FA7036 - Narrative Structure

Here are the following points I learnt about narrative:

Propp’s morphology originated in 1929.

Fairy tales teach life lessons - for example Little Red Riding Hood and Hansel and Gretel teach children not to talk to or trust strangers. In Little Red Riding Hood the stranger is the wolf whereas in Hansel and Gretel the stranger is the witch.

Parents tell children fairy tales as metaphors that teach them to be careful in the real world.

Fairy tales grow out of folk tales. They are essentially the same.

Vladimir Propp was a Russian formalist. He studied how Russian folk tales were broken down.

Joseph Campbell and Christopher Vogler ‘boiled down’ narrative into 12 stages.

Pixar storytellers narrowed Vogler’s 12 stages into just 6.

Laura Mulvey is a feminist film theorist. She perceived the male gaze, narrative from a male’s point of view, as a problem.

Propp’s stages

Beginning/first sphere

1. Absentation - somebody goes missing. Example: In Frozen, Elsa flees to the North Mountain after unintentionally setting off an eternal winter on Arendelle.

2. Interdiction - One character gives the hero a warning. One character gives the hero a warning. Example in Brave, Queen Elinor forbids Princess Merida from shooting the arrow since she believed only male first-borns of the clans participating in the archery could do so. Example: in Brave, Merida proceeds with shooting the arrow because she declares herself a first-born and chose the game of archery, thus defeating the male participants and humiliating Elinor.

3. Violation of interdiction - hero ignores the warning.

4. Reconnaissance - villain seeks something

5. Delivery - villain gains information about the hero

6. Trickery - villain attempts to trick the hero

7. Complicity - unintentional helping of the enemy. For example in Aladdin, Aladdin helps a beggar (Jafar in disguise) gain access to the Cave of Wonders.

Middle/second sphere

1. Villainy and lack - the need is identified

2. Mediation - hero discovers the lack

3. Counteraction - hero chooses positive action

4. Departure - hero leaves on a mission. Example: in Frozen, Anna sets out to find Elsa.

Third sphere

1. Testing - hero is challenged to prove his/her heroic qualities

2. Reaction - hero reacts to the test

3. Acquisition - hero gains magical item

4. Guidance - hero reaches destination

5. Struggle - hero battles with the villain

6. Branding - hero is brands

7. Victory - hero defeats the villain

8. Resolution - misfortune is resolved

Fourth sphere/ending

1. Return - hero makes his/her way back home

2. Pursuit - hero is chased

3. Rescue - pursuit ends

4. Arrival - hero arrives unrecognised

5. Claim - false hero makes unfounded claims

6. Task - hero is given a difficult task. For example in Sprited Away Yubaba challenges Chihiro to guess which of the pigs are her parents.

7. Solution - hero resolves the task. Example - in Spirited Away, Chihiro correctly guesses that none of the pigs are her parents.

8. Recognition - hero is recognised

9. Exposure - false hero is exposed

10. Transfiguration - hero is given a new appearance

11. Punishment - villain is punished

12. Wedding - hero is married and, in some cases, ascends to the throne

Source for narrative stages: Changing Minds (2002 - 2015). http://changingminds.org/disciplines/storytelling/plots/propp/propp.htm

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966) opening sequence and theme. It uses the rotoscoping technique and sets up the story.

We think of it as an American film but is is not really. It is a spaghetti western, which means that professionals from Italy and America both worked on this film.

The soundtrack makes people want to see the film due to projecting the atmosphere. It includes whistling and gunshots.

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