PLANNING: NARRATIVE THEORIES.

In lesson today we learnt about different types of narrative: Todorov, Propp, Levi-Strauss, and Barthes.

Todorov made a theory he believed would work within any film, it suggests that narrative is when there is an equilibrium, disequilibrium and a new equilibrium. It should work like so:

• There is a state of equilibrium, when everything is going right.
• One event disrupts the equilibrium.
• This makes a state of disequilibrium.
• We then try to remove the disruption of the equilibrium.
• Which then makes a new state of equilibrium.

This relates to our film by the way in which there is a state of equilibrium at the beginning, represented by the quiet girl that leads a stress free life and visits the library regularly. This is then disturbed by the fact that she gains an admirer; this is the state of disequilibrium. There is a stage where there is slight confusion when he sees her admirer flirting with other girls, this reinforces the state of disequilibrium.  She tries to remove this and regain equilibrium by leaving the library. The new equilibrium is established when she drops the sticky notes and finds out her real admirer was not the boy from the library.

Propp had the idea that every narrative has eight different types of people within each film, these include;

1. The Villain       
2. The Dispatcher
3. The Helper
4. The Prize or the Princes
5. The Princesses Father
6. The Donor
7. The Hero 
8.  The False Hero

This relates to my film by the way in which it has a twist and the original hero turns in to the fake hero. In our short film we have three characters, the girl which in Propps theory would be the Princess, the Librarian which would be the fake hero and the boy who left the sticky notes who proves to be the hero. This helps to show the roles within the plot of our film. This theory makes our character recognisable and relatable to other films. The roles within our film are highly defined which helps in ensuring the audience have a definite understanding of the characters and can relate to the roles, maybe through personal experience.  

Levi Strauss stated that drama is linked with tension and that all drama is represented by conflict of some form. He said that there are binary opposites; these are opposites that are equally powerful which builds tension throughout the film. Within the film there should be a force of powers that clash reinforcing the tension. The narratives of the film should be simplified to binary opposites. He said that the hero of the film should fight the villain and that the story need to finish with the resolutions of the conflict as this may be visual and linked to light and dark or romance and hate.  

This links to my film by the way in which there is a conflict or fight between the two male roles who both want the girl, this is over the fact that neither feels that the other deserves the girl. This shown through different shot types that have the male representing the fake hero as the focus point and how he seems disinterested represented by his poor body language. The opposites are shown by the fact that one of the boys is a player and has bad intentions whereas the other is romantic and wants to attract the girl. 

Roland Barthes has two codes that he invented the Hermeneutic Code and the Proairetic Code. The Hermeneutic Codes refers to the element of a story that has not been explained in full and therefore is a mystery for the viewer. This provokes the viewer to predict the end of the mystery themselves giving a personal twist to the film. The truth is avoided in order to make it a mystery through snares, equivocation, partial answers or hints towards the ending, suspended answers and jamming’s that prove there is no resolution to the problem. The Proairetic code on the other hand, builds tension by linking to events or actions that hint that something else may happen and therefore letting the viewer decide what happens next. The two codes work together in order to dvelip the tension within the story, keeping the viewer interested. The Proairetic Code keeps the viewer on edge, wanting to know what happens next and what the final event will be and how the roles within the film with react.

The Hermeneutic Code relates to my film by the way in which we leave a mystery for the audience even though they do not know it. The film hides truths about the boy who left the sticky notes relating back to the hermeneutic code.

The Proairetic code links to my film by the way that we successfully make tension for the viewer leaving them on edge, making them wonder what will happen next in the series of events. The audience decide for themselves who leaves the sticky notes when the girl starts to follow them. This keeps the audience engaged. Tension is reinforced when the male is on the date with the female but seems to be interested in the waitress when the girl is not present, therefore making the viewer doubt their decision. This proves his intentions are bad from the start making the audience wonder how the film will finish.