Narrative Theory

Narrative Theory is, in media terms, the organisation given to a series of facts. 
It is important because, without this coherence, the audience would become confused. Narrative theory helps the director control how the audience feels.

There are seven different theories that we have looked at:

ARISTOTLE
Narrative should be created within a 'unity' of time, place and action. This theory no longer applies to modern day media as progression in technology means that we can look back in time during a film or trailer. 

FREYTAG'S DRAMATIC STRUCTURE
Freytag's theory is divided into five different parts:

• Exposition
• Rising action
• Climax
• Falling action and denouement/catastrophe/resolution

Audiences tend to feel unsatisfied when a story does not have a conclusion (e.g. ending on a cliffhanger). The film clip is from Inception which ends on a cliffhanger ending as the audience does not know whether Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio's character) is dreaming as the shot cuts to black before you see whether his totem stops spinning.

BARTHES' ENIGMA CODE

Barthes' theory says that all narratives share the same structural features that are brought together in different ways.
Although individual narratives differ, they have a limited number of organisational structures that affect how we read texts. These are called 'Narrative/Enigma Codes'. He says that is always more than one way to interpret a text.

The Enigma Code is a theory that suggests that telelvision, film, posters etc make the audience question something and draws them in. For example, a murder mystery will not reveal the face of a murderer until the end of the movie or program. The movie, Scream, does this. As the killer is masked, however the audience finds out who it is at the end of the film. 

SYD FIELD'S THREE ACT PLOT STRUCTURE

Syd Field, author of Screenplay and The Screen Writer's Workbook, has outlined a paradigm that most screenplays follow. A paradigm is a conceptual scheme. This paradigm is the structure that holds screenplays together. According to Field, screenplays follow a three-act structure, meaning the standard screenplay can be divided into three parts: Setup, Confrontation, and Resolution.
Act I comprises the first quarter of the screenplay. (For a two hour movie, Act I would last approximately 30 minutes.)
Act II comprises the next two quarters of the film. (For a two hour movie, Act II would last approximately 60 minutes.)
Act III comprises the final quarter of the film. (For a two hour movie, Act III would be the final 30 minutes.)

The "Plot Point"--According to Field, the three acts are separated by two plot points. A plot point, often called a reversal, is an event that thrusts the plot in a new direction, leading into a new act of the screenplay. Later screenplay gurus have built on Field's theory by stating that Plot Point #1, which leads into Act II, is the moment when the hero takes on the problem.

LEVI-STRAUSS - BINARY OPPOSITION

Narrative tension is based on opposition or conflict. This can be as simple be as simple as two characters fighting, but more often it is an ideological level for example, in Western films the cowboys and indians both represent different sides.









TODOROV'S THEORY
Todorov's theory says that all narratives have a basic structure. 

This theory is the simplest form of narrative.  It is sometimes referred to as the 'Classic' or 'Hollywood' narrative.

VLADIMIR PROPP

Vladimir Propp proposed that characters take on the role of narrative 'spheres of action' or functions.
Some of the characters that he said that are in all narratives are:

• Hero
• Heroine
• Villain
• Mentor
• Sidekick