Narrative theory in relation to Halloween (John Carpenter, 1978) and The Crazies

(Breck Eisner, 2010)

Section 1
Paragraph 1
Classical Hollywood Narrative was a theory put forward by Tzventan Todorov.
The basis of this theory is that the majority of films follow a certain pattern. He
suggests that stories begin with an equilibrium, where forces are in balance.
Something then occurs which disrupts this normality and sets in motion a chain
of events. At the end of the story, the problems are solved and a new equilibrium
is formed.
How useful is looking at the Classical Hollywood Narrative for understanding
media texts?
The Classical Hollywood Narrative allows for the audience to make assumptions
of the films genre and how the films plot will develop just by looking at the first
few early points in the pattern of the films narrative.
Halloween does not directly follow the Classical Hollywood Narrative structure, it
contains most of the key points, but it does not follow the same order. There is
no equilibrium at the beginning as this is when we see Michael kill his sister. We
next see Michael escape from the hospital 15 years later. From here, the storyline
begins to follow the Classical Hollywood Narrative more closely, we see a brief
period of normality with Laurie heading off to school, this is disrupted by Michael
beginning to stalk her, the murders take place and the climax of the film occurs
when Laura is fighting to defend herself from Michael. We initially think a new
equilibrium if then found after Dr. Loomis shoots Michael (a total of 6 times)
however this is removed when we see that Michael has survived the encounter
and escaped.
Paragraph 2
Vladimir Propp was a Russian critic who examined hundreds of folk tales to
explore what structures, if any, they shared. He wrote about his findings in his
book Morphology of the Folk Tale published in 1928. He identified 8 character
types commonly found in these tales which we can apply to films:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

The villain the baddie

The hero the main protagonist
The donor provides the hero with an object to help on their quest
The helper aids the hero in their quest
The princess the reward for the hero and possibly the object of the
villains scheme
6. Her father rewards the hero
7. This dispatcher who sends the hero on their way
8. The false hero who hinders rather than helps

It is not unusual for one character to portray multiple roles e.g. the donor and
helper or the father and the dispatcher.
Propps character types are important for understanding media texts because it
allows us to quicker identify who is who in the film, and therefore make
assumptions on where and how the films plot is going to develop.
Propps characters which are evident in Halloween:

The villain Michael Myers

The hero Laurie Strode
The helper Dr. Samuel Loomis

Paragraph 3
Binary opposition is a theory put forward by Claude Levi-Strauss. These are sets
of values of opposite value for example Good and Evil.
How useful is looking at binary opposition for understanding media texts?
Binary opposition heightens the differences between things. For example, the
Good vs Evil opposition in Halloween. The Good (Laurie) contrasting with the Evil
(Micheal) and makes the other aspect seem greater. We therefor wonder why
there would be such an evil character in the film and when we look at the world
events occurring at the time the film was produced we can understand why it
was then seen as so important. (E.g. brutal murders in the USA around the time
Halloween was released.)
Examples of binary opposition found in Halloween:

Good vs Evil we know that Laurie is innocent and a good person while
Michael, as Dr. Loomis says pure evil
Past vs Present
Natural vs Supernatural
Masculinity vs Femininity
Known vs Unknown we know who Michael is and to an extent why he is
on a murder spree whilst Laurie and the majority of other characters dont
(the exception being Dr. Loomis)

Paragraph 4
In their book Film Art, An Introduction, Bordwell and Thompson define narrative
as a chain of events in a cause-effect relationship, occurring in time and space.
How useful is looking at this for understanding media texts?
This enables film makers to show us far more story than the running time of a
film allows for and makes the audience able to fill in gaps by making their own
assumptions. E.g. things characters mention but are not actually shown on
screen can be linked to other events in the film.

2 events which occur in Halloween which cause other events to happen are;

When Laurie drops the keys of at Michaels old house, this causes him to
fixate on her.
When Annies boyfriend calls her to pick him up, she drops Lindsey off with
Laurie, possibly saving Lindseys life.

2 events which occur in Halloween that we know happen but which we dont see
are;

When Michael is taken to the mental hospital after killing his sister
Michael coming back to life at the end of the film and escaping.

The Crazies questions

1) Does The Crazies follow the Classical Hollywood Narrative?
Like Halloween, The Crazies does not directly follow the Classical
Hollywood Narrative structure; it contains most of the key scenarios
but in a different order. The very beginning of the film starts out
with a shot of the town of Ogden Marsh burning to the ground. After
this there is a very brief period of about 2 minutes where everything
seems normal as people arrive to watch a baseball game. This is
disrupted shortly after starting however when Rory, a local resident,
walks on the pitch with a gun and its shot dead by David. This does
set in motion a chain of events which lead up to the climax of action
in the film (the fight at the truck stop, the escape and the bomb).
There is no new equilibrium at the end of the film (there is no
happy ending) as we see David and Judy walking towards the new
town through a military satellite with the words Initiate
Containment Protocol, signifying a new containment attempt.
2) How many of Propps character types can be identified in the film?
The villain the infected humans and the military who are called in
to contain the town
The hero David (the sheriff)
The helper Russell (the deputy) and Judy (the doctor)
The false hero Russell at points when he loses control of himself.
3) List five examples of binary opposition in the film and explain them briefly.
Known vs Unknown we as the audience understand via
assumption what is happening and why whilst the characters
remain unaware.
Humans vs Monsters the uninfected (David/Russell/Judy/Becca)
fighting their way out of the town against the infected.
Normal vs Strange at the very beginning of the film we are shown
a brief glimpse of normal life in the town before the main plot kicks
in and the situation descends into chaos.

Strong vs Weak we follow 4 main characters, 2 of which prove to

weak to survive, particularly Becca who fails to fight back against
the infected unlike the other characters.
Civilized vs Uncivilized the beginning of the film shows civilized
normality of day to day (hospitals and baseball games) rapidly
change to chaos as citizens become infected and uncivilized.
4) Identify the three durations and give an estimate of the time each duration
covers
Screen duration: 93 minutes
Plot duration: 4-5 days
Story duration: 1 week
5) Give two examples of events that cause later events in the film but which
occur before the films starts.
The bioweapon is created
The plane carrying the bioweapon crashes into the river
6) List two events from the 92 minute film that happen in a different time
and space to the one we are shown.
At the ending there is a clip of a news broadcaster talking about the
disaster that wiped out the town
We also see a view from a military satellite with the words Initiate
Containment Protocol

Halloween questions
1) How does the start exemplify a common technical code convention of
the horror genre?
The film kicks off with the audience seeing the point of view of the
killer. We see the key event which sets the scene for the type of horror
film it is and gives some explanation for the later story. The audio
composes of the synonymous creepy piano music accompanied by the
heavy breathing of Michael indicating he is wearing the mask.
2) How does the setting fit with the horror genre?
The film is set in small town, reinforcing the isolated theme found in
horror films e.g. when they are set in the middle of a forest. The
asylum, though never shown, is mentioned and there is the key scene
in the graveyard involving the stealing of the headstone. Being set over
Halloween gives a reason for the nights to be so dark and sets up false
tension for the audience (is that the killer or simply someone trick or
treating in a costume?). The film also features the typical haunted
house that the locals refuse to go near due to its history or rumours
surrounding it.
3) What iconography of innocence do we hear of see early on?
In the very first scene when Michael makes his way through the house
to kill his sister we see a lot of childrens toys on the floor
4) What was the main industry impact of Halloween?
The popularity of Halloween showed that there was a demand for this
genre of film and influenced the growth of the slasher subgenre. One

of the main aspects of the film that was appealing to other films
makers is the fact that it was so cheap to produce and therefore
resulted in huge profit when it hit the big screen.
5) Name some slasher films which followed on from Halloween
Friday the 13th (parts 1 and 2), Bloody Valentine, The burning, Terror
Train, Hell night and The Slayer.
6) What are the four plot rules of the slasher film sub-genre which
Halloween began?
1) A traumatic event in the past creates a psychopathic killer.
2) The killer returns to the site of the event, usually on a specific date
in the present that allows the makers to use calendar motif in the
title.
3) The killer stalks and graphically kills a group of obnoxious and
stupid teens of both sexes, usually with some kind of blade, often a
garden or farm implement.
4) A final girl survives, usually boyish and often virginal, to thwart the
killer, although he is never entirely vanquished.
7) Give three ways in which Laurie is androgynous
1) She both runs away in terror from Michael (typically feminine) and
fights back in self-defence (typically masculine).
2) Whilst her female friends wear dresses or short skirts, Laurie wears
trousers or long skirts.
3) Her name is gender neutral unlike the others in the story (Annie,
Lynda, Lindsey etc.)
8) What does the extract mean by a reactionary sexual agenda?
Many critics accused these films and their makers of exploiting the
Sexual revolution at the time, the critics claimed the makers were
deliberately killing of the sexualised characters to put a stop to those in
the real world.
9) How does the director, John Carpenter, counter the suggestion that
Halloween had a reactionary sexual agenda?
John Carpenter jokingly apologised that I didnt mean to put an end to
the sexual revolution and points out that the sexualised characters in
the film died because they are distracted and not paying attention.
10)
Why does Mike Myers kill his sister?
Despite what critics claim, John Carpenter has explained that Michael
kills his sister because he was born evil, even in the film Dr. Loomis
describes him as just evil, refers to him as it and confirms to Laurie
that Michael is the boogieman.