Narrative Theories
Tasnim Chowdhury
Vladimir Propp, born in 1895, was a Russian folklorist
and scholar. He analysed the basic plot of Russian
folktales and fairytales to identify their narrative
elements. He broke up fairytales into sections,
fundamentally he used the method of his 31 functions
to decipher Russian folklore and fairytales. In the 100
tales he analysed he also came to the conclusion that
all characters in each fairytale or folklore could be
concluded into 7 broad character functions.
Below is a link to Propp’s 31 functions and 7 character
conclusions:
http://www.mediaknowall.com/as_alevel/alevkeyconce
pts/alevelkeycon.php?pageID=propp
Vladimir Propp
The Villain: Ultron
The Villain is someone who
struggles with the Hero. In The
Avengers the villain is Ultron.
Often the imagery of the villain
is dark, mysterious and simply
not appealing as is evident
through the image of our villain
on the left. The villain also
tends to have some form of a
damaging story and
background to their character.
This is all done to juxtapose
and create a further highligted
binary opposition between the
hero and the villain. All these
aspects have been perfectly
presented through Ultron in
The Avengers.
Application of Propp’s theory: 7
Characters – The Avengers: Age of
Ultron
The Dispatcher: Nick Fury
The Dispatcher is someone who
encourages or invites the hero to
eliminate the villain. In this case Nick
Fury appears to restore faith within The
Avengers when they are at their lowest
with no hope to defeat the villain.
Application of Propp’s theory: 7
Characters – The Avengers: Age of
Ultron
The Helper: Jarvis
Jarvis is the helper in The Avengers.
the helper usually assists the Hero
physically in order to defeat the
Villain. Other examples would be
exemplified through Batman and
Robin. Robin is the helper in this case
and always assists batman physically
to conquer the evil of the villain.
Application of Propp’s theory: 7
Characters – The Avengers: Age of
Ultron
The Princess: Black Widow
The Princess is the character who
seeks to be or needs to be
rescued by the villain. This
character is often considered to
be an image of the damsel in
distress. Though Black Widow is
part of the Hero characterics in
The Avengers, she plays a double
as she appears to be captured by
the villain at one point in the film
and is rescued by an alternative
hero, The Hulk.
Application of Propp’s theory: 7
Characters – The Avengers: Age of
Ultron
The Donor: The Twins:Pietro and Wanda
The Donor in the film is
someone who offers the
hero some form of help,
whether that be a weapon
or some other form of
assistance. In this case the
Donor is The Twins: Pietro
and Wanda who help the
hero’s with the
extermination of Ultron
with the use of their
additional powers.
Application of Propp’s theory: 7
Characters – The Avengers: Age of
Ultron
The Hero: The Avengers
The Hero in the film is obviously, The
Avengers. The Hero is the figure who
eliminated The Villain which is the role
that all The Avengers play as a whole in
this film. This is the most common
character type.
Application of Propp’s theory: 7
Characters – The Avengers: Age of
Ultron
Todorov born in 1939 was the author of many
books. He is a Bulgarian-French historian,
philosopher, literary critic as well as a sociologist.
He simplified the narrative theory as he believed
that every storyline and plot coincided and fitted
with his 5 paths or patterns that appear in a
production. These 5 patterns consist of:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
The Equilibrium
Disruption
Realisation
Restored Order
Restoration of Equilibrium
Tzevetan Todrov
The Equilibrium
The Equilibrium here is
presented as they are
presented on a chat
show. Everything is
relatively calm and there
is no sense of disruption
or turmoil. Starting the
film on a calm and
steady note which infers
normality for the
audience.
Application of Todrov’s Theory:
The Hunger Games
Disruption
Here is the scene which
signifies disruption and
shows signs of evident
conflict and disruption
between Catniss
Everdeen, the girl
pictures in the dress and
the men dressed in
white.
Application of Todrov’s Theory:
The Hunger Games
Realisation
At this point is the
realisation of
disequiblirium. Here we
realise and understand the
conflict amongst all
contenders and how the
coming events are to
unravel as they compete
against one another.
Application of Todrov’s Theory:
The Hunger Games
Restored Order
This Birdseye shot
shows restored order
as The Hunger Games
are over and they are
now being rescued
from the arena.
Application of Todrov’s Theory:
The Hunger Games
Restoration of Equilibrium
Restoration of
Equilibrium is presented
as they end the film
appearing once again on
the talk show appearing
calm and again
addressing and
presenting normality.
Application of Todrov’s Theory:
The Hunger Games
Levi-Strauss, born in 1908 was a french
anthropologist and ethnologist. His analysis
of narrative theories came to the conclusion
that all narratives are arranged around the
conflict between opposites. For example in
the form of film it would be:
Hero vs Villain
Good vs Bad
Light vs Dark
War vs Peace etc.
Claudi Levi-Strauss