2. +
Todorov’s Theory of Equilibrium and
Disequalibrium
PART 1: EQUILIBRIUM: Everything is how it should be.
PART 2: DISEQUILIBRIUM: The state of equilibrium has been disrupted.
PART 3: RECOGNITION: It is recognized that a disruption has occurred.
PART 4: FIXING THE PROBLEM: An attempt is made to fix the problem.
PART 5: A NEW EQUILIBRIUM: Everything is how it should be again, although
there may be a few differences.
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Here are some examples..
Shaun Of The The Tucker and Dale Paranorma
Dead Possession vs. Evil l Activity
Equilibrium Everyday life – pub – Intro to a newly Car scene – Introducing Family in a house
supermarket – bus stop – divorced couple and characters – discussing – normal life
Shaun and Ed playing on a their two daughters visiting the cabin in the
games console woods that they are
approaching
Disequilibrium Zombie takeover Youngest daughter Rednecks take the girl after Introducing the
buys an evil box and the falls into the dark lake villains
becomes possessed
Recognition Zombie walks in covered in Dad finds out Chad throws the axe at the Seeing villains on
blood with only one arm something is wrong tree – dialogue along with the camera
with Emily and this helps describe it
searches for help
Attempt To Repair Killing zombies – hiding in Dad travels to a The police officer enters and Hire exorcist –
the pub ( safe place) different community realizes that the rednecks quirky religion
and a man named aren’t killers and gets killed
Tzadok helps with the himself
exorcism
New Equilibrium TV reports show the The divorced couple Dale (redneck) gets the girl They all die
zombie out break was in gets back together
the past – Shaun wakes up
– now living with Liz –
plays video games with Ed
in the shed
4. +
Propp’s Character Theory
Many years ago, Propp came up with the theory that each narrative had a
set of characters that followed a suit. He originally came up with the ideas
from fairy tales, but it was soon fit and applied to all narratives. Here is
some examples:
Character Type Definition Example - Shrek
The hero Leads the narrative, usually searching for something or on some form of Shrek
quest and succeeds
The villian Struggles against the hero. Shown to be morally bad – drives audience away Lord Farquaad
from them, making them support the hero.
The donor Gives the hero something special to help them with the quest – doesn’t have Dragon
to be physical
The helper The helper supports the hero – similar to the donor. Usually appears at critical Donkey
moments and gives support and guidance. Physical help can highlight that the
hero’s can have limits.
The Princess May take 2 foms – object/reward – deliberately done by hero. Could be seen Princess Fiona
little in the movie or could be an important character.
The Princess’ Father Gives task to hero. Key figure for hero to persuade as Father is protective of The King
daughter. Could also be in competition with the hero. Propp said they can be
hard to distinguish.
The dispatcher The character who sends the hero on a mission – may be a family member Lord Farquadd
and can also be combined with another role.
The false hero Appears to act heroically throughout the movie, and can be mistaken for the Prince Charming
actual hero.
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Barthes Codes -
Lingust Rold Barthes describes five codes that were woven into
any narrative. The first is:
THE HERMENEUTIC CODE: This refers
to any element of the story that is not fully explained and hence
becomes a mystery to the reader.
The purpose of the author in this is typically to keep the audience
guessing, arresting the enigma, until the final scenes when all is
revealed and all loose ends are tied off and closure is achieved.
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The Proairetic Code (ACT)
This also builds tension, referring to any other action or event that
indicates something else is going to happen, and which hence gets
the reader guessing as to what will happen next.
The Hermeneutic and Proairetic Codes work as a pair to develop the
story's tensions and keep the reader interested. Barthes described
them as:
"...dependent on ... two sequential codes: the revelation of truth and
the coordination of the actions represented: there is the same
constraint in the gradual order of melody and in the equally gradual
order of the narrative sequence."
7. +
The Semantic Code (SEM)
This code refers to the connotation within the story that gives
additional meaning over the basic denotative meaning of the
word.
It is by the use of extended meaning that can be applied to words
that authors can paint rich pictures with relatively limited text and
the way they do this is a common indication of their writing skills.
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The Symbolic Code (SYM)
This is very similar to the Semantic Code, but acts at a wider
level, organizing semantic meanings into broader and deeper
sets of meaning.
This is typically done in the use of antithesis, where new meaning
arises out of opposing and conflict ideas.
9. +
The Cultural Code (REF)
This code refers to anything that is founded on some kind of
canonical works that cannot be challenged and is assumed to be
a foundation for truth.
Typically this involves either science or religion, although other
canons such as magical truths may be used in fantasy stories.
The Gnomic Code is a cultural code that particularly refers to
sayings, proverbs, clichés and other common meaning-giving
word sets.
10. +
Syd Field’s Three Act Plot
Structure
Syd Field is an American Screenwriter. Unlike many other
theorists, his ideas are not just intended as a way of analyzing
existing films, but also as a set of advice for potential film
makers.
The typical Hollywood film, according to Field can be separated
into three separate dramatic sections or acts: the setup, the
confrontation and finally resolution. To move the action on from
one act to another there are what he calls plot points-
particularly important pieces of the plot, which turn around the
lives of the characters, change their relationships with others
and alter the tone of the film. Of course, films often have a
number of plot points such as these, but Field points to two
major ones between the acts and a less important one at the
middle of the film.
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The first act- setup:
In many ways this act is the most important for Field. He claims
that within the first ten minutes in particular, the audience will
decide whether they like the film and will normally be unwilling
to change their minds later. It is therefore vital for the film-
maker to give the audience a sense in those ten minutes what
the film is going to be about, who the main character is and
why they should care about him/her and what they can expect
in terms of style. In the rest of the first thirty minutes, the
audience should learn the nature of the problem facing the hero
although this can be left all the way to plot point one.
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The second act –Confrontation:
In this longest act of the film we see the main character in a
number of more and more extreme problem situations where
they confront their enemies normally quite helplessly. Often
there will be a mid-point where they begin to turn things around
and win what looked like a helpless struggle, but there is still a
long way to go and at plot point two they will realise that the
way they have been going about things is not working and they
will be ready for…
13. +
Act three- resolution:
The hero will finally take control in the struggles with their
problems (often by going to confront the enemy on their own
home territory) and will achieve a final, decisive victory.
