Soap Opera Genre –
Propp’s Character Roles
Propp’s Narrative Functions
Name: Patrick Coll
Candidate Number: 1102
Center Name: St. Andrew’s Catholic School
Center Number: 64135
OCR Media Studies – A2 Level
Unit G324: Advanced Portfolio
EastEnders Death of Lucy Beale Trailer
• In this trailer the antagonist/villain (Propp’s
Character Roles) represented is the son of Lucy
Beale who is heavily featured in the trailer
following a dark, non-diegetic, direct
soundtrack. There is additionally a scene
featured towards the end of the trailer which
shows the antagonist in conflict with his
mother who is presumably representative of
the hero in this trailer creating a ‘struggle’
(Propp’s narrative functions) scenario. The
character is also seen damaging property at
the beginning of the trailer and listening in to
conversation, which might act as motivation to
become the villain in the series. Ironically, the
villain (Propp’s Character Roles) is a child which
is generally not the case. This anti stereotypical
representation is effective in creating a mystery
around the character and the series.
• The hero/ victim (Propp’s Character Roles)
represented in this trailer is Lucy Beale, the
antagonist’s mother. The mother is seen
calling her husband for help at the end of
the trailer portraying her as weak and
vulnerable. Lucy Beale is supposedly
murdered by her son in this trailer which is
hinted as the son raises a hockey stick to
the mother’s head. Lucy Beale could
however be seen as the villain in this trailer
as she is indirectly responsible for her sons
motives to kill her. Her attempt to control
her son may be a direct influence to cause
her son to want to take his control of his life
back. This creates a struggle (Propp’s
Narrative Functions) at the end of the trailer
where we see the villain and hero in
conflict.
• It could be argued that there is two
antagonists featured in this trailer one
being the man at the beginning of the
trailer and the women who locks the
‘hero’s in the hospital. The dark
soundtrack utilized at the beginning
hints that the man could be the ‘villain’
followed by the non-verbal code ‘Just a
few more days and you’ll get what you
want’ which acts as a threat towards
the ‘heroes’. The female antagonist
however locks the ‘heroes’ in a
hospital, which is stopping them doing
what’s right creating a ‘struggle’
(Propp’s narrative functions) scenario.
Hollyoaks Trailer
• In the sequence, a ‘wedding’
(Propp’s narrative functions)
takes place between two
characters however there is a
dispute between who the bride
should marry. This conflict
involves a protagonist and
antagonist where a baby ends
up being kidnapped by the
‘villain’ (Propp’s Character
Roles). This could be perceived
as a difficult task in light of the
fact that they need to retrieve
the baby from the villain.

Propp's character roles and narrative functions extension task

  • 1.
    Soap Opera Genre– Propp’s Character Roles Propp’s Narrative Functions Name: Patrick Coll Candidate Number: 1102 Center Name: St. Andrew’s Catholic School Center Number: 64135 OCR Media Studies – A2 Level Unit G324: Advanced Portfolio
  • 2.
    EastEnders Death ofLucy Beale Trailer • In this trailer the antagonist/villain (Propp’s Character Roles) represented is the son of Lucy Beale who is heavily featured in the trailer following a dark, non-diegetic, direct soundtrack. There is additionally a scene featured towards the end of the trailer which shows the antagonist in conflict with his mother who is presumably representative of the hero in this trailer creating a ‘struggle’ (Propp’s narrative functions) scenario. The character is also seen damaging property at the beginning of the trailer and listening in to conversation, which might act as motivation to become the villain in the series. Ironically, the villain (Propp’s Character Roles) is a child which is generally not the case. This anti stereotypical representation is effective in creating a mystery around the character and the series.
  • 3.
    • The hero/victim (Propp’s Character Roles) represented in this trailer is Lucy Beale, the antagonist’s mother. The mother is seen calling her husband for help at the end of the trailer portraying her as weak and vulnerable. Lucy Beale is supposedly murdered by her son in this trailer which is hinted as the son raises a hockey stick to the mother’s head. Lucy Beale could however be seen as the villain in this trailer as she is indirectly responsible for her sons motives to kill her. Her attempt to control her son may be a direct influence to cause her son to want to take his control of his life back. This creates a struggle (Propp’s Narrative Functions) at the end of the trailer where we see the villain and hero in conflict.
  • 4.
    • It couldbe argued that there is two antagonists featured in this trailer one being the man at the beginning of the trailer and the women who locks the ‘hero’s in the hospital. The dark soundtrack utilized at the beginning hints that the man could be the ‘villain’ followed by the non-verbal code ‘Just a few more days and you’ll get what you want’ which acts as a threat towards the ‘heroes’. The female antagonist however locks the ‘heroes’ in a hospital, which is stopping them doing what’s right creating a ‘struggle’ (Propp’s narrative functions) scenario. Hollyoaks Trailer
  • 5.
    • In thesequence, a ‘wedding’ (Propp’s narrative functions) takes place between two characters however there is a dispute between who the bride should marry. This conflict involves a protagonist and antagonist where a baby ends up being kidnapped by the ‘villain’ (Propp’s Character Roles). This could be perceived as a difficult task in light of the fact that they need to retrieve the baby from the villain.