AO2 & AO4 Narrative Theory

Todorov’s theory

He discovered that narratives moved forward in a chronological order with one action following after another. In other words, they have a clear beginning, middle and end.

·      Equilibrium: the original state in the narrative, usually introduces us to

     the characters and the normal everyday situation

·      The disruption: oppositional characters are introduced and the story moves forward. Usually the equilibrium is changed because something has effected it.

·      The recognition: the story develops; the characters realize that there this is problem because events have changed and more drama occurs.

·      The attempt to repair the disruption: there is a twist it a climatic point. The characters try to fix things to go back to the original equilibrium.

·      The new equilibrium: the problem is solved and most of the characters are happy again although things may have changed.

Todorov’s theory in ‘Friends’:

·      Equilibrium: Monica and Ross are happily living in their house together.

·      The disruption: Monica and Ross’ parents are selling their childhood house. All of Monica’s childhood memories are destroyed because her dad used her boxes to block water from entering the garage.

·      The recognition: Ross and Monica were reading the newspaper and they saw that their childhood house was for sale.

·      The attempt to repair: Ross decides to put some of his things in new boxes and act like his childhood things were Monica’s things and that her things weren’t ruined by the water, just to make her feel better.

·      Back to equilibrium: Monica realizes that Ross’s things weren’t actually hers. Her dad decides to give Monica his Porsche and she realizes the old Barcalounger is gone so she becomes very happy.

Propp and character types    

Vladimir Propp was a Russian scholar and folklorist, who analyzed many classic Russian folk tales and was able to categorize the characters into 6 distinct tropes:

·      The hero: leads the narrative, is usually looking for something, trying to solve something or save someone.

·      The villain: has a conflict with the hero and tries to stop them saving someone or succeeding.

·      The donor: Gives the hero something in order to help him/her succeed. This could be a clue, a talisman, a special power.

·      The helper: helps the hero, often called the sidekick

·      The princess: Is usually a prize or reward for the hero after accomplishing the mission he/she was on.

·      The dispatcher: an authority figure who offers a reward to the hero for completing their quest. That reward might be a prince, a princess or in more modern narratives a new car.

·      The false hero: takes credit for the hero’s accomplishment and tries to marry the princess.

Propps character theory applied to Cinderella:

·      The Hero: the hero is the Prince as he saves her by finding her after the ball and marrying her taking her away from her step mother and step sisters.

·      The Villain: the step mother is the villain as she treats Cinderella as the servant an expects her to respond to her every need as she does not want her to be happy.

·      The Dispatcher: the dispatcher is the father of the prince as he is the person wo tells the prince who he must marry, hence the ball, yet he also is the person who sends the prince who sends the prince out on a quest to find the girl who fits the glass slipper.

·      The Princess: This would be Cinderella as she is the one who is being saved. At the end she marries the prince as she is the prize for the prince.

·      The Helper: In this case it would also be the fairy godmother as she is the one who helps Cinderella get to the ball without the step mother knowing.

·      The Donor: the fairy godmother is the helper as she is the one that gives Cinderella a carriage made out of a pumpkin with horse and rats, a dress in order to go to the ball and some glass slippers. She tells her that she must be back by midnight or else everything she gave her goes away.

·      The False hero: In this case it would be the step sisters as they are the ones who try to convince the prince that the shoe fits them and that he should marry on of them.

The hypodermic Needle Theory 

The Hypodermic needle theory is a communication theory that suggests that media messages are injected directly into the brains of audiences known as passive audiences.

Passive audiences are seen as weak and passive and could be influenced by a message.

It is one of the earliest theories in thinking about how mass media affects its audiences. It developed in the 1930's and 1930's after researchers investigated the effect of propaganda during World War 1.

Pros:

- Divided the blame of why people turn into criminals onto the media

- It is a good method for a media producer, politicians and also towards the use of marketing.

- Manipulates the audience so much, it is easy to persuade the audience into believing what you want they to see or believe, meaning

- Forces people to think about what the media does to us more

  Cons:

- his theory states that we are passive users of the media, and we believe everything we see and hear.

- It’s also quite outdated as media has changed massively since this theory was first developed

- It doesn't take into account individual differences, it suggests we are all the same and take messages the same way

Example:

-       Two schoolboys who brutally stabbed a 13-year-old friend and left him for dead after watching the horror film ‘Scream’ have each been ordered to be detained for six years. Daniel Gill, 14, and Robert Fuller, 15, both of Harrogate, North Yorkshire, were found guilty of the attempted murder of Ashley Murray in August but were sentenced at Hull Crown Court in Friday.

Uses and gratification 

-       Information- finding out about relevant events and conditions in immediate surroundings, society and the world. Seeking advice on practical matters or opinion and decision choices Satisfying curiosity and general interest. Learning; self-education. Gaining a sense of security through knowledge

-       Personal Identity- finding Reinforcement for Personal Values finding Models of Behavior Identifying with Valued Other (In The Media) Gaining Insight into One's Self

-       Social Interaction- Gaining insight into Circumstances of Others; Social Empathy · Identifying with others and Gaining a sense of Belonging. Finding a basis for conversation and Social Interaction having a substitute for Real-life Companionship.

-       Entertainment- Escaping, or being diverted, from problems· Relaxing, getting intrinsic cultural or aesthetic enjoyment, Filling time, Emotional release, Social roles, enabling one to connect with Family, Friends and Society