
• New equilibrium

( Freytag’s Pyramid exposition, inciting incident, rising action, climax, falling action, resolution, and denouement)

Vladimir Propp (Character Types and Function)

1. Hero
2. Helper
3. Princess
4. Villain
5. Victim
6. Dispatcher
7. Father
8. False Hero

Spheres of Action:

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

Claude Levi-Strauss (Binary Oppositions)

(This theory suggests th at NARRATIVES (=myths) are STRUCTURED around BINARY OPPOSITIONS)

• to understand narrative as a structure of key (oppositional) themes

• creates a dominant message (ideology) of a film

Seymour Chatman: Satellites & Kernels

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

Roland 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 encourage an audience to want more information. – you give minimal information to let the audience figure out what its about. – rearranging things to make an enigma.

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.

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. Whereas the PLOT is the way in which the story (elements/themes/ideas/meaning) is organised and sequenced.

A really good way to think about NARRATIVE STRUCTURE is to recognise that most stories can be easily broken down into a BEGINNING / MIDDLE / END. The Bulgarian structuralist theorist Tztevan Todorov presents this idea as:

• Equilibrium
• Disruption
• New equilibrium

Vladimir Propp

CHARACTERS FUNCTION TO PROVIDE NARRATIVE STRUCTURE:

1. Hero
2. Helper
3. Princess
4. Villain
5. Victim
6. Dispatcher
7. Father
8. False Hero

Claude Levi-Strauss (Binary Oppositions)

This theory suggests that NARRATIVES (=myths) are STRUCTURED around BINARY OPPOSITIONS eg: good v evil; human v alien; young v old etc etc. As such, it encourages students to understand narrative as a structure of key (oppositional) themes that underpin action and dialogue to develop a set of messages that the audience are able to decode and understand.

Seymour Chatman: Satellites & Kernels

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

memento

Plot

• the story is told in reverse, the film shows you the ending before it tells you how he came to the conlusion or the actions he took to get there

So far the film has used a small amount of characters which are involved in the story

• 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 encourage an audience to want more information.

As such, they employ elision or ellipsis in that some elements are missing. Similarly, time often moves backwards (flashbacks) or forwards (flash forwards) at moments which break the linear sequence.

Time can also run simultaneously, in that it is possible to play-out different narratives at the same time: simultaneous or parallel narratives.

This raises the concept that the audience are then given some information, feelings, ideas or logic that the on-screen actors do not have access to, which is called dramatic irony.

non-sequitur – they are really useful creative elements but not essential to the story.