TV News and Narrative

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TV News and Narrative

+What is narrative?

Story is the substance

“A meets B, something happens, normality is restored.”

Narrative is the way that story is told

“Once upon a time there was a beautiful princess who met a foul and disgusting prince…”

Narrative can be constructed through pictures, words, sounds, moving images, dance etc

All media texts have a narrative

+Example - Macbeth

+Study: Cinderella

With the cards put the story in order

How is the story told? (Narrative)

Now re-order the cards and see if you can make a new beginning, middle and end

+Narrative Theory No.1Todorov

Tzetvan Todorov’s theory of narrative is:

EQUILIBRIUM

DISEQUILIBRIUM

NEW EQUILIBRIUM (Beginning, middle and end)

+1) Equilibrium

2) Disequilibrium

3) New Equilibrium

+Narrative Theory No.2Claude-Levi Strauss

Claude-Levi Strauss believed that one way narrative can be move along is through opposites.

Or what he called ‘Binary Opposition’.

+Binary OppositesHappy/Sad

+Binary OppositesRich/Poor

+Binary OppositesLazy/Busy

+News Story Examples

Watch the three videos about the murder of a school teacher from Leeds last year.

Do the stories have a equilibrium, disequilibrium and new equilibrium narrative?

Write it down in short notes

Do the stories have any binary opposites?

Make notes of these