Narrative Theory

Narrative Theory

Throughout the time of media, theories have been made about narrative, explaining what they thought was the cause of how the narrative was made. The theories we have learnt about are:

-  Roland Barthes: Barthes theory is based around five codes which he decided, these codes are:

   -Action

   -Enigma

   -Semic

   -Symbolic

   -Cultural

These codes have different meanings to each audience, and it means the way things are represented depends on the audiences views and their interpretations.

- Vladamir Prop: Prop's theory said that characters each had their own narrative function, which then created the structure for the narrative. He based his theory on folk tales and fairy tales and how they where the ones who 'created' the story. He thought that it was the variation in characters which made the narrative structure what it was.

- Tzvetan Todarov: His theory suggests that narrative starts with an equilibrium, followed by a disaster, followed by a conflict, which then results in a new equilibrium, where its either back to how it was, or resolved for a better world.

- Claude Levi-Strauss: Claude's theory was that its the constant creation of conflict/opposition which carried along the the narrative. He thought that narrative could only end once the story's conflict as has been resolved. Claude believed that there was always an opposition found within films, for example, when theres love that has to be hate, wheres theres good, there must be evil and so on. These are all examples of binary opposites.