Assignment 8

PART A – TODOROV’S THEORY

This is a sheet we

done in class where

we looked at the

disruptions/ conflicts

and resolutions in

different genres.

Todorov suggested there are 5 stages of

narrative:

1.Equilibrium

2.Disequlibrium

3.recognition of Disequilibrium

4.Attempt to repair disequilibrium

5.New Equilibrium

The next slides will show how Todorov’s

theory applies to the film ‘The Hunger

Games’

PART B: EQUILIBRIUM

• Equilibrium is shown in the beginning of the hunger games in the scene

where Katniss and Gale are out hunting and relaxing in the forest.

PART B: DISEQUILIBRIUM

• Disequilibrium is shown in the scene where the reaping in taking place.

• This is because in this scene Katniss’s sister is picked to go into the hunger

games but Katniss volunteers to take her sisters place and Peeta is also picked to

enter the Hunger Games.

RECOGNITION OF DISEQUILIBRIUM

• Recognition of disequilibrium can be found in the scene where the people taking

part in the hunger games are taken into the training room,

• It can also be found when Haymitch begins to mentor Katniss and Peeta.

• This is because in these scenes both Peeta and Katniss have accepted that they

are going into the Hunger games.

ATTEMPT TO REPAIR DISEQUILIBRIUM

The attempt to repair the disequilibrium can be found in the scenes where Katniss is

fighting for her life in the hunger games.

It can also be found when Katniss and Peeta meet up again and realise that they can

win and go home together.

NEW EQUILIBRIUM

• The new equilibrium can be found when Katniss and Peeta survive and win the

hunger games.

• This is because they have returned to their old lives, however they are not the

same as before.

Levi –Strauss believed the

world is described as

binary opposites and this

is the same in movies as

we always have a villain

and a hero.

The next slides will show

how this can be a applied

to a variety of genres.

Example of a binary

opposite.

DRAMA:

Film Opposite 1 Opposite 2 Explanation

Batman They are opposites

because:

• Batman is good he

is the hero

• The Joker is evil he

is the villain

• Batman is trying to

save Gotham

• The Joker is

destroying it The Joker is the evil

villain from the

batman movie

Batman is the

hero, his identity is

a secret.

HORROR:

Film Opposite 1 Opposite 2 Explanation

Texas

Chainsaw

Massacre

They are opposites

because:

• The man is evil and

he is trying to kill

innocent people

• The woman is

innocent and she is

trying to survive.

This character is evil as

he goes around killing

innocent people

This woman is the

victim trying to

hide away from

the evil guy

ACTION:

Film Opposite 1 Opposite 2 Explanation

Mission

impossible

They are opposites

because:

• Ethan is working to

stop the evil forces

• The other man is a

terrorist

• Ethan is trying to

protect the people

• The other man has

the power to kill

thousands if he

doesn’t get what he

wants.

The man (Ethan) is an

American agent

working against

terrorist and evil forces

to protect his country

This man is a terrorist, who

want power and money in

exchange for the safety of

the people

BARTHES THEORY

Barthes theory is similar to Todorov’s. Barthe says that the audiences

experiences of narrative involves anticipation and experience.

Barthe identified this by codes:

•Enigma code

•Action code

•Semantic code

•Symbolic code

•Cultural code.

BARTHES - ENIGMA CODE

Barthes enigma code states that narratives set up puzzles to be solved by

the audience. These puzzles intrigue and draw in the audience.

For example this scene from the film Saw

raises questions from the audience like..

Who is the person on the floor?

What happened to them?

Who are all the people in the room?

BARTHES - ACTION CODEThese are codes of behaviours or actions that lead the audience to expect

certain consequences.

Thriller/ Mystery Romance

Action: villain holding a knife standing

behind teenage girl.

Action: couple have broken up but still

miss each other

Assumption: The girl is going to die Assumption: the couple will get back

together.

BARTHES - SEMANTIC CODE

These are the connotative meanings of characters, locations, objects etc.

BARTHES - SYMBOLIC CODE

These are symbolic features which signify oppositions. This example is from the film

Harry Potter and the deathly hallows part 2.

The dark costume and evil facial expression connotes

that this group of people are the villains in this film.

These features signify opposition with the

characters on the next page as it shows that

they are one the ‘bad’ side.

This character in particular shows the symbolic

features of the ‘villains’ within films as she is

deranged and her costume is also dark and

sinister.

BARTHES – SYMBOLIC CODE

These are symbolic features which signify oppositions. This example is from the film

Harry Potter and the deathly hallows part 2.

In this scene from the film the statues are brought to

life to defend Hogwarts. The fact that they are

defending the school shows that the are on the ‘good’

side.

In this scene a force field is created to protect

Hogwarts from the ‘dark side’. As we can see

the shield protecting the school is a white

colour which signifies peace, good and purity.

This image shows the symbolic features of the

heroes as all the characters are illuminated in a

bright white light.

BARTHES SYMBOLIC CODE

Another Example from The Lord of the Rings.

Gandalf represents

good, which the

audience can tell

because of the colour of

his clothes (white) and

his relaxed and calm

demeanour

From this picture the

audience can tell that this

character is the ‘villain’

because of his dark

clothes, angry facial

expression and evil

disfigured face.

BARTHES - CULTURAL CODE

Outside knowledge we share to bring understanding of the meaning in a text. This often happens through references to popular culture and historical events.

The cultural code can be applied to the

film the Kings Speech because it is

based on historical events.

The King's Speech is a British

historical drama film about King

George VI ( played by Colin firth)

who, to cope with a stammer, sees

Lionel Logue.

PROPP’S THEORY

Propp developed a theory about the seven types of characters in traditional

classic fairy tales. He called this the ‘ seven spheres of action’ which are :

1. Hero

2. Villain

3. Dispatcher

4. Donor

5. helper

6. Heroine

7. False hero

The next slides will identify these characters in the film The hunger games.

PROPP – HERO

The hero is usually:

●On a quest/ search

●Traditionally male however today more female heroes are being

seen like Katniss from The Hunger Games

PROPP – VILLIAN

The villain :

●Opposes the hero

●Causes destruction

●And often poses a threat to the safety of the heroine.

●The ultimate villain from the hunger games would be the

president of Capitol as he is the person that created the

hunger games.

●However there is another villain in the movie and this

would be Cato as he poses a threat to the safety of both

Katniss and Peeta.

PROPP - DISPATCHER

The dispatcher usually :

●Starts the hero on their way.

●Is the father of the heroine.

●In the case of The Hunger Games Cinna is the

dispatcher as he helps Katniss and prepares her for

the hunger games.

PROPP - DONOR

The Donor usually:

• Helps the hero by giving them a tool/gift (which

could also be advice) to help them on their

journey

• The donor in the Hunger games is Haymitch as

he helps to prepare Katniss for the hunger

games by giving her advice on what to do.

PROPP - HELPER

• As the name suggests the helper assists the hero in restoring normality/ equilibrium

• Rue is the helper in the Hunger Games as she helps Katniss when she is hurt and takes care of her.

PROPP - HEROINE

• The Heroine is usually female – but not always –

and is a more passive and vulnerable character.

The heroine often falls in love with hero

• In the Hunger Games Peeta is the heroine as he

falls in love with Katniss and needed rescuing

from the Katniss.

PROPP – FALSE HERO

The false hero is initially on the side of the hero but then turns against or

deceives him/her

Tempts hero away from quest.

There is no false hero in The Hunger Games, so an example of a false hero from

another movie would be Victor from the Underworld movie.

Victor is the false hero because:

•He lied to Selene (the hero) by telling her that

the lycans had killed her family when it had

been him.

•He tried to kill Selene and the man the she

loved.

DIEGESIS

The diegesis is the internal world created by the story that the characters

themselves experience and encounter.

An example of this is the film Avatar as the characters are in their own world

NARRATIVE RANGE –

Unrestricted narration:

An unrestricted narration is one which has no limit to the information that is

presented ( there is nothing hidden from the audience).

An example of this is the documentary March of the Penguins.

NARRATIVE RANGE -

Restricted narration:

Restricted narration only offers a restricted amount of information and this

may be to create enigmas. Restricted narration is usually used in

thrillers. An example of restricted narration in films is the film Texas

Chainsaw Massacre as the villain is wearing a mask which means he is

hiding his identity and the audience is unable to see who he is.

MODULAR NARRATIVES: ALLAN CAMERON

Allan Cameron identified four types of modular narratives which are:

• Forking path

• Episodic

• Anachronic

• Split screen

As I am doing the green level I will explain the forking path, episodic and

anachronic narrative.l

FORKING PATHS

Forking paths juxtapose alternate version of a story, showing the possible

outcomes that might result from small changes in a single even of group

of events.

An example of this is in the movie Sliding Doors, where the story alternates

between the character catching the train and finding her boyfriend in

bed with another woman, and the character missing the train and not

finding out about her boyfriend.

To understand this narrative better, the trailer for this film

explains how this forking path narrative is used.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QsQuNu4NBmQ&safe=active

ANACHRONIC

This narrative involves flash-backs and flash-forwards, these narratives also

often repeat scenes directly or via a different perspective.

An example of an anachronic film is the film 4-3-2-1 as in this film the same

day is shown four times but in the perspectives of four different people.

EPISODIC

Episodic narratives can be organised as an abstract series or an anthology.

• Abstract series – which is structured so that all the series go in order.

• Anthology narrative – consists of a series of shorter tales which appear

to be disconnected but share a random similarity.

Episodic structure can also be described as narratives that have many

heroes with many goals. An example of this is the film Crash which is an

anthology narrative.

The film crash is episodic because:

It features many characters that aim for their own

goals

The characters – and their goals- are intertwined

with each other ( for example the shop owner and

the locksmith )

Each character has their own story which doesn't

appear to be connected but is.