1. Narrative Theories
1. They Might be Giants - or the theory of Folktales by
Vladimir Propp (1895 -1970)
Stories have been told since we could speak or even paint,
you don't have to have watched TV to know about narrative
(storylines). Propp studied folktales to see what they had in
common and so to analyse the way they were constructed.
It is Propp that tells you that there are only eight character
roles (a pity if you think you've got an original one) and he
bases his theories on the age old stories of ordinary folk
such as villains, heroes and princesses:
The characters are:
1. the villain
2. the hero
3. the donor (who provides an object with magic properties)
4. the helper (partner)
5. the princess (obviously)
6. the father (rewards the hero)
7. the dispatcher (sends the hero on his way)
8. the false hero
Obviously TV cop dramas and Hollywood Blockbusters don't
necessarily have fairy princesses, heroes and villains or do
they? Start looking.
1 Media Studies - Narrative Theorists

2. 2. The Balancing Act - or the theory of equilibrium by
Tzvetan Todorov
Todorov states that stories start with "equilibrium". The
story starts with an assumption about the balance of action
within the story and the progress of the story is its
disruption.
But it's not just about the way things are when they start
but also about the common ground that underlines that
equilibrium. That is the cultural assumptions we all agree on
- for instance that a "normal" family has heterosexual
parentage and 2.4 children.
Possibly the "equilibrium" is informed by the "backstory" in
other words the story about the main characters that is
never told: their history - how they got to be where there
are at the start. What and who made them the characters
we are now viewing.
2 Media Studies - Narrative Theorists

3. 3. Breaking the codes - or five theories of action and
storytelling by Roland Barthes
Roland Barthes has narrowed the action down to five basic
codes - even more depressing if you thought you had a
great original storyline. The codes are pretty simple:
1. action or proairetic – the building of tensions
2. the enigma or hermeneutic (interpretation) – the hiding of
facts to allow for the dropping of clues, or codes
3. the semantic (signified) – the connotations of what’s
shown
4. the symbolic – the use of reocognised images, such as
religious symbols
5. the cultural (referential) – the cultural consensus – such
as murder is wrong.
When Barthes uses the word "code" he means it. This is the
study of the way in which stories are told with little hints as
to what their content is, what the outcome is likely to be and
what the characters are like. Stories, in this mode are more
like puzzles, perhaps a puzzle with some missing pieces, and
what keeps you interested is the bits that you fill in yourself.
3 Media Studies - Narrative Theorists

4. 4. Zeroes and Ones - or how Claude Levi-Strauss
suggests stories are series of binary opposites
Conflict, it is said, is the essence of drama. Without the odd
argument (frank exchange of views) you can't have drama.
Whilst some may query this Levi-Strauss suggests that
stories are largely made up of binary oppositions:
1. Paradigm - a set of objects or concepts
2. Syntagm - an element which follows another in a
particular sequence (the inevitability of the plot and all
the elements in it)
In essence you start with your pardigmatic elements and
then those that you are going to follow through the story are
chosen. These elements have opposites and the plot
(syntagmatic part) details the effects of that opposition.
So:
girl boy
good evil
life death
money poverty
to choose or not
4 Media Studies - Narrative Theorists