Narrative Theory and Theorists

Narrative theory studies the devices and conventions governing the organisation of a story (fictional or factual) into a sequence.

Vladimir Propp
- suggested in 1928 that in any story there are only ever a limited number of character types
- each of these have their own purpose in the narrative

Characters such as:
Hero, Heroine/Princess, Villain, Donor/Mentor, Helper, Father, The False hero, The dispatcher

Toderov
Suggested that there are five stages to any story, these being:
- Equilibrium (establish setting, characters and storyline)
- Disruption of the equilibrium
- Recognition of the disruption
- An attempt to repair disruption
- Reinstatement of the equilibrium (resolved problem)

He also recognised subversions, for example flashbacks, flashforwards, twists and parallel narratives.

Andrew Goodwin
Suggested that there are six key features of the genre:

1) Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics
2) There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals
3)There is a relationship between music and visuals
4) The demands of the record label will include the need for lots of close-ups of the artist and the artist may develop motifs which recur across their work
5) There is frequently reference to the notion of looking and particularly voyeuristic treatment of the female body
6) There are often intertextual references

Louis Althusser - interpellation
- individuals believe that they are free to form their own opinions and values
- he says that individuals are interpellated = unconsciously controlled by those in power
- media texts, knowingly or unknowingly, reproduce these values and thus reinforce them

Antonio Gramsci - Hegemony
- similar to Althusser
- individuals accept the status quo because they are conditioned to do so by those in power
- control is achieved through consensus, not force

Stuart Hall - Encoding and Decoding
'Texts have no true meaning until they are recieved and interpreted by audiences.'
- producers encode messages into the text but audiences are free to decode in the way they like = preferred/dominant reading, negotiated reading or oppositional reading. These all link to target audience.

Barthes Theory
All narrative is made up of plot, sequence and images.
He refers to cardinal functions - these are the main points/events in a text
He also refers to the lesser events/images called catalysers - they are equally important but less obvious