Narrative Investigation

By Shannen Leader

What is Narrative?

Narrative is the general term for telling a story

A book, film, literary work, etc., containing such a story.

A story or account of events, experiences, whether true or

fictitious.

The word derives from the Latin verb narrare, "to recount",

The word "story" may be used as a synonym of "narrative". It can also be

used to refer to the sequence of events described in a narrative. A narrative

can also be told by a character within a larger narrative. An important part of

narration is the narrative mode, the set of methods used to communicate the narrative through a process narration

Narrative TheoristsVladimir Propp born 17th April 1895 and died August 22nd 1970 aged

75 whom was a Russian critic. He analyzed the basic plot components of Russian folk tales to identify their simplest irreducible

narrative elements.

Whilst the cinema were producing many films Propp was essentially interested in the narrative of Folk tales. He noticed that often many tales were similar in a variety of areas. He identified a theory about

characters and actions as narrative functions.

According the Vladimir Propp, characters have a narrative function; they provide a structure for the text.

He broke up fairy tales into sections, through these sections he was able to define the tale into a series of sequences that occurred

within the Russian fairytale. Usually there is an initial situation, after which the tale usually takes the following 31 functions. Vladimir

Propp used this method to decipher Russian folklore and fairy tales.

Horror TheoristsTodorov's Narrative Theory

Tzvetan Todorov (1969) constructed a theory of the narrative structures of horror, his basic theory consisted of:

•Equilibrium- Everyone if is equal status. •Agent Of Change- What disrupts everything. •Final Resolution •New Equilibrium- Everything is back to normal.

Todarov also states that through the narrative cycle, each of the characters undergo a transformation where their situations are changes throughout the process of the disruption.

He also developed and extended theory which is the following:•Exposition- Background information of the characters. •Development- Of the situation. •Complication- Main event and action. •Climax- Confrontation. •Resolution- Restoration of equilibrium.An example of this could be used within he film released - 'The Faculty':Exposition-Some of the schoolteacher are shown, three of them. The opening scene is on the school grounds where each of he man characters re introduced, this allowed the audience to have an insight of their personalities.

Development –Slowly, members of the school/college are infected by the organism (alien parasite).Complication/Main Event- After the realisation that cocaine can be used to kill the alien, they run out of supplies. Zeke and Casey are forced to leave the gym where they are safe, and get more supplies from the care having to face the army of aliens.

Climax/Confrontation-Discovery that Marybeth is the 'queen alien' and changes into an aquatic creature, trying to infect the remaining survivors.

Resolution-Casey kills the queen alien by trapping her and stabbing her in the eye with the drug. Everything is returned to normal, although certain characters merge friendships.(Second Beginning).

Flaws In Todorov's Theory: Horror does not always follow the structure as other techniques could be used to unfold the narrative e.g. Flashbacks.

Here is a list of other theorists:-

•Roland Barthes

•Claude Levi - Strauss

•Victor Scklovsky

•David Bordwell and Kristin Thompson

•Gill Branston and Roy Stafford

Todorov theory about – ‘The Exorcist’ a Horror film made in the seventies which has also recently been remade. At the start of this film it is calm and happy and the

daughter has no symptoms or procession inside her at all and the household is calm if you watch the film from the start without knowing the genre you would not know it is

a Horror movie as it is a very causal opening scene. This links to Todorovs theory because that theory is where the calm has an equilibrium the middle of the film hits it climax where the daughter suddenly becomes possessed by the devil and everyone

in the household become scared and stressed. At the end of the film everything is calm and so is her household this is also linked to Todorovs Narrative theory as this film is the classic and still is one of the most scariest Hollywood movies from that era. The majority of Horror films do start off calm as if nothing bad is ever going to happen in

that town, street, house; then in the middle of the film the film hits its peak this is typical for a Horror film.