Narrative_Analysis

7/27/2019 Narrative_Analysis

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Narrative Analysis



Consequences

1. Adjective for man

2. Man's name

3. Adjective for woman4. Woman's name

5. Where they met

6. He wore

7. She wore

8. He said to her

9. She said to him

10. The consequencewas… (a description of

what happened after)11. What the worldsaid



The Basics Narrative refers to the way the story of a film is told, as

well as the story itself.

narrative structure –the order in which the action takes

place.

It is also important to consider where the audience is

placed in relation to the narrative and whose eyes we

see the story through.



Narrative StructureThere are different ways in which a narrative is structured.

1. Circular

2. Episodic

3. Linear/ non linear



Linear Narrative This is the most simple and commonly used narrative

structure

In the order in which events happen – from beginning toend. AKA ‘cause and effect’ narratives as the consequences

of one event have an effect on something else and thingsmove along in this linear fashion.

Boring? Sixth Sense follow linear narratives but still createintrigue and mystery.

Remember – linear narratives are only simplistic inreference to time and place, not in terms of plot!



Circular Narrative The is when a film begins at the end.

Start at the end and use a series of flashbacks, or

construct the narrative around a single flashback and

then return to where the film began.



Episodic Narrative Not all films with flashbacks and voice-overs are

circular.

For example ‘Forrest Gump’ has an interestingnarrative structure because although events unfoldmore or less in chronological order, rather than justseeing Forrest at the beginning and end of the film, wekeep returning to him sitting on the bench telling hisstory.

The narrative is broken up into episodes or moremanageable narrative pieces.



Narrative Viewpoint1. Restricted Narrative

A narrative that only allows us to know what the

characters know.

2. Omniscient Narrative

A narrative which allows us to know more about the

characters and their situations than they know

themselves



TaskOf the genres below, which have omniscient narratives

and which have restrictive (usually) and why?

1. Crime

2. Action

3. Disaster Movie

4. Sci-fi

5. Horror

6. Romance



R - If the character is puzzled, then the audience is too

and we must work out what is going on

O - Omniscient narratives create suspense rather than

mystery

We are given a God like view



Roland Barthes’ Codes The French critic put forward a scheme of five types of

coding for analysing stories:

The Action Code:

Suspense is created by

action rather than mystery.



Roland Barthes’ Codes The Semic Code:

All signs and meanings which denote character.

E.g, traditional horror films are linked to the supernatural through typical signifiers –

fear of the light/rapid increase of body hair, monotone voices.



Roland Barthes’ Codes The Mystery Code:

Suspense is achieved by puzzling the audience. The loose ends need to

be tied up. The narrative is deliberately mixed up to confuse the audience

and force them to try and figure out what is going on.



Roland Barthes’ Codes The Cultural Code:

Makes reference to information which is part of the real world.

James Bond drinks a Martini, drives an Aston Martin.

Sex and the City – she’s always using an Apple mac computer.



Roland Barthes’ Codes Code of Oppositions

Binary opposites:

Nature v. civilisation

Childishness v. maturity

Life v. death

When looking at opposites, see which side the narrative favours.



Vladimir Propp



Propp’s 8 main character types1. The hero

2. The false hero

3. The princess – the reward for thehero’s endeavours

4. The father (of the princess)

5. The helper – helps the

hero along the way.

6. The villain

7. The donor – gives the hero

something to help them on their‘quest’

8. The dispatcher – sends the hero ontheir ‘quest’

Obviously you can’t take a theoryfrom around 90 years ago about

Russian stories and relate itdirectly to every film made.

Having said that, if you take intoaccount social change and the

difference in form, it is surprisinghow accurately some of Propp’scharacter types can be applied to

many modern film narratives.

What categories would the

following well knowncharacters fit into?

1. Gandalf?

2. Lara Croft?



For example…

The 8 character types from Propp's

theory can be found in Aladdin like

so:

The villain - Jafar The donor - Jafar

The helper - Genie

The princess - Jasmine

Her father - The SultanThe dispatcher - Jafar

The hero - Aladdin

The anti-hero - Jafar

PDT Charaters

Okwe

Senay Gelik

Sneaky / Juan

Juliette

Gou Yi

Immigration

Officer ….



Todorov1. The equilibrium – the state of balance

in the narrative, where we get to know thecharacters and the situation

2. The disruption – oppositionalcharacters are introduced and the storymoves forward

3. The recognition (of the disruption) – where the story develops, different eventsand characters become involved and moredrama occurs.

4. The attempts to repair thedisruption – where there may be a twistor climatic point

5. The new equilibrium – the problem issolved and harmony is resolved, though

things may have changed.

Todorov was aBulgarian theoristwho devised away of looking atdifferent stagesof the narrative:

Can you applythis to a film

you know well?



We are now going to continue to watch ‘Dirty PrettyThings.’ Whilst watching it is vital you make notes in

your research notebook on the following:

1. Genre – HOW do we know it is a thriller? What othergenres are featured and HOW do we know?

2. Narrative – HOW is the story told? What type ofnarrative structure is used?

3. Do any of the theories looked at apply to thefilm? If so which? And HOW?

Narrative_Analysis

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