Propp's Character Roles and Narrative Functions

Soap Opera Genre –

Propp’s Character RolesPropp’s Narrative Functions

Name: Claire OlneyCandidate Number: 1186Center Name: St. Andrew’s Catholic SchoolCenter Number: 64135

OCR Media Studies – A2 Level

Unit G324: Advanced Portfolio

Eastenders – Propp’s Character Roles

The Villain – From the footage in the trailer, it is evident to see that the young boy adopts the role of the villain because he damages the car at the beginning, and it is clear to see by the look on his face throughout the trailer that he has bad intentions. Also at the end of the trailer, it is evident that he intends on harming the woman, whilst he stands behind her with a hockey stick ready to hit her.The boy doesn’t have any kind of dialogue in the trailer, so you can’t analyse his diegetic sound. However, the non-diegetic verbal code of the sound effects emitted off the car when he hits it demonstrates violence and aggression, which reflects his character role as ‘The Villain’. Additionally, the camera slowly zooms in to him, which could create tension from the audience’s point of view. The fact that at the beginning the camera follows the car wing mirror falling onto the floor draws attention to his violent nature, which implies he has the capability to cause more harm.

https://youtu.be/MCxWF9Kr3gQ




The Princess - In the trailer, the woman is clearly victimized by the young boy, and what makes her more vulnerable is the fact that she is completely conveyed to be unaware that she is being targeted by him, particularly at the end of the trailer, where she has her back to him and he is about to attack her. Also, the woman is wearing light clothing whereas the boy (the villain) is wearing dark clothing, which connotes that she is an innocent victim and he is clearly conveying his villainous attributes, which she is oblivious to.In the trailer, the woman drags the boy back into the room as he tries to leave briskly, and she commands with a raised voice “You are not going out that door! Do you understand me?” Her demanding tone towards the male gender challenges stereotypes that women are submissive, despite the fact that in this case, the male is a child. However, she then goes onto say “I’ll ring your father, and he can sort you out!” This thus conforms to the stereotypical male dominance, and how she is a damsel in distress, calling upon the assistance of a male figure. There is a close up shot of her face as she wears a stern and discrete worried expression with her back to the boy, as the shot then zooms out to evidence him ready to attack her, as she remains oblivious.





False Hero – The woman in this trailer isn’t necessarily a hero as such, and the storyline she is involved in is completely separate to that of the villain. However, the only way I believe she can be classified as a false hero is the fact that she suddenly decides that she doesn’t want to marry her fiancée, which could present her to be a villainous figure, in terms of breaking his heart. It could be argued that she represents a negative character in comparison to her fiancée, as she wears black clothing whereas he is wearing white, which connotes his innocence and purity against her dark and conniving intentions. The camera tends to focus more on the man’s reaction to her surprising confession, which evokes a sense of shock from the audience, and they would feel sympathy for the male character. There are fast paced cuts in this small scene featuring the two characters, which could connote the suddenness of the news she delivers, thus demonstrating her unreliability as a character.




Hollyoaks– Propp’s Character RolesThe Princess – The bride is the princess in this case because from what can be seen in the trailer, she is being cheated on by her husband-to-be, and is unaware of the situation. She therefore can be viewed to be vulnerable and an easy target for the villain. Also, it is significant because she is wearing white, which evidently connotes her innocence and naivety to the situation unfolding around her.In the trailer, she pleads ‘You’re not going to let me down, are you?’ This demonstrates her reliance on men and it could suggest that she is vulnerable without a man present to support her. However, later on in the trailer, she states in fury ‘If he’s not gonna turn up here soon there’s gonna be no wedding because it’s gonna be his funeral!’ This therefore contrasts with her pleading through the bathroom door whilst huddled in a ball, as she uses aggressive hand gestures and her tone of voice connotes her anger towards the male character, and the threat present in her speech implies that she is capable of being independent in a sense.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9V-L5Tewi0

Hollyoaks– Propp’s Character RolesThe Villain – The villain is the fiancée of the bride, and he claims that he loves her, although he is having an affair with another woman. He promises that he won’t let her down, but it is evident that he is planning on leaving her at some point, or continuing the affair whilst married to her. There is also a man after him as he is accused of killing the man’s daughter and stealing his wife, which further puts him in a villainous light. He claims to his fiancée ‘I love you Grace, and nothing could stop me being there’, which could be viewed as a false promise later on in the trailer, where is wife-to-be is threatening his life as he hasn’t showed up to their wedding. He also doesn’t take on responsibility as he is accused of ruining someone’s life and he responds in an aggressive manner ‘You did that by yourself!’ This conveys his callous nature and lack of remorse, which are common traits held by a villain. When he expresses his ‘love’ for his fiancée, he looks away from the door that he is talking to her through, which could display his detachment and aloof nature, and he never makes any direct contact with the camera.


Hollyoaks– Propp’s Character RolesThe Hero – The hero in this case is after the villain for killing his daughter and stealing his wife. There is a scene in the trailer where he confronts the villain, and turns up at the wedding with evident scarring from the ‘battle’. This therefore connotes his courageousness and that he has potential to defeat the villain. After destroying the room he’s in due to anger after a break-up of some kind, he shouts ‘After everything he’s done to me!’ This could put him in the position of a victim, but his aggression translates into determination, which awards him with the position of a hero (or potential hero). The fact that he is presented looking up at the church with an angry, yet determined facial expression could connote that he is going to save the day, and as he is displayed outside a church, it suggests a sense of innocence.


Hollyoaks– Propp’s Character RolesThe Donor – The donor in the trailer is the girl who tells the hero about how the man killed his daughter and stole his wife. This therefore is vital information for the hero to know in order to go out and defeat the villain, which he may not have found out if she didn’t inform him.She informs the man how ‘he killed your daughter and then he stole your wife’. The news she is giving the man puts him in the position of a victim, and the fact that she is informing him of this demonstrates that she is a helpful and considerate character within the program. There is also a shot-reverse-shot used between the two characters as she informs him, which suggests that they have a mutual understanding, and are both placed in a good light. Also, it allows the audience to see her genuine sorrow and desperation to help the man, who holds a vulnerable look about him as he is informed.


Eastenders – Propp’s Narrative Functions

Reconnaissance – The villain makes an effort to attain knowledge needed to fulfill their plot. Disguises are often invoked as the villain actively probes for information, perhaps for a valuable item or to abduct someone. They may speak with a member of the family who innocently divulges a crucial insight. The villain may also seek out the hero in their reconnaissance, perhaps to gauge their strengths in response to learning of their special nature.

In the trailer, the boy overhears the two women talking about him in a negative way, which therefore sparks his plot to harm the woman.


Unfounded claims – A false hero presents unfounded claims or performs some other form of deceit. This may be the villain, one of the villain’s underlings or an unrelated party. It may even be some form of future donor for the hero, once they’ve faced their actions.

In the trailer, the woman reveals to her fiancée that she doesn’t think she can marry him anymore ‘I can’t do this’. Although she’s not necessarily a villain in the situation, as there’s not much context for the audience to go on if they haven’t been watching the soap opera, the viewer can only assume she is a ‘false hero’ in the situation as she’s not evidently villainous, nor is she a ‘hero’.


Villainy or Lacking – The villain harms or injures a family member, including but not limited to abduction, theft, spoiling crops, plundering, banishment, or expulsion of one or more protagonists, committing murder, threatening a forced marriage, providing nightly torments and so on. Simultaneously or alternatively, a protagonist finds they desire or require something lacking from the home environment (a potion or artifact etc.). The villain may still be indirectly involved in the latter option, perhaps fooling the family member into believing they need such an item.

At the end of the trailer, the young boy is standing behind the woman after she turns her back on him to call his father for his bad behaviour. She is unaware of the fact he is holding a hockey stick, and that he has previously used it at the beginning of the trailer to cause damage to someone’s car, which therefore foreshadows that he is capable of harming her.

Eastenders – Binary Opposition (Levi Strauss)

I don’t think there is much of a balance between good and evil within the Eastenders trailer I have focused on. This is because I feel that it mainly focused on the bad sides of the characters, and there was no real hero present. The only thing close to being considered as ‘good’ was the characters that were being victimized, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they are all good. However the villainous side of the young boy in particular was made very evident, but the two didn’t balance in this trailer.

Hollyoaks– Propp’s Narrative Functions

Trickery - The villain attempts to deceive the victim to acquire something valuable. They press further, aiming to con the protagonists and earn their trust. Sometimes the villain make little or no deception and instead ransoms one valuable thing for another.

In the trailer, the bride-to-be is sitting on the floor of the bathroom, and her fiancée is on the other side of the door. She asks him ‘You’re not going to let me down, are you?’ and he responds with ‘I love you Grace, and nothing could stop me being there.’ However, the scene then cuts to the same man aggressively/sexually handling another woman, to which she responds ‘I can’t do it anymore!’ Thus suggesting to the audience that he has been having an affair, and is therefore disloyal to his wife, and deceives her by lying about his love for her.


First function of the Donor - The hero encounters a magical agent or helper (donor) on their path, and is tested in some manner through interrogation, combat, puzzles or more.

The girl who turns out to be the hero’s donor explains to him that ‘he killed your daughter, and then he stole your wife’. This serves as highly important information for the hero to know in order to take down the villain, and fuels him to put the villain to justice.


Struggle - The hero and villain meet and engage in conflict directly, either in battle or some nature of contest.

In the trailer, after finding out from the donor that the villain killed his daughter and stole his wife, he goes to confront the villain, which involves a lot of shouting and aggression, which could foreshadow some kind of battle between them, which isn’t shown in the trailer.


Branding - The hero is marked in some manner, perhaps receiving a distinctive scar or granted a cosmetic item like a ring or scarf. After the scene of ‘struggle’, it is evident that there was some kind of battle between the two men, as the hero appears with distinctive scarring to his face after a fight, therefore branding him.


Guidance – The hero is transferred, delivered or somehow led to a vital location, perhaps related to one of the above functions such as the home of the donor or the location of the magical agent or its parts, or to the villain.

It isn’t evident that the hero was necessarily guided to the church towards the end of the trailer, but he has arrived there for some significant reason involving the wedding that has been building up through the trailer. He stands outside with scarring to his face, after the bride inside exclaims ‘If he’s not going to turn up here soon, there’s going to be no wedding because it’s going to be his funeral!’ This suggests to the audience that the hero outside has injured the villain or even killed him, so that is why he is not at the wedding. However, the man outside could have arrived after the wedding has begun, so he is there to stop it. As the trailer doesn’t give much away, it is for the audience to decide what could actually be the reason why the hero has been guided to the church for the wedding.

Hollyoaks – Binary Opposition (Levi Strauss)

In the Hollyoaks trailer, I do believe there was more evil than good being portrayed, but in comparison to the Eastenders trailer, there was slightly more of a balance. The villain was evidently bad, and even the hero himself came across as quite aggressive, but it was for particular reasons, such as confronting the villain that killed his daughter and stole his wife. Even the princess whom was a victim in some aspects demonstrated moments of aggression when her husband-to-be was late to the wedding, but some forms are taken out of context, probably because audiences prefer to watch the evil side of things compared to the light-hearted storylines as it comes across as more action-packed and thrilling.

Propp's Character Roles and Narrative Functions

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