Narrative Theory

Narrative

"Any account of connected events, presented to a reader or listener in a sequence of written or spoken words, or in a sequence of (moving) pictures". 

The narrative is often confused with the story, which is slightly different. The story is the whole story behind what we see in the film. 

The narrative is the part of the story that we as the audience see. It is the way that the story is presented to us, the plot that it follows. For example, in Star Wars, the story in its simplest form is a small band of rebels attempting to take down an evil controlling empire. The narrative is what we see, which is the adventures of Luke Skywalker and his supporters, such as Han Solo and the princess etc.



When looking at Narrative Theory, there are three main approaches that are considered.

Todorov

The first is a theory by Todorov.
This theory is quite simplistic but accurate.

It is focused on 3 parts of the narrative.

• At the start, there is an equilibrim, a normal situation that the audience get used to.
• After this there is a disequilibrim, a situation that upsets the balance of the story.
• At the end a new equilibrim is set, and balance is restored.

 

Syd Field

The next is by Sid Field,  an American screenwriting guru. He also believed that narratives were split into 3 sections, but added in more detail. His main contribution was the adding of the idea of Plot Points.

 These "plot points" were effectively the key points in the narrative where there was a real changing point that would have a big effect on the story. He also renamed the 3 sections, as Set Up, Confrontation, and Resolution.



 

Vladamir Propp

Propp is another significant theorist concerning narrative theory. However he focused more on character roles rather than the actual narrative itself.

1. The Villain is the character who struggles aginst the hero, and is usually the one who causes the disequilibrim or confrontation. This is normally an "evil" character, and the antagonist om the film. This character has a negative effect on other characters within the film.

2. The Hero or victim/seeker. This character reacts to the donor, and normally chases after the Villain, and weds the princess. 


3. The (magical) helper. This character helps and assists the hero in the quest. They usually accompany the hero for the majority of the film. However they are sometimes captured by the villain, and the hero is sidetracked on a mini quest to get their sidekick back.

4. The princess and her father. Gives the task to the hero, identifies the false hero, marries the hero, often sought for during the narrative. Propp noted that functionally, the princess and the father can not be clearly distinguished.

5. The dispatcher. This is the character who makes the lack known and sends the hero off.

6. False Hero, This character takes credit for the hero’s actions or tries to marry the princess.

7. The Donor prepares the hero or gives the hero some magical object.