Narrative Factsheet Questions

1) Give an example from film or television that uses Todorov's narrative structure of equilibrium, disequilibrium and new equilibrium. 
An example of Todorov's narrative structure of equilibrium is the film 'Taken' 
The equilibrium of the film is how at the start the daughter is really excited about going on a trip to France with her friend and is finally given permission from her unwilling father and leaves to travel. The disequilibrium  is introduced is when the girl and her friend get to there hotel and the man that gave them a ride there takes part in invading the girls' room and kidnapping them to use them for sex trafficking and Liam Neeson has to track them down and rescue them. The new equilibrium is when Liam Neeson kills the antagonist and saves his daughter and her friend and brings them back home safely

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.


 By watching and analysing this opening of Friends if you are well informed with the world and its countries and cities you will be able to recognise this show is shown to be set in NYC. You can tell because of the large buildings shown at the very start with are identical to those IRL in NY. We are also shown the characters all dancing around having fun and there are also scenes from episodes. From all of this we can recognise the plot will be focused on this group of 'Friends' and their daily lives to which we will see their bond as close friends too. 


3) Provide three different examples from film or television of characters that fit Propp's hero character role.

• Frodo from 'Lord of the Rings'
• Captain America from the 'Marvel Cinematic Universe' 
• Rocky Balboa from 'The Rocky series'

4) Give an example of a binary opposition.
An example of a binary opposition is Protagonist vs Antagonist

5) What example is provided in the Factsheet for the way narratives can emphasise dominant ideologies and values?
The winner often represents the dominant ideas and values of our culture. When the policeman captures the criminal in a crime drama the ideology of the value of law and order is emphasised
When the girl wins the heart of the guy in a romantic comedy the values of heterosexual relationships and monogamy are reinforced. In conventional texts crime doesn't usually pay and the guy most often gets the girl. 


6) Why do enigma and action codes (Barthes) offer gratifications for audiences?
Depending on the genre certain emotions are generated so for example

• Terrified in a horror narrative
• Elated in an action narrative
• Sympathetic or identification in a soap or drama narrative
• Anxious/Nervous/Suspense in a thriller narrative

The climax then provides the reassurance and calmness especially when good beats evil


7) Write a one-sentence summary of the four different types of TV narrative:

• Episodic narrative (the series) 

This is when a narrative is frequently resolved at the end of each episode making audiences be able to watch the episodes in any order they'd like as they don't have to make a commitment to watch every episode we they are released

• Overarching narrative (the serial) 

An overarching narrative is when a narrative carries on throughout a number of episodes or the whole series and single episodes don't have any form of a resolution, episodes will usually start with a brief recap of what occurred in previous episodes in case the audience missed it or has forgotten.

• Mixed narrative

This is when each episode can be watched on it's own as there isn't usually an actual plot throughout the show so you could miss even 10 episodes and watch whichever one without missing out on much but at the same time there can be overarching narratives.

• Multi-strand overlapping narrative (soap narrative)

These have a continuous narrative and tell multiple stories at the same time, sometimes called an open narrative because there is no final resolution for the text.

8) How does the Factsheet suggest adverts use narrative?  
The factsheet suggests many ways adverts use narrative. Firstly, Broadcast news uses narrative structure and character roles in its bulletins. Secondly, a newspaper story can be part of a larger  narrative arc which is in the complication stage. E.g. the Beckhams' move to Los Angeles was shown as another ep in the ongoing narrative of their lives. Thirdly, Photographs and still images can't easily show the passing of time which is central to a moving image narrative but the narrative is often implied. Fourthly, Newspaper photographs are chosen specifically to reinforce the character role of an individual. Fifthly, Paper based advertising often provides the solution a problem that is not stated but the audience will understand.