Narrative Theory

In media, narrative is how the facts to a piece of media is organised or given. Human minds need narratives in order to make sense of what is going on. We connect events make interpretations based on these connections, we understand and construct meaning using our personal experiences. A story is simply just a sequence of events, known correctly as the plot. Whereas, the narrative is the way in which events are put together to then be presented to a selected audience. Tzvetan Todorov Tzvetan Todorov is a Bulgarian theorist and his theory states that most if not all narratives start with a situation known as equilibrium, whereby life is seen to be normal and protagonists happy. Following this, this state of normality is then disrupted by an outside power, which has to be fought against in order to return to state of equilibrium. This model/theory can easily be applied to a wide range of media, in this case music videos. The five stages are as follows: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Equilibrium Disruption Recognition of disruption Attempt to repair New equilibrium

Claude Levi-Strauss Claude Levi-Strauss is a social anthropologist who studied myths of tribal cultures. He analysed how stories instinctively portray the values, beliefs and myths of a particular culture, which are more often than not communicated in the form of binary oppositions. Binary opposition is a conflict between two qualities or terms, for example: Good vs. Evil Young vs. Old Weak vs. Strong

Roland Barthes Roland Barthes is a French semiologist, who suggests that narrative works in five simple codes, which then allow the audience to make sense of the media being presented. 1. Action: A narrative tool whereby a resolution is formed through action, typically done through a shoot-out in film. 2. Enigma: Narrative codes that almost teases the audience by creating a sense of mysteriousness within the media, commonly presented as a puzzle or riddle that is needed to be solved. This allows the audience to build up a report of questions about the piece of media and also helps to delay the storys ending pleasantly. 3. Symbolic: This is a connotation interpreted differently by each and every audience; this could be a series of images or simply a piece of text. 4. Semic: This is simply a denotations 5. Cultural: A narrative method which the audience can recognise as being a element of a culture, a good example of this would be a Made man in a gangster film is part of the mafia culture. Propp Theory Eight types of characters: 1. Hero: Usually searching for something, such as a quest or solve a puzzle. 2. The Villain: Has some sort of conflict with the hero and tries to stop them from achieving their goal. 3. The Donor: Gives the hero something e.g. a clue, guidance or special power helping them to complete their quest. 4. The Princess: Is usually a prize or reward for the hero. 5. Helper: Often acts as a sidekick. 6. The Princess Father: An authority figure who offers a reward to the hero for completing their quest. 7. False hero: This character takes credit for the heros actions. 8. Disputer: Gives key information to hero in the first place.