Narrative Theories

Making narratives, or stories, is one of the key ways meanings in the media are constructed. Factual and Fictional media are subject to this structural shaping

Todorov's Narrative Theory

Tzvetan Todorov Believed there were 5 parts to a narrative structure, and these were:

1. Equilibrium - Establishes what is normal for the chaacter to experience, introduces the audience to the characters and crates a believable sense of palce and time to set up the story

2. Disruption - Drama occurs as the Equilibrium is disrupted by an unknown/outside force, this has to be solved in order to reutrn back to the beginning Equilibrium

3. Disequilibrium - The proagonsits set to work to solve the enigma.

4. Resolution - Here the obstacles preventing Equilibrium are overcome, the disruption is solved and damage repared. Antagonist has been defeated, and no mroe enigma.

5. New Equilibrium - It does not stay the same way it was however, and during the course of fixing the disruption the characters have changed, and their location is different. A new state of normality has appeared but it will never be the same as it was in the beginning. Often this is for the better.


Barthé's Theory

Roland Barthes describes a text as

"a galaxy of signifiers, not a structure of signifieds; it has no beginning; it is reversible; we gain access to it by several entrances, none of which can be authoritatively declared to be the main one; the codes it mobilizes extend as far as the eye can read, they are indeterminable...the systems of meaning can take over this absolutely plural text, but their number is never closed, based as it is on the infinity of language..." (S/Z - 1974 translation)

By this he means there is a number of Narrative Codes followed by media:

1. Action code - will be read by means of accumulated details relating to our sterotyped, cultural knowledge.

2. Enigma code - works to set up small puzzles to be solved, to desirably delay the films ending

3. Symbols & Signs - Connotation

4. Simple description/reproduction - Denotation

5. Points of Cultural Reference - Myth


These conventions not only feature in films, but also new stories, where we are teased with enigmatic stories before an ad break. Within the stories, disruption to the status quo is often narratively blamed on one person or group, rather than whoever was equally provocative behind the story, thus complex historical and political meanings are removed from the narrative structure.

The Monomyth/The Hero's Journey

This structure is described by Joseph Campbell as having 17 stages (although a story may not include all 17), and that many classic myth narratives follow it, along with numerous adventure films. such examples are the stories of Osiris, Prometheus, Moses and Buddha.

here is a short summary from Wikipedia

"In a monomyth, the hero begins in the ordinary world, and receives a call to enter an unknown world of strange powers and events. The hero who accepts the call to enter this strange world must face tasks and trials, either alone or with assistance. In the most intense versions of the narrative, the hero must survive a severe challenge, often with help. If the hero survives, the hero may achieve a great gift or "boon." The hero must then decide whether to return to the ordinary world with this boon. If the hero does decide to return, he or she often faces challenges on the return journey. If the hero returns successfully, the boon or gift may be used to improve the world.

Campbell describes some 17 stages or steps along this journey. Very few myths contain all 17 stages — some myths contain many of the stages, while others contain only a few; some myths may have as a focus only one of the stages, while other myths may deal with the stages in a somewhat different order. These 17 stages may be organized in a number of ways, including division into three sections: Departure (sometimes called Separation), Initiation, and Return. "Departure" deals with the hero's adventure prior to the quest; "Initiation" deals with the hero's many adventures along the way; and "Return" deals with the hero's return home with knowledge and powers acquired on the journey."

more info on the 17 stages at Wikipedia