Narrative theory

Narrative theory

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  Narrative Theory Notes Narrativetheory Narrativeis defined as “a chain of events in a cause-effectrelationship occurring in time” (Bordwell& Thompson).  Narrativeis ‘a way of organising spatial and temporal events into a cause-effectchain of events with a beginning, a middle, and end that embodies a judgement about the nature of events’cbg (Brannigan).  Narrativetheory analyses the way in which media texts communicate meaning about events.  Narrativetheory can be applied to rangeof different media including film, TV. Photographs, and magazines.  Narrativeanalysis of internet based media is more problematic, though may still be relevant. For example, you could consider how someone’s Facebook profile creates a narrativeabout their life. Edward Branigan (1992)  Branigan argues that narrativeis ‘a way of organising spatial and temporal data into a cause-effectchain of events with a beginning, a middle and end that embodies a judgement about the nature of events.’ Vladimir Propp (1928)  Propp was a Russian theoristwho suggests thatthere are a limited number of character types that sharea function.  When an audience reads a media text it deploys its knowledgeof these character types in order to decode the meaning of the text. 1. The villain. 2. The hero, or character who seeks something. 3. The donor, who provides an object with some magic property. 4. The helper, who aids the hero. 5. The princess, reward for thehero, and objectof the villain’s schemes (can be male). 6. Her father, who rewards thehero. 7. The dispatcher, who sends the hero on his way. 8. The false hero, the character who also lays claim to the princess but is unsuitable and causes complications.
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  Tzvetan Todorov (1969) RolandBarthes (1960s)  Roland Barthes' narrativetheory claims that a narrativecan be broken down into five codes or sets of rules to help the reader make senseof it.  He emphasises the active role of readers in creating meaning, and their ‘culturally formed expectations’. The 5 codes: 1. Action code which refers to the events taking place through action e.g. a fight or a chase. 2. Referential code which refers to the information and explanation. 3. Semantic code which refers to the characters and characterisation. 4. Enigma code which is a narrativedevice that teases the audience by presenting a puzzleor riddle to be solved. Works to delay the story’s ending pleasurably. 5. Symbolic code which refers to the connotations of signs. Claude Levi-Strauss (1972)  Social Anthropologist.  Studied myths of tribal cultures.  Examined how stories unconsciously reflectthe values, beliefs and myths of a culture.  These are usually expressed in the form of binary oppositions.
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   His researchhas been adapted by theorists to reveal underlying themes and symbolic oppositions in texts.  A conflict between two qualities or terms. For example in fairy tales: The Good The Bad Christian (kings queens etc) pagan (witches) domestic savage weak princesses strong wrong doers safecastles dark wilderness forests pretty ugly innocent devious Allan Cameron: Modular Narratives (2008)  Anachronic: Modified flashbacks/flashforwards. No clear dominance between narrative threads.  Forking-Path: Alternative versions of the story. Outcomes that might resultfrom slight changes.  Episodic: Collection of stories joined by a common theme.  Split Screen: Spatial rather than temporal lines. Postmodern Narratives  Some theorists suggestthat postmodern narratives aredifferent from previous narrativestructures.  Characteristics of postmodern narratives include: 1. Irony, playfulness, and black humour. 2. Intertextuality. 3. Pastiche. 4. Metanarratives.
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  5. Extreme self-reflexivity/self-awareness. 6.Temporal distortion. 7. Hyperreality. NarrativeAnalysis  Narrativeanalysis involves considering how a range of elements (including mise-en-scene, editing, camerawork, sound, as wellas events) create meaning for the audience.  Itis usefulfor you to be awareof narrativetheory as it may help inform the construction of your shortfilm. Genre  ‘Genre’ is a critical tool that helps us study texts and audience responses to texts by dividing them into categories based on common elements.  “The word ‘genre’ means ‘type’ or ‘category’. To study a film as a genre involves treating it, not as a unique entity, but as a member of a general category, as a certain type of film. The aim…is therefore to classify, or organise, a large number of films into a small number of groups.”  Genre helps both audiences and institutions to make decisions about what they wantto see and what they want to make to supply that demand.  If werecognise the genre of a text it enables us to feel at home and we gain enjoymentfrom “spotting the conventions” (repetition) and making comparisons with other films of the samegenre.  However if a text deviates from the conventions it can confuseus, but at the sametime we enjoy seeing the rules broken, providing that the film- maker doesn’t go too far.  Genre offers audiences a structureor framework enabling us to feel securein our knowledge.  Audiences like the anticipation of waiting for the predictable features and getting involved in a text.  Audiences can influence genres by reviving them.  We are more advanced than audiences of the past simply because we’ve seen more films than anyone in the history of the media, so we expect genres to be played with.
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  Buckingham(1993)  Traditionally, genres(particularly literary genres) tended to be regarded as fixed forms, butcontemporary theory emphasises that both their forms and functions are dynamic.  David Buckinghamargues that 'genre is not... simply "given" by the culture: rather, it is in a constant process of negotiation and change'  Changes in genre reflects changes in society and our values. Rick Altman (1999)  Film Theorist Altman argues that “there is no such thing as “pure” genre anymore. Genre is progressive, in that it will always change.”  He says that generic conventions are very much a thing of the past. His theory suggests that audiences, in general havebecome tired of the same formula and need more to keep them entertained and to create appeal.  He says that genre is surviving dueto “hybridisation – or genres “borrowing” conventions from oneanother and thus being much more difficult to categorise.” Tom Ryall 1978  Ryall argues that genres are recognisablethrough the repeated use of generic codes and conventions, as how we as the audience know a horror film is a horror film.  He suggests that the types of conventions found in genres might be grouped within the following categories: -Iconographies: (symbolic forms associated with the genre) -Narrative: (structure, open/closed) -Representations: (characters/stereotypes) -Ideologies (beliefs and ideas of the ‘ideal’ concept, themes) The Strengths of Genre Theory The main strength of genre theory is that everybody uses it and understands it: – Media experts useit to study media texts. - The media industry uses it to develop and market texts.
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  - Audiences useit to decide whattexts to consume.  The potential for the same concept to be understood by producers, audiences and scholars makes genre a usefulcritical tool.  Its accessibility as a concept also means that it can be applied across a wide range of texts. Problems with Genre theory  Genre is a great way of helping define different methods of communicating to the audience and provides boundaries and guidelines as well as shorthand for both producers, institutions and audiences in terms of creating and consuming media.  However genres can get tired and be stifling for creators who want to experiment outside the rigid boxes set out for them. Yet without a ‘genre’ to conformto they would find hard to find funding or to sell their productto audiences who require genre to understand and choosetheir media.  By trying to pigeon hole everything into genre specific boxes many fail to see the art behind the product. Institutions areless enthused to take risks and so the cycle will continue as each side of the process will continue to haveexpectations which both sides will continue to provide for the other in order to sell the products.  We need to be awareof genre theory and conventions in order to make surethe audience understand our shortfilms.