Narrative Theorists

1. Todrovs Narratology Theory:

2. Barthes Semiotics Theory:

Barthes interest in narrative derived from the concept of the use of visual codes.

Action codes are those images/sequences that work as a form of visual shorthand making complex
ideas immediately apparent and carrying the story forward.

Enigma codes are images/sequences that control how much we know in the story, engaging and
holding audience interest. They present puzzles which demand to be solved.

3. Strauss: Structuralism Theory

Claude Levi Strauss focused on how meaning is created within a films narrative.

He argued that Binary Oppositions create meaning and further the narrative by these
oppositions clashing with one another. These oppositions take many different forms and are
very genre dependent.

Example; man vs woman, human vs alien, young vs old, hero vs villain etc.

Relevant Terminology When Discussing Narrative

There are certain guidelines for film-makers and expectations of audiences regarding the narrative of a film- in other words, narratives are
often structured, predominantly that the story progresses logically (chronologically) through events as they happen. Most Hollywood films
follow this linear narrative format, as it is the easiest to follow.

However, some films will break these rules and play around with narrative aspects (often culminating in a non-linear narrative).

Ellipsis: The compression of time within a film or programme- films need to conform to an industry standard length. Therefore, most
mainstream texts employ a high degree of ellipsis.

Restricted and Unrestricted Narration: The amount of information that you release to the audience. At the macro level of narrative,
this would focus on aspects such as flashbacks that you provide for the audience. Are you keeping a sense of mystery to the audience or

Multi-stranded Narration: As opposed to looking at one character and storyline, this refers to films with multiple stories.