Propp's theory related to Hitchcock

Watch Hitchcock's North by North West and then read this article:

David Bordwell's article in Cinema Journal on Propp

Homework on Narrative Theory - Allan Cameron

Read this before next week's Media lesson.  Be prepared for a quiz!

Narrative

Narrative is defined as “a chain of events in a cause-effect relationship occurring in time” (Bordwell & Thompson, Film Art, 1980).

Diegesis

The internal world created by the story that the characters themselves experience and encounter.

Story and plot Story – all events referenced both explicitly in a narrative and inferred (including

backstory as well as those projected beyond the action)

Plot – the events directly incorporated into the action of the text and the order in which they are presented

Narrative Range Unrestricted narration – A narrative which has no limits to the information that is

presented i.e. a news bulletin.

Restricted narration – only offers minimal information regarding the narrative i.e. thrillers

Narrative Depth Subjective character identification – the viewer is given unique access to what a

range of characters see and do

Objective character identification – the viewer is given unique access to a character’s point of view such as seeing things from the character’s mind, dreams, fantasies or memories.

Narrative Theory - Conventional narrative theory can be explored via the work of Russian Formalists from the 1920’s. 

Vladimir Propp’s Theory of Narrative 

Vladimir Propp suggested that characters took on the role of narrative 'spheres of action' or functions. From a comprehensive study of folktales Propp came up with seven different character types:

• The hero, usually male, is the agent who restores the narrative equilibrium often by embarking upon a quest (or search). Propp distinguishes between the victim hero, who is the centre of the villain's attentions, and the seeker hero who aids others who are the villain's victims. The hero is invariably the texts central character.

• The villain who usually creates the narrative disruption.

• The donor gives the hero something, it may be an object, information or advice, which helps in resolution of the narrative. 

• The helper aids the hero in the task of restoring equilibrium. 

• The princess (the victim) is usually the character most threatened by the villain and has to be saved, at the climax, by the hero. The father's (who in fairy tales was often the king) role is usually to give the princess away to the hero at the narrative's conclusion. He may also despatch the hero.

• The dispatcher sends the hero on her or his task (who can typically be the princess father)

• The false hero appears to be good but is revealed, at the narrative's end, to have been bad

Characters can fulfil more than one sphere character type, for example; a princess may also be a helper. 

Tzvetan Todorov’s Theory of Narrative Todorov suggested that conventional narratives are structured in five stages:

1. a state of equilibrium at the outset; 

2. a disruption of the equilibrium by some action; 

3. a recognition that there has been a disruption; 

4. an attempt to repair the disruption; 

5. a reinstatement of the equilibrium

This type of narrative structure is very familiar to us and can be applied to many ‘mainstream’ film narratives.

Modular Narratives in Contemporary Cinema by Allan Cameron

Modular Narratives “articulate a sense of time as divisible and subject to manipulation”. 

Cameron has identified four different types of modular narrative:

• Anachronic • Forking Paths • Episodic • Split Screens

Anachronic modular narratives involve the use of flashbacks and/or flashforwards, with no clear dominance between any of the narrative threads. These narratives also often repeat scenes directly or via a different perspective. Examples include: Pulp Fiction and Memento.

Forking-path narratives juxtapose alternative versions of a story, showing the possible outcomes that might result from small changes in a single event or group of events. The forking-path narrative introduces a number of plotlines that usually contradict one another. Examples include Groundhog Day and Run Lola Run.

Episodic narratives are organised as an abstract series or narrative anthology. Abstract series type of modular narrative is characterized by the operation of a non- narrative formal system which appears to dictate (or at least overlay) the organization of narrative elements such as a sequence of numbers or the alphabet. Anthology consists of a series of shorter tales which are apparently disconnected but share a random similarity, such as all ‘episodes’ being survivors of a shipwreck.

Split screen narratives are different from the other types of modular narrative discussed here, because their modularity is articulated along spatial rather than temporal lines. These films divide the screen into two or more frames, juxtaposing events within the same visual field, in a sustained fashion. Examples include Timecode.

Homework on Narrative Theorists: Vladimir Propp, Tsvetan Todorov, Claude Levi-Strauss and Roland Barthes

Post summaries of the narrative theories of the four men below. Find at least one quote from each theorist that you can use in relation to your AS film openings.

My Generation Homework

(

left image - real Time magazine cover, right image, spoof 'rebuttal' of that cover)

Have a look at the previous post on generations and their identity. Look at the links for Millenials. 

Here are some of the key ones:

http://www.dazeddigital.com/artsandculture/article/24193/1/millenials-british-youth-dazed-generation
http://www.theguardian.com/culture/2014/mar/20/youth-subcultures-where-have-they-gone

Your task is to create a profile of the identity of 'Generation Y' or 'Millenials' (people born somewhere between the late 1980's to the early 2000's). 

Your profile should include representations and examples of subcultures,  historical events (such as the London Riots, Stop The War protests or University Fee's demonstrations) important social factors (such as the legalisation of gay marriage) and specific examples of media texts.

Try to include examples from as many media industries as you can, such as;

• TV
• Web 2.0 & Social Media (Tumblr, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Soundcloud, Vine, etc.)
• Film
• News & Press Coverage
• Music & Radio
• Music Videos

You should focus on both how your generation creates identity and represents itself, as well as how it is depicted and represented, and if that representation is mostly created by the media. 

As an extension try to link this to some of the work of the theorists we have already looked at, or find your own examples of theoretical study and understanding. 

Teenagers and generational Identity.

(Mr Lane's Note - This is a long post; please don't forget to click 'read more' to see all the detail (and clips) for the different youth generations. )

Jon Savage's book (and documentary) establishes that although the idea of adolescence being a separate state from childhood and adulthood begins to exist in the 18th Century, with children working in the industrial revolution, the term 'Teenager' as a concept, as a collective identity, doesn't exist until 1945 and the end of the second world war. Savage defines a teenager as between 13-24 years old. 

Click below for more details

Introduction to G326 Section B

Here is my presentation introducing collective identity and G325.

Make sure you note down the thoughts about  Collective Identity from Polletta and Jasper,  and Gauntlett's ideas about identity and role models.

G325 Homework -

Find specific examples of what Dave Harrison describes as the common representations of Youth in the media.

For each example, write a sentence or paragraph explaining how your example fits this representation. 

1. Youth are often represented in accordance with popular or hegemonic notions of adolescence
2. Youth are often ‘demonised’ by the mass media.
3. Youth are represented as being let down by adults
4. Youth are represented as part of a subculture
5. Alienation – youth are represented as being estranged from parts of society, particularly adult society.
6. Youth are product of the society they were born into, and often embody the faults and fears of adult society.
7. Representations of UK Youth are often nostalgic and romanticized

Put this on your G325 blogs for your double lesson next week

- Mr Lane

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