Narrative Recap Notes –

Theorists –

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

Levi-Strauss – Binary opposition – Themes e.g Love VS Hate, Good VS Bad

Vlasimir Propp – 8 Stock Character types, Hero, False Hero, Donor, Dispatcher, Helper, Villain, Farther, Princess.

Seymour Chatman – Satellites & Kernels

Roland Barthes –

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

Kernels are essential for the development of a plot where Satellites add extra detail and context.

Spheres of Action – One character is able to occupy a number of different rolls

PostModernism –

Postmodernism can be defined as the reimagining/ parody of something such as art. It uses the context of previous things in order to create an understanding for itself – ‘Anchorage’. This ‘New Version’ could be created or reimagined as a way to represent the modern world and dominant ideologies, rather than the past.

pastiche is a work of art, drama, literature, music, or architecture that imitates the work of a previous artist

parody is a work or performance that imitates another work or performance with ridicule or irony

An example of a pastiche work would be ‘The Simpsons’

 Fredric Jameson’s (1984) notion of the ‘metanarrative’  – For example Music Videos, which can distort and fragment reality and time in order to create a sense of escapism for viewers. Similarly, Ads and Commercials use this technique in order to attract viewers into buying this product as if it is ‘Life changing’. Overarching ideas, attitudes, values and beliefs that have held us together in a shared belief, For example, the belief in religion, science, capitalism, communism, revolution, war and peace. 

Bricolage – In the arts, bricolage is the construction or creation of a work from a diverse range of things that happen to be available, or a work constructed using mixed media.

Intertextuality – Relies on signs creating meaning for other signs, similar to Anchorage, it creates context which allows that piece to be interpreted/ encoded/ decoded.

Fragmentary Consumption/ Fragmented Identities – Can be created online via media such as phones which allow us to create a false/ alternate version of ourselves. This space that allows us to create this identities is continued after new products/ technologies are produced in order to allow us to continue this – Fragmented Consumption.

Habermas – Public Sphere

Spheres of Action – In a way the main character can relate to many of the ‘stock’ character types suggested by Propp.

Memento –

Hermenuetic Code – Black&White to colour – signifies the main characters memory loss. + The dull colours used.

Spheres Of Action theory can be applied as the audience feels sympathetic towards his condition. Yet the main character can also be seen as the villain as he killed someone.

Narrative = Plot = non-chronological

Binary Opposition = Past VS Present,

Kernels – The images the main character uses for his memory, Flashbacks

Roland Barthes – Enigma Code – The way in which intrigue and ideas are raised, ecouraging an audience to want more information and therefore continue with that piece of media. “I thought pleasure in reading was finding out what will happen next” referring to an enigma code.

Elision/ Ellipsis – dropping out some information that isn’t relevant

Flashbacks – are used to refer to previous events

Flashforwards- are related to future events

The flashbacks/forwards allow time to be rearranged and can create foreshadowing such as the main character killing someone in the beggining of the movie.

Dramatic Irony – When the audience is aware of something the character is not.

Parallel narrative – colour + black and white narrative

Light + Shade – seperate the heavy/ dark parts of media with the lighter parts such as humour.

Non-sequitar – mini stoylines that don’t end anywhere (e.g the escort scene in Memento) allows for more entertainment in media.

Most characters can be linked into the spheres of action theory.

Kernals – non-chronological, Teddy explaining, The fight,

Satellites – Escort scene,

Enigma – Natalies characer, changes from good to bad

Objective (physical) – The black and white scenes

Subjective(non-physical) – coloured scenes with internal monologue/ thoughts – first person

Binary opposition between Subjectivity and objectivity

What is the significance of the story of Sammy Jenkiss to Leonard? Foreshadows leonards condition and how his memories aren’t reliable.

What does this tell us about the relationship between facts, memories and fiction? Memories are subjects, facts are objective, lennys memory of his wife proves that not all memoris are reliable or truly accurate.

By the end of the film, do we feel like Leonard got the right man by shooting Teddy?  – No, as he did with the previous two deaths he is likely to foget and only being looking for the killer again.

Narrative is the overall structure involved in communication, which can be broken down into: ‘story’ and ‘plot’.

Enigma codes: create puzzles and questions within the narrative which is what memento does throughout. these codes are used to create an active audience.

elision or elipsis: this means, in terms of time, to cut things out. for example if someone is burning a book the audience does not want to see the whole thing being burnt, it would take too long.

Use Foreshadowing, flash forwards and flash backs in essays.

Dramatic irony: when we know something the character does not.

Parallel or simultaneous narratives: two narratives running at the same time eg, in memento the black and white parts and the parts in colour.

Mix of light and shade: heavy stuff eg gore and murder vs jokes or moments of love

non-sequitars: a storyline that went nowhere, eg the women in the toilet in hotel room. These create mystery/enigma that lead nowhere. These are useful as they add more interesting and entertaining parts to the plot.

Vladimir Propp (Character Types and Function):

Each has a function that contributes to the narrative.

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

Tztevan Todorov (Tripartite narrative structure):

• Equilibrium (beginning)
• Disruption (middle)
• New equilibrium (end)

movie notes:

black and white

flash forward in the beginning and the sound of gunshot

memory condition-writes notes

flashbacks of his wife tell story

• When looking at moving image products, it is therefore possible to look for patterns, codes, conventions that share a common features. In other words, narrative theories look at recognisable and familiar structures, that help us to understand both how narratives are constructed and what they might mean.
• narratives are a combination of many individual elements (sound, image, text etc) which are edited (connected) together.
• Narratives are organised around a particular theme and space and are based in an idea of time. So for example, 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.
• Binary opposition
• Propps character types

Key words:

• Flashback
• Colour- moving back (parallel narrative)
• Black & white- moving forwards (parallel narrative)
• Enigma code- trying to figure out whats going to happen next
• Light & shade

Films usually have a linear structure as in they start at ’00:00′ and run for a set length of time. This means they have a beginning, a middle, and an end.

Todorov said that a good story should have an equilibrium, disruption and a new equilibrium.

Propp suggests that stories use stock characters

Claude Levi-Strauss, Binary oppositions. This suggests that narratives are structured around binary oppositions e.g. good vs bad, human vs alien, young vs old.

Flashback, Parallel narrative, An enigma code (puzzle, something to resolve), Light and shade

Narrative are organised around a particular theme and space

Narratives are usually LINEAR and SEQUENTIAL

This means that they normally have a beginning, middle and end.

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)

Vladimir Propp is a good starting point for thinking about narrative structures, as his work (based around an analysis of fairy tales) suggests that stories use STOCK CHARACTERS to structure stories.

You do not need to recognise all of these characters, but it is a good way to understand the way in which CHARACTERS FUNCTION TO PROVIDE NARRATIVE STRUCTURE:

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

3. Claude Levi-Strauss (Binary Oppositions)

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

4. 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.

5. Roland Barthes: Proairetic and Hermenuetic Codes

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

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’!

narrative recap:

• todorov (beginning middle end)
• vladimir propp (character types and function): stock characters, the hero, the villain, the dispatcher, operates in “spheres of action” hero goes after villain
• claude levi-strauss (binary oppositions): narratives are structured w/ oppositions
• *symour chatman: satellites and kernels (main bits and sub-bits that arent as necessary – appear around it)

time – how the progression of time works in the narrative (linear, nonlinear). Beginning, middle, end etc

space – the type of location wherein the music video is in. This usually changes. It is common for music videos to incorporate shots from a different area in space and possibly time

theme – music videos run from a solid theme which normally affects the mood of the video.

linear – the progression of time that follows a strict beginning-middle-end structure. For example, if you have a linear music video, the music video will go beginning-middle-end

sequential – the progression of a story that follows a ‘one after the other’ event sequence

story – the lowdown of what the music video is about

plot – how the story is organised

memento works using a reverse-organised (nonlinear) plot, where the ending is the beginning and the beginning is the end. this works within the story, revolving around the fact that the main character experiences short term memory loss

roland barthes:

• proairetic code: action, movement, causation
• hermenuetic code: reflection, dialogue, character or thematic development

levi-strauss: binary oppositions: truth and lies (facts and fiction) (this is shown in the plot with the main character’s friend pretending to be supportive compared with the dramatic irony of them being the murderer as well as the main character getting defensive when someone tries to help them, assuming there is something wrong)

function of story: to provide a meta-narrative

flashback – a scene shown in an earlier part of the linear structure that is re-shown

flash-forward – a scene shown in a later part of the linear structure that is shown before it happens

parallel narrative – where two or more narratives run at the same point in the structure

enigma code: a puzzle, something to resolve

light/shade – you need humour to balance negativity within narrative

elision – joining things together

elipsis – leaving things out

THINKING ABOUT NARRATIVE STRUCTURE

• The film begins with Leonard shooting Teddy – the climax of his quest for vengeance. The main question facing Leonard is ‘Who killed his wife?’ and ‘How can he find him to take revenge?’ These questions seem to be answered in the first five minutes – so what enigmas are created for the audience as the plot moves (backwards in time)?

Several enigmas are created during the plot. for example, it begins to be more and more obvious that the man he kills is the wrong man, furthermore other characters are questioned as the audience learns more and more about them and an enigma is created due to their actions each flashback.

• How are these enigmas answered? Are the answers stable (i.e. are the undermined by what we discover later)?

Although some enigmas can be answered, a lot also can’t

• If you had to plot this narrative – what shape would it take? Think about direction and shape ie Freytag’s pyramid. Can you draw out a schematic representation (ie a drawing) of this narrative structure?
• What are the key ‘KERNELS‘ in this narrative structure? What ‘SATELLITES‘ particularly stand out for you?

NARRATIVE, CHARACTER, TRUTH

• What is the significance of the story of Sammy Jenkins to Leonard? How ‘true’ is this story? What does this tell us about the relationship between facts, memories and fiction?

the story of sammy Jenkins mirrors Leonard’s own story, working as a ‘parallel’ to his own life. Later it is revealed in the subjective lens that it wasn’t sammy Jenkins that killed his own wife accidentally due to his condition but Leonard. This relates to facts and fiction as it is unsure if this is true or not, creating an enigma

• By the end of the film, do we feel like Leonard got the right man by shooting Teddy? List arguments for and against this view. How satisfying is the end of the film? What questions do you have left?

• ‘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.’

• 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)

Tztevan Todorov (Tripartite narrative structure): Beginning, Middle and End.- Memento has no clear beginning, middle or end.

Vladimir Propp (Character Types and Function): Fairytails have similar characters.

Claude Levi-Strauss (Binary Oppositions):

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.

Elision and Ellipsis- Not played in real time

Flashbacks and Flash forwards

Parallel or simultaneous narratives- Time can run simultaneously.

Dramatic Irony- Knowing something important that the characters don’t.

Postcolonialism is the academic study of the cultural legacy of colonialism and imperialism, focusing on the human consequences of the control and exploitation of colonized people and their lands. Post-colonial theory looks at issues of power, economics, politics, religion, and culture and how these elements work in relation to colonial hegemony (Western colonizers controlling the colonized).

Overall, post colonialism operates a series of signs maintaining the European-Atlantic power over the Orient by creating ‘an accepted grid for filtering through the Orient into Western consciousness‘. (Said, 1978:238). Or as Paul Gilroy puts it, ‘a civilising mission that had to conceal its own systematic brutality in order to be effective and attractive’ (2004:8)

Orientalism is a way of seeing that imagines, emphasizes, exaggerates and distorts differences of Arab peoples and cultures as compared to that of Europe and the U.S. It often involves seeing Arab culture as exotic, backward, uncivilized, and at times dangerous. this term was coined by Edward Said in 1978.

the orient as ‘the other’. Jacques Lacan – mirror stage in child development. To link this to postcolonialism would be to suggest that the West uses the East / the Orient / the ‘Other’, to identify and construct itself. How it sees itself as the ‘West’ as opposed to . . . in other words, it acts as The Other, a mirror by which a reflection of the self can be measured out and examined.

Louis Althusser: Ideological state apparatus (ISA) and the notion of interpellation. it is a theoretical concept developed by French philosopher Louis Althusser which is used to describe the way in which structures of civic society – education, culture, the arts, the family, religion, bureaucracy, administration etc serve to structure the ideological perspectives of society, which in turn form our individual subject identity.

Frantz Fanon was a French West Indian psychiatrist and political philosopher from the French colony of Martinique, whose works are influential in the fields of post-colonial studies, critical theory and Marxism. He has written a book titled The Wretched of the Earth which is a criticism of post colonialism.

As an early critical thinker of postcolonialism, Frantz Fanon took an active role, proposing the first step required for ‘colonialised’ people to reclaim their own past by finding a voice and an identity. The second, is to begin to erode the colonialist ideology by which that past had been devalued. (Barry, 2017:195). In the chapter ‘On National Culture’ (pp;168-178) Fanon presents three phases of action ‘which traces the work of native writers’:

1. Assimilation of colonial culture corresponding to the ‘mother country’ Chinua Achebe talks of the colonial writer as a ‘somewhat unfinished European who with patience guidance will grow up one day and write like every other European.’ (1988:46)
2. Immersion into an ‘authentic’ culture ‘brought up out of the depths of his memory; old legends will be reinterpreted’
3. Fighting, revolutionary, national literature, ‘the mouthpiece of a new reality in action’.

Antonio Gramsci – Hegemony. Hegemony is the leadership or dominance, especially by one state or social group over others. Gramsci suggests that power relations can be understood as a hegemonic struggle through culture. In other words, Gramsci raises the concept of Hegemony to illustrate how certain cultural forms predominate over others, which means that certain ideas are more influential than others, usually in line with the dominant ideas, the dominant groups and their corresponding dominant interests. 

Paul Gilroy is insistent that ‘we must become interested in how the literary and cultural as well as governmental dynamics of the country have responded to that process of change and what it can tell us about the place of racism in contemporary political culture.’ (2004:13) His theme of double consciousness, derived from W.E.B Dubois, involves ‘Black Atlantic’ striving to be both European and Black through their relationship to the land of their birth and their ethnic political constituency follow this wiki link for more on this point.