MIGRAIN: narrative

 Alezey

 NARRATIVE 

1) Give an example from film or television that uses Todorov's narrative structure of equilibrium, disequilibrium and new equilibrium. 

Wallace and Gromit : The curse of the were-rabbit  (2005) - 

equilibrium - village preparing for the giant vegetable competition. Rabbits are eating the vegetables, Wallace and Gromit are happily running their humane pest-control business “anti-pesto” keeping rabbits under control.

disequilibrium - Wallace tries to invent a machine to brainwash the rabbits, but it malfunctions. A giant ‘were-rabbit’ begins stealing vegetables at night, panic spreads in the village. Gromit realises Wallace has become the ‘were-rabbit’, which makes the disruption more personal  and dangerous.

new equilibrium - Gromit defeats the threat and saves Wallace, village is sade for the vegetable competition and balance is restored. The ending leaves life back to “normal” though the characters have been changed by what’s occurred.

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2) Complete the activity on page 1 of the Factsheet: find a clip on YouTube of the opening of a new TV drama series (season 1, episode 1). Embed the clip in your blog and write an analysis of the narrative markers that help establish setting, character and plot.

3) Provide three different examples from film or television of characters that fit Propp's hero character role.

1. Percy Jackson - ( Percy Jackson & the olympians )

Percy takes on the hero role by embarking on a quest to return Zeus’s stolen lightning bolt. He faced monsters, gods and betrayal, showing bravery and restoring order to the world of both mortals and demigods.

2. Eleven ( Stranger Things )

Eleven is the hero as she repeatedly uses her powers to battle creatures from the upside down, protect her friends, and close the gate ( creatures’ heart and where they come out from ). Her courage and sacrifice drive the story forward.

3. Spider-man/ Peter Parker ( Spider-man: Homecoming )

Spider-man fits Propp’s hero role by protecting New york, facing the villain ( the Vulture , and learning to balance responsibility with personal desire. He restores safety and proves himself as a true hero.

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4) Give an example of a binary opposition.

binary opposition - two opposite ideas that create conflict in a story. e.g  hero vs villain, love vs hate, truth vs lies, dark vs light, right vs wrong, law vs crime etc.

5) What example is provided in the Factsheet for the way narratives can emphasise dominant ideologies and values?

6) Why do enigma and action codes (Barthes) offer gratifications for audiences?

7) Write a one-sentence summary of the four different types of TV narrative:

• Episodic narrative (the series)
• Overarching narrative (the serial)
• Mixed narrative
• Multi-strand overlapping narrative (soap narrative)

8) How does the Factsheet suggest adverts use narrative? 

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extension task:

Use our Media Magazine archive to read Narratology: Todorov, Propp and Freytag from MM70 (page 24). This applies some of our narrative theories (and one new one) to Star Wars, Avengers and more. Which of these theories do you find most useful when applying to media texts? Why?