Narrative Theories

Theorists

There are three main theorists that I have looked at and these are Vladimir Propp, Todorov and Levi Strauss.

Vladimir Propp

He was a Russian critic who specialized in the structure of fair tales. He said that there are the same set of characters used in everything.

• The Villain -- The Joker in The Dark Knight
• The Hero -- Spiderman
• The Dispatcher (Sends hero on way) – Nick Fury in Avengers Assemble
• The Helper -- Robin in Batman and Robin
• Princess -- Gwen Stacey in The Amazing Spiderman
• False Hero – Zap Brannigan in Futurama
• Donor -- Lucius Fox in Batman Begins
• Father who rewards hero --

Todorov

He argued that all stories start with an EQUILIBRIUM. Then an event or series of events cause DISRUPTION, eventually RESTORATION and ORDER is achieved at the end of the narrative.

An example in a film where this theory is tested is The Simpsons Movie. The Equilibrium is when they are all acting normal and Homer is doing chores. The Disruption is the second part when Homer saves the pig. The Realisation is when the Simpsons are kicked out of Springfield and forced to move to Alaska. The Restore and Order is when they go back and save Springfield after Homer has ‘changed’. And then it all goes back to Equilibrium again when the dome is blown up and everyone is free and happy.

Levi Strauss

Strauss’ theory dealt with the idea of BINARY OPPOSITIONS.

• Good/ Bad
• Light/ Dark
• Noise/ Silent
• Strength / Weakness
• Past/ Present

A film example of this theory is the Harry Potter series as Harry is seen as the good guy and Voldemort is always seen as the bad/evil guy.