assignment 8
TRANSCRIPT
Assignment 8: Narrative theory
Russvictoria Monocillo
PART A: TODOROVNARRATIVE THEORY
Todorov’s narrative theory
5 stages of narrative
1. Equilibrium (normality) 2.Disequilibrium
(conflict/disruption of equilibrium by action or event.
3.Recognition of disequilibrium (disruption/conflict)
4.Attempt to repair disequilibrium.
5. New equilibrium (new normality)
Like the classic structure of:•Beginning•Middle•End
Film I chose for Todorov’s narrative theory
EQUILIBRIUMHanna hunts a deer/stag• to survive (food and cloth)•An everyday routine.
Hanna and her dad sit by the fire•Her dad reads her an encyclopaedia • family bonding (father and daughter)
DISEQULIBRIUMHanna presses the locator•She is ready to do her task•Revealing their hideout•She is separated with her dad•Her first task is complete
Marissa sent an imposter in her place:•She is one of the higher ranked people.•She is weary of Hanna
Hanna kills the imposter•Hanna knew it wasn't the real Marissa•She kills the guards to escape
Recognition of DISEQUILIBRIUM (disruption/conflict)
Marissa kills Hanna's mother:•Marissa was an agent.•She was sent off to assassinate Hanna's parents.
Marissa holds hostage the tourist family•Marissa questions the family but pretends to be the good guy•The boy doesn't want Hanna to be hurt so he tells her where Hanna is going.
Attempt to repair disequilibrium
Erik and Hanna finally reunites•Erik tells Hanna the truth•Hanna fights off Erik not wanting to hear more•She runs away from Erik
Hanna meets a retired clown•The clown knew both of Hanna's parents•Her mum worked in the amusement park•The clown gives Hanna a present which was a passport in case she is on the run again
NEW EQUILIBRIUM (new normality)Hanna is on the hunt•The deer takes us back to the beginning where Hanna hunts a deer.•Hanna hunts down Marissa
Hanna kills Marissa to put an end to everything that they have been through
PART B: LEVI-STRAUSS NARRATIVE THEORY
STRAUSS NARRATIVE THEORY
Binary Opposite:
Light/Dark Good/bad Male/female Night/ day
Opposites are fundamental to out ability to make meanings in our lives. Understand good if t is against evil.
Problem?•A side has to win•opposites lead to a status of whoever is ranked highest.•the audience simply agrees to the winning side•If this happens it can create a dangerous ‘norm’
Strauss
Film Opposite 1 Opposite 2 Explanation
The Blind Side
Better living condition
Ghetto environment
Michael Oher was evicted from his home, now he lives with Touhey family in a safe environment
Dead Silence
Dead ventriloquist. Mary Shaw
Mary Shaw’s victim
Mary Shaw kills her victims in their dreams if they shout in fear and the victims can’t run away or protect themselves
Wanted Catchy, Gibson's girlfriend
Fox, Gibson's mentor Cathy is a cheating girlfriend who is uneducated comparing to Fox who is smart and is independent on defending herself
PART C: BARTHES NARRATIVE THEORY
BARTHES
The audience experience of the narrative involves anticipation and expectations of the resolution to conflict.
Barthes theory of codes:• Enigma
code• Action code• Semantic
code• Symbolic
code• Cultural
code
Barthes- Enigma codeNarrative is set up as puzzles to be solvedDepicting a mystery and raising questions which draws in the audience.In the movie Taken, a retired CIA agents daughter has been kidnapped whilst on a trip to Paris, Now the father has to travel across Europe and use his skills in order to save his daughter.•Who exactly kidnapped his daughter?• Why did they kidnap her?•What will happen to her?•Will he be able to find her?
Barthes- Action codeAction or behaviour that will lead the audience to
expect certain consequences.
Semantic code: colourGreen
The Hulk (action)
Hulk= Growth from experiment, stability, endurance
Batman and Robin (1997)(action)
Poison Ivy’s green attire= danger/ poison
Semantics: Learn from Experience
The good guys are courageous, handsome and well mannered
The Village
The good guy gets injured or killed
Semantics: IconographyBattlefieldMen in armour wielding swordsTwo sides- the good and bad fighting against
each other.
Symbolic codeElizabeth: The Golden Age
The lead character
Cultural code
Schindler’s listBased on
the story of the holocaust, Oskar Schindler who saved over 1200 Jews during the WW11
In 1958, the Jews named Schindler a “righteous gentile” but he was not named till 1993 (19 yrs after his death) for his heroic act.
PART DPROPP7 distinctive character types
called ‘spheres of action’The theory might seem
recognizable and simplistic because they are based on historic fairytales and folklore
These are often simplistic stories for children.
Propp-Hero
The main charcter who tries to find and frtee hher ]resent
Villain- yubaba
A wicked old with who took away the main characters name
Dispatcher
Here the main characters went to explore the abandoned theme park
Donor
An old spiderlike man gave train tickets to the main character. for the
Helper
Here this is the main characters companion:• The rat (the bad witches baby)• Fly (crow)• No face
They travelled together to return a golden seal which belonged to
Heroine
The heroine, which is a boy, was attacked by enchanted paper dolls and left him looking vulnerable.
False hero
N/A
Diegeisis
Internal world created by the story that the characters themselves experience and encounter.
TASK FMODULAR NARRATIVES-ALLAN CAMERON
Modular NarrativesA sense of time which can be
detachable and may have manipulation.
Where time is not linear.
Modular narrative- Split screen.
The Bratz MovieIn this scene the characters
are on a webcam conversation so that the audience can see what the characters are doing at that particular time
Diegesis/ diegetic world
We can only see Katniss Everdeen, the host and the audience in this scene
Sound scape
The audience can hear the host introducing Katniss to the audience and the audience cheering (in the film).
Diegetic sound
The character can only hear the cheering of the audience, the host and the ripple of her dress as she turns
Volume control
Here its as if it is only the host and the main character talking because the pitch/volume of the host voice went low as he asked about the main characters sister
Mode of address
The host talks in a well mannered way and its as if he is friends with the audience because of the way he interacts with them which is in a very energetic and talkative way
Ambient sound
The cheering of the audience
Sound effects
Naturalistic sound effects:The swoosh of the characters
dressThe load cheering of the
audience