MIGRAIN: Narrative
Read Media Factsheet 14 - Telling Stories: The Media's Use of Narrative and answer the following questions:
1) Give an example from film or television that uses Todorov's narrative structure of equilibrium, disequilibrium and new equilibrium.
An example of a film that uses Todorov's narrative structure would be the Disney movie 'Frozen'. The equilibrium is set out in the beginning of the film- the city of Arendelle is a beautiful, sunny place where everyone is happy. This all changes when the King and Queen die after leaving aboard a ship. The disequilibrium is introduced when Elsa, the heir to the throne takes over as Queen but accidentally uses her Ice ability to cover the whole city with snow. This is all resolved at the end and the new equilibrium brings back the peace. Elsa and her sister reconcile and they help make the city better together.
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.
This is the opening scene from the pilot of the Amazon original series 'Lucifer'. The series immediately opens up with an introduction. The audience is told a short summary about the angel Lucifer who was 'cast out from Heaven and condemned to rule Hell for all eternity'. However he apparently decided to 'take a vacation'. This is a generic marker that establishes that this series will definitely contain comedy. The upbeat diegetic music confirms this.
The clip then cuts to an establishing shot of a large city. The geographical and historical markers are confirmed here as there is text in the bottom left side of the screen that states that this is 'Los Angeles' in '2016'. This informs the audience that this series will be set in our current time as this series aired in 2016.
The shot then changes to a car driving down a road. A temporal marker is established that it is night time since it is dark out. There are various shot angles of the car and the driver but they are mainly blurred. This creates mystery for the audience as they begin to wonder who this character is. This is an enigma code that makes the audience question whether this is the same 'Lucifer' who 'went on vacation'?
The face of the driver is then revealed and he appears to be smirking. He continues to drive with his music playing loudly until a police man on a motorbike starts up his sirens behind him. While other people would be scared if this were to happen to them, the man seems to be carefree as he laughs. This is a character marker that establishes how this man is audacious and likes breaking rules.
The rest of the opening scene consists of the policeman telling the man off for driving past the speed limit. The man is awfully relaxed and even bribes the policeman to let him go. The audience's suspicions of this man being Lucifer are confirmed at 1:49. He manages to make the policeman confess to breaking the law just by looking at him. This seems to be another generic marker that suggests that this series contains supernatural themes.
3) Provide three different examples from film or television of characters that fit Propp's hero character role.
The hero in the TV series Arrow is Oliver Queen. He leads a double life as the masked vigilante 'The Arrow/Green Arrow' and uses his excellent archery and fighting skills to take down criminals and help make his city better. However, some may argue that Oliver is a false hero as he does kill people and commit crimes himself.
Andy Dufresne is the hero of this film. The film follows him as he tries to escape prison after being wrongly framed for his wife's murder.
4) Give an example of a binary opposition.
The theorist Levi Strauss identified that narratives work because
they are often based around the conflict between binary oppositions.
There is an inherent opposition between a hero and a villain, between a prisoner and freedom, between lies and truth. The problems in a narrative stem from the conflict between one force and another and it is these conflicts which move a narrative forward.
Typical conflicting binary oppositions-
Villain………….Hero
Man……………Woman
Love…………...Hate
Truth……...……Lies
Good…….…….Evil
Right….…….....Wrong
Intelligence…....Brute force
Law …….……..Crime
5) What example is provided in the Factsheet for the way narratives can emphasise dominant ideologies and values?
One example given in the factsheet is: when the policeman captures the criminal in a crime drama– the ideology of the value of law and order is emphasised.
6) Why do enigma and action codes (Barthes) offer gratifications for audiences?
Enigma and action codes offer gratifications for audiences because of the way they make audiences feel. For example, thriller movies offer an audience suspense and tension.
The resolution at the end of a narrative is the reward the audience
receives after the emotional journey the narrative has taken
them on.
7) Write a one-sentence summary of the four different types of TV narrative:
1) Episodic narrative (the series)-
Each episode contains the same main characters but has a different situation that is resolved by the end of the episode.
2) Overarching narrative (the serial)-
Each episode is a continuation of the previous episode, the overall narrative is not resolved in each episode.
3) Mixed narrative-
This is a mixture of episodic narrative and overarching narrative- some narratives are resolved at the end of an episode while others require more episodes before reaching a resolution.
4) Multi-strand overlapping narrative (soap narrative)-
These have a continuous narrative and they tell a number of different stories at the same time- there is no final resolution and each narrative strand involves different characters.
8) How does the Factsheet suggest adverts use narrative?
It suggests that adverts should use narrative to make it clear what the problem is (e.g. bad breath) and then immediately offer the solution (buy their toothpaste) to create a swift resolution (fresh breath).
1) Give an example from film or television that uses Todorov's narrative structure of equilibrium, disequilibrium and new equilibrium.
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.
LUCIFER
This is the opening scene from the pilot of the Amazon original series 'Lucifer'. The series immediately opens up with an introduction. The audience is told a short summary about the angel Lucifer who was 'cast out from Heaven and condemned to rule Hell for all eternity'. However he apparently decided to 'take a vacation'. This is a generic marker that establishes that this series will definitely contain comedy. The upbeat diegetic music confirms this.
The clip then cuts to an establishing shot of a large city. The geographical and historical markers are confirmed here as there is text in the bottom left side of the screen that states that this is 'Los Angeles' in '2016'. This informs the audience that this series will be set in our current time as this series aired in 2016.
The shot then changes to a car driving down a road. A temporal marker is established that it is night time since it is dark out. There are various shot angles of the car and the driver but they are mainly blurred. This creates mystery for the audience as they begin to wonder who this character is. This is an enigma code that makes the audience question whether this is the same 'Lucifer' who 'went on vacation'?
The face of the driver is then revealed and he appears to be smirking. He continues to drive with his music playing loudly until a police man on a motorbike starts up his sirens behind him. While other people would be scared if this were to happen to them, the man seems to be carefree as he laughs. This is a character marker that establishes how this man is audacious and likes breaking rules.
The rest of the opening scene consists of the policeman telling the man off for driving past the speed limit. The man is awfully relaxed and even bribes the policeman to let him go. The audience's suspicions of this man being Lucifer are confirmed at 1:49. He manages to make the policeman confess to breaking the law just by looking at him. This seems to be another generic marker that suggests that this series contains supernatural themes.
3) Provide three different examples from film or television of characters that fit Propp's hero character role.
ARROW (2012)
THE HUNGER GAMES (2012)
The hero in the film The Hunger games is a female, making her the heroine. Katniss Everdeen is the heroine because the film is focused around her as she tries to survive the Hunger Games after taking her sister's place.
THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION (1994)
4) Give an example of a binary opposition.
The theorist Levi Strauss identified that narratives work because
they are often based around the conflict between binary oppositions.
There is an inherent opposition between a hero and a villain, between a prisoner and freedom, between lies and truth. The problems in a narrative stem from the conflict between one force and another and it is these conflicts which move a narrative forward.
Typical conflicting binary oppositions-
Villain………….Hero
Man……………Woman
Love…………...Hate
Truth……...……Lies
Good…….…….Evil
Right….…….....Wrong
Intelligence…....Brute force
Law …….……..Crime
5) What example is provided in the Factsheet for the way narratives can emphasise dominant ideologies and values?
One example given in the factsheet is: when the policeman captures the criminal in a crime drama– the ideology of the value of law and order is emphasised.
6) Why do enigma and action codes (Barthes) offer gratifications for audiences?
Enigma and action codes offer gratifications for audiences because of the way they make audiences feel. For example, thriller movies offer an audience suspense and tension.
The resolution at the end of a narrative is the reward the audience
receives after the emotional journey the narrative has taken
them on.
7) Write a one-sentence summary of the four different types of TV narrative:
1) Episodic narrative (the series)-
Each episode contains the same main characters but has a different situation that is resolved by the end of the episode.
2) Overarching narrative (the serial)-
Each episode is a continuation of the previous episode, the overall narrative is not resolved in each episode.
3) Mixed narrative-
This is a mixture of episodic narrative and overarching narrative- some narratives are resolved at the end of an episode while others require more episodes before reaching a resolution.
4) Multi-strand overlapping narrative (soap narrative)-
These have a continuous narrative and they tell a number of different stories at the same time- there is no final resolution and each narrative strand involves different characters.
8) How does the Factsheet suggest adverts use narrative?
It suggests that adverts should use narrative to make it clear what the problem is (e.g. bad breath) and then immediately offer the solution (buy their toothpaste) to create a swift resolution (fresh breath).
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