Narrative Theory – Revisited

Todorov – Tripartite Narrative Structure – beginning/middle/end. It has an equilibrium (beginning) then disruption (middle) then a new equilibrium (end).

Freytag – Freytag’s Pyramid – exposition, inciting incident, rising action, climax, falling action, resolution, and denouement.

Propp – Stock characters – that perform stock functions – hero, helper, princess, villain, victim, dispatcher, father, and false hero.

Claude Levi -Strauss – Binary Oppositions – e.g. good vs bad, rich vs poor, educated vs stupid, old vs young.

Seymour Chatman – Satellites and Kernels – kernels are moments elements that are essential to the narrative development. Satellites are moments that could be removed and the overall logic would not be disturbed. 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.

When watching the film I will be looking at the narrative structure through Todorov’s Theory.

The beginning of the film is not like a typical narrative structure as the key event happened before and we are trying to find out what happened before he lost his memory. However, like many other narratives the start is still used to set the scene and introduce us to the main characters.

Seymour Chatman – Satellites and Kernels. Kernal = memory lose – otherwise the plot wouldn’t make sense. Satellite – his Jaguar – could be any car.

• 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 (Create puzzles and questions).
• Elision or Ellipse: are when you drop rid of something, something is missing (e.g. a flight takes 8 hours in a film it takes 20 seconds)
• Flash-forward: when we jump forward in time
• Flashback: when we jump back in time
• Foreshawdowing: a warning or indication of a future event.
• Parallel/Simulations Narratives: Are when two different people’s narratives are shown.
• Non-Sequitars: is when a something happens in the film that gets them nowhere / is pointless.