Narrative

Narrative and Representation

• Narrative - How the story is told and portrayed. 

• Narrator - Tells the audience the story. 

Key Theory - Narratology - Tzvetan Todorov

Todorov's Theory of Narrative Equilibrium

Establishment of Equilibrium (State of balance, things dont change)

                      ↓

           Disequilibrium (process of making things unbalanced)

                      ↓

Partial Restoration of Equilibrium (things almost go back to normal)

• Liminality - A period of transition. 

• Narrative is moving from one state to equilibrium to another.

TV Show - Hannah Montana

Establishment of Equilibrium - Lilly is going to watch Hannah Montana live and really excited

                         ↓

            Disequilibrium - Lilly see's Hannah is actually Miley and they fall out.

                         ↓

Partial Restoration of Equilibrium - Lilly and Hannah make friends again.

Definitions;

• Single Strand Narrative
• Follows a single narrative
• Film

• Multi Strand Narrative
• Follows many isolated narrative
• Soap Opera

• Linear Narrative
• Purely Chronological order

• Non-Linear Narrative
• Non Chronological, backwards and forwards

Other building blocks of Narrative

• Genre Conventions
• Character Archetypes 
• Barthe's Semiotic Codes
• Mise-en-scene
• Strauss' Theory - Binary Oppositions

Advantages of Theory - Can be applied easily as it is so vague.

Disadvantages of Theory - Doesn't fit in all media texts.