tzvetan todorov’s narrative theory

TZVETAN TODOROV’SNARRATIVE THEORY

Tzvetan Todorov was a famous Bulgarian- French theorist, who is famous in media for his "narrative stages" theory in 1969.

This states that any film follows a five stage system:

An equilibrium

e.g. In “Star Wars A New Hope”, Luke lives on the farm, but wants to leave.

A disequilibrium ( or disruption) from an event

e.g. His uncle and aunt are killed, and so he decides to join the rebel alliance.

A recognition of the disequilibrium

e.g. they are briefed for the mission

An attempt(s) to repair disequilibrium

e.g. They attempt to blow up the death star

A return to equilibrium

e.g. They are rewarded for success, as equilibrium returns.

CONCLUSION

He suggested that all films followed this pattern. In my opinion, I think that this theory is very basic, and will not apply to narratives with cliff-hangers or endings that are "unhappy". This theory would best suit a fairy-tale. In the following posts , alongside "Propp's Character theory", I will apply this theory to music videos, and asses whether it is successful. In my Potential Ideas post, I will evaluate whether I will attempt to keep to this theory.