As the viewer watches a film, they pick up

cues, recall information, anticipate what

will follow, and generally participate in the
creation of the films form. The film shapes
the particular expectations by summoning
up curiosity, suspense and surprise.

The viewer also develops specific hunches

about the outcome of the action, and these
may control our expectations right up to
the end. The ending has the task of
satisfying or cheating our expectations
prompted by the film as whole. The ending
Source: may also activate memory by cueing the
Bordwell, spectator
D and Thompson,
toK.remember earlier events,
Film Art:An introduction
possibly in a new light.
New York, McGraw-Hill, 1993

Narrative is the way a story is structured

and organised

Narrative and genre are often closely

linked and audiences come to expect
certain characters and narrative
developments

Narratives can be linear (chronological) or

non-linear (non-chronological)

Most narrative theories start with the idea that

all narratives have common features

Tzvetan Todorov is most famous for his work

on the basic structure of narratives

He looked a linear narratives (where events

happen in chronological order) and argued
the 5 act structure invested narratives with
drama, intrigue and emotion

1. EQUILIBRIUM - all is in order, normal

2. DISRUPTION - A disruption to the equilibrium by the means

of an event/action.

3. RECOGNITION - There is recognition that a disruption has

taken place.

4. REPAIR - An attempt to repair the damage caused by the

disruption.

5. NEW EQUILIBRIUM - The problem is solved and we return to

a new type of equilibrium.

Can you think of an example that matches this theory?

Amity Island is a
peaceful seaside
town which is
popular with
tourists

1. Equilibrium

The
shark is
killed but
Amity
5.
Island
will never
be the
same
Quint
also dies
in the
mission

New

Chrissie is attacked
and killed by a
shark.

2. Disruption

Chrissies
body is
found but
3. Recognitionit is only
equilibrium
until a
young boy
is killed in
another
attack that
4. Repair
the Mayor
Brody, Quint and Hooper set
accepts
out to find and
. kill the shark
there is a

Watch the trailer for The

Strangers (Bertino, 2008)
See if you can identify Todorovs 5
stages:
1.EQUILIBRIUM
2.DISRUPTION
3.RECOGNITION
4.REPAIR
5.NEW EQUILIBRIUM
Is there a stage missing? Why
might that be?

LINK

ANTI-NARRATIVE is a disruption to
the linear narrative flow. This
structure can be used for a variety of
purposes, such as mimicking human
memory (Christopher Nolans
Memento) or showing a series of
separate sub-plots that are in some
way interlinked (Quentin Tarantinos
Pulp Fiction).

Vladimir Propp was a Russian critic and

literary theorist

He analysed over 100 Russian fairytales in

the 1920s and proposed it was possible to
classify characters and their actions into
clearly defined roles and functions

He concluded that all characters could be

resolved into 8 broad character types

Most character-types in a linear narrative link back to

fairytales. Propp discovered the different types of character:
1.The Hero
2.The Villain (opposesthehero)
3.TheDonor(helpstheherobyprovidingamagicobject)
4.TheDispatcher(sendtheheroonhisway)
5.TheFalsehero(assumestheroleoftheherofalsely)
6.TheHelper(assiststhehero)
7.ThePrincess(therewardfortheheroandneedsprotectingfrom
thevillain)
8.HerFather

The Hero

The Villain

The Dispatchers

The False Hero

The Helpers

The Donors

The Princess

Father

Claude Levi-Strauss suggested that

binary opposition (conflict) was needed
to propel a narrative forward

He argued narrative can only end on a

resolution of conflict

Binary opposition can be both visual and

conceptual

Binary opposites are a set of opposing

values/forces.
In pairs, list all of the binary opposites
you can think of
Group them under the headings of visual
and conceptual

VISUAL

CONCEPTUAL

Day / Night
Garden / Wilderness

Good / Evil

VISUAL

CONCEPTUAL

Day / Night

Good / Evil

Black / White

Love / Hate

Isolation/Open space

Strong / Weak

Old / Young

Chance / Reason

Sun / Rain

Bravery / Cowardice

Clean / Dirty

Active / Passive

Urban/Rural

Rational / Emotional

Low-Key/High-Key

Masculinity/Femininit
y

13

Watch the trailer

for Devil and make
a note of the key
binary opposites
(visual and
conceptual)
How do they link to
the genre?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7l3nzjHYTg

VISUAL
Light/Dark
Day/Night
Open Space/Enclosed
Space
Upright/Upside Down
Old/Young

CONCEPTUAL
Good/Evil
Chance/Reason
Truth/Lies
Random/Planned
Life/Death
Masculinity/Femininity

Roland Barthes deconstructed

narratives and argued they were
made up of codes to engage the
audience and give them information

These are puzzles/riddles set up by the

producer and encourage the audience to
question what is happening and what will
happen next. We continue to watch the text
to find out the solution to the enigma codes.

Enigma codes might be:

Whose hand was it that killed the woman in
the opening sequence?
What is in the locked room?
How will James Bond get out this dangerous
situation
this
time?
Can you
think
of any more examples of Enigma
codes?

Narratives can be resolved through action.

Action codes are often used as a shorthand
to advance the narrative. They are based on
our understanding of codes of behaviour
from previous narratives rather than the real
world.
Action codes are codes used to signify that
action is about to happen, and can be the
use of sound or a character action.

For example
The buckling of a gun belt in a western is a prelude
to a gunfight
The packing of a suitcase which signals panic or
escape
a thriller.
Can youinthink
of any more examples of Action codes?
The starting of a car engine to signal escape

What Enigma and Action codes

are there in the opening of TV Crime
Drama Breaking Bad (AMC, Episode
1, 2008)

Intertextuality is the way in which texts refer to

other media texts that the producers assume
audiences will recognise.
Certain texts will mimic or copy certain stylistic
features of another text. Usually this is done in order
to create a particular impact. We use the process of
connotation to recognise intertextuality.

The Simpsons is a great text to

consider the use of Intertextuality.
Matt Groening, and his writers,
are very good at making clear
references to other films/TV shows
in the episodes and more recently
the film. Some of these references
may be brief and others may
dominate the episode.

LINK

 Narrative structure can affect our

perception of events.

Encouraging us to take sides can

be the result of organising narrative
in particular ways.
In films, narrative can therefore be
used to shape audience response
and potentially limit the range of
readings that they take from a film

 An important concept in narrative

theory that refers to the way in
which a text talks to its audience.
Voice-over, an off-screen narrator
or characters talking directly to
camera convey authority. The
audience are addressed directly.
It can also be used to place the
audience in a privileged position.