By definition, a narrative is a way in which a story is told in both fictional
and non-fictional media texts. The 4 main narrative theorists are Todorov, Propp, Mulvey and Levi- Strauss.
Tzvetan Todorov:
Todorov was a Bulgarian literary theorist, this theory provides a basic format for all narratives he suggested that most narratives start with a state of equilibrium, he then goes on to describe five stages that structure conventional narratives:
1. A state of equilibrium (All is as it should be.) 2. A disruption of that order by an event. 3. A recognition that the disorder has occurred. 4. An attempt to repair the damage of the disruption. 5. A return or restoration of a NEW equilibrium
This structure is valid to our own production, Implosion, as the state of equilibrium is to be at the beginning where there is to be a scene where our main character, Eldon is in bed, still in his clothing from last night, beer bottles scattered around.
The state of disequilibrium is to be just as Eldon is about to get in to a action-filled fight with one of the pupils that just about manages to get on his last nerve as he is already going through so much; he simply cannot handle it any longer.
Due to the fact that our final production may end on a cliffhanger leaving the audience in awe and suspense there may not be a return or restoration of a NEW equilibrium.
Vladimir Propp:
Vladimir was a Russian critic and literary theorist that analysed over 100 Russian fairytales in the 20s. The model is applicable and useful in that it highlights the contrast between supposedly unique stories. He anticipated that it was possible to categorise characters and their actions into clearly categorised functions and roles. Vladimir also stated that there are 8 main characters involved in such a narrative, these are:
The villain The dispatcher The donor The hero Her father The helper The princess of the prize The false hero
It does not seem as though this narrative will be applicable to our short film, the reason being, our short film only has few characters, of which are two teachers or so, a student and there is no such villain or father, or a helper or a princess, etc. However, it may be argued that the villain may be the student and helper may be the teacher the helper.
Claude Levi-Strauss:
Strauss was a French anthropologist who studied Myths and Tribal cultures, examined how stories subconsciously reflect the values, beliefs and myths of culture; his theory argued that all narratives could be reduced down to binary opposites for instance, the poor and the rich, the old and the young, a boy and a girl.
According to Claude All narratives have to be driven by a conflict by a series of opposing forces. This conflict would eventually cause the narrative to restore some sort of balance. A good example of a binary opposition could be in many marvel films, however, specifically, Batman; The Joker being the villain, and of course, Batman being the hero. Within the media industry, this theory is used very frequently in films, however perhaps not so much my own. There may be a binary opposite as there are two characters, one is a boy, the other a girl, and so, once they argue, this may show a binary opposition.
Laura Mulvey:
Laura is a British feminist film theorist; she came up with the theory of the male gaze. She believes that audiences have to be able to view the characters from the perspective of a heterosexual male this involves the camera lingering on certain parts of a females body for instance, her breasts or her curves, this relegates women to the status of objects.
For our production, it may be unlikely that this theory is to be used as we are using a man as our main character and so its not very applicable.