Todorovs Theory of

Narrative

In 1960s, Todorov started working on his theory

of narratives. Todorov suggests that all films
follow the same narrative pattern. The
characters in this narrative transform through
the progress of the disruption.
He suggested that the narrative pattern consists
of 5 steps:
oEquilibrium
oDisruption
oRealisation
oRestored order
oEquilibrium

Equilibrium
The beginning of the story. This is where everything
is where it is supposed to be. Where everything is in
a state of equal balance. This is the part where
everything is normal and the majority of the
characters are happy and content.
Disruption/ Disequilibrium
This is the part when a certain problem will arise.
This is where a character might suddenly disappear
and the other characters try to find the person who
disappeared.

Realisation
This is the part where the characters realize that
they have a problem that they need to fix.
Restored Order
This is the part of the story where the characters
would try to resolve their problem. This is where the
characters would work together to fix the problem
at hand.
New Equilibrium
This is the end part of the story. After being able to
resolve the problem, the characters can now return
to their normal state.

Strengths and weaknesses of the theory

oTodorovs theory is seen as something that is too
basic. Many modern texts are far more complicated
than this simplistic concept. It perhaps ignores the
more complex concepts surrounding the narrative.
However;
oTodorov also emphasizes that narrative is a process:
between the two states of equilibrium there is a
period of imbalance, and it's during this time that
changes or developments happen. They help drive
the narrative, bring about character development,
and keep readers/viewers hooked.
oThis theory is a bit too simple. Viewers may be
looking for more twists in the plot so movie
producers may stray from this pattern.

Relevance of Todorovs theory in the Postdigital revolution era

Todorovs theory gives us the basic structure of a

narrative. It serves as a guide to the plot of a certain
film. A lot of films are still following this type of
pattern when they are producing films. Majority, if
not all, of the films are most likely to start with an
equilibrium, then encounter a crisis, solve it, and
have a new equilibrium in the end. Even those films
that have a more complicated plot still somehow
resemble this pattern.

Taken
Equilibrium: Bryan is a retired agent who left the CIA to
be near his daughter Kim. Kim travels to Paris with her
friend Amanda after receiving permission from her father.
Disruption: The girls share a cab with a stranger in Paris
and Amanda tells him that they will be alone in Paris.
Using this information, Kim and Amanda gets kidnapped
by an Albanian gang of human traffickers
Realisation: Kim calls her father and gives him
information about her kidnapper before she gets taken.
Restored Order: Bryan goes to Paris in search for his
daughter and her friend. He finds Kim and he brings her
home.
New Equilibrium: They arrive back home and return to
their normal lives. Kim meets her favourite artist who
Bryan works for now.

Adornos
All media is
Theory
formulaic and
repeat the same
representation

Adornos
Youth
Representation
Theory
Adorno states in his theory that youths
are presented to wears hoodies and have
a group or gang .

Youths are represented in

media as loud, reckless and
violent. This is an example of
repeated representation

Examples of when these are shown

are

Adornos
Youth
Representation
Theory

Anuva-Hood

A film which talks about a guy who

realises that hes becoming just another
wanna-be bad boy

Adornos
Youth
Representation
Theory

Like in Adorno's theory the young boys

are grouped and hang out in a big
crowd. As shown in the film poster the
main character is wearing a hoody. This
shows that the hoodie is seen as a
staple for the youth culture in the
media.

Adornos
Youth
Representation
Theory

a film about when a group of

London youths meet aliens

Adornos
Youth physical
representation
in attack
Theory
in the block

Gang culture, hoodies, bikes and going

out at night. Covering their faces are
used to make them look intimidating

Adornos
Representation
Theory

The young youths live on a state and

they use and deal with drugs. At the
beginning of the film here is a robbery
scene too which automatically creates a
violent appearance on them

Adornos
Theory in Media
Theory

Adorno's theory applies to attack in the

block and Anuvahood as the youth
representation is the same. The hoodies
are something used widely across the
media to represent youth and youth are
shown in gangs. The slang and negative
language used in both films are also
similar, the way they dress and speak
creates a negative impact on the
representation of the youths in a
general.

Vladimir Propp

Narrative Theory & Narrative

Functions

What he said and when he said it

Propp suggested that every narrative have 8 certain types of characters,
which are:

The hero the protagonist who fights the villain who is usually searching for
something.

The villain The antagonist in the story who struggles to fight against the hero.

The donor a character who prepares the hero to fight the villain by giving them an
object.

The princess usually portrayed as the damsel in distress who is usually the heros
reward.

The princesss father Rewards the hero, usually gets the princess and the hero to
wed.

False hero A character who claims or is portrayed to be the hero but is not.

Helper Usually aids the hero on their quest.

Dispatcher Sends the hero in the right direction.

Propp would break tales down to small units, which he would call
narratemes or narrative functions, these narrative functions would
not appear in every tale or story:

A family member would leave home (hero is introduced to the audience).

The hero is told to not do something.
The hero ignores the command and does it anyway.
The villain appears (intended victim meets villain or villain finds jewels).
Villain gains information about victim.
Victim unwittingly helps villain.
Villain causes injury to family member (through imprisonment, murder or disappearance etc.)
Hero hears call for help or is dispatched.
Seeker decides on counter action.
Hero leaves home
Hero is interrogated, attacked or preparing the way for receiving magical agent or helper(donor).
Hero reacts to actions of the donor (withstands or fails test).
Hero acquires use of magical agent.
Hero is taken to location of the object.
Hero and villain in fight.
Hero is wounded.
Villain is defeated.
Captive freed or revived.
Hero returns.
Hero is pursued (pursuer tries to kill or injure hero).
Hero is rescued.
Hero returns home.
False hero is questioned.
Hero sets task for false hero.
Hero is recognised.
False hero exposed.
Hero given new appearance (clothes, made handsome).
Villain/false hero punished.
Hero marries and ascends new throne.

How the research was conducted

Propp would split up fairy tales into sections, through those sections he
would evaluate the characters and looked at which characters occurred in
several fairy tales. He would spend time evaluating Russian folktales to
try and identify their simple narrative and understand why they are used.
With the narrative functions he split the fairy tales into 31 small sections.

Weaknesses of theory
As folktale is almost always oral stories Propps theory was criticized for
removing verbal considerations from the analysis the consideration of
mood, tone and character is removed.

How relevant is the theory in the post digital revolution?

Propps theory of characters is still relevant in stories today, Most stories
and films still follow this pattern in characters.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Hero
Villain

Dono
r

Princess

False hero
Princesss father

Helper/s

Dispatche
r

Lazarsfeld and Katz

Mass Media
First- Opinion Leaders get information from
a media source.
Second- Opinion Leaders then pass the
information, along withe their interpretation,
to others ( Friends, Family etc)
The two-step flow of communication
hypothesis was first introduced by Paul
Lazarsfeld in The People's Choice, a 1944
study focused on the process of decisionmaking during a Presidential election
campaign.
The purpose of the study was focused on
Presidential election Campaign and the
people decision-making process towards the
campaign. All three researchers were wanted
to find out practically whether the mass
media messages affect direct influence in
voting decision among the people.
Unexpectedly they found the media messages
(like radio and newspapers) are very less
influence then an informal, personal
communication on voting behavior. Based on
this researched data, The Two Step Flow
Communication Theory of Mass
Communication was developed by Katz and
Paul Lazarsfeld.

Opinion leaders

What they said and how they

conducted research?

Individuals in social contact with opinion leader

Critics:
-Researchers found substantial evidence that initial
mass media information flows directly to people on
the whole and is not relayed by opinion leaders.
-The two-step hypothesis does not adequately describe
the flow of learning. Lazarsfeld and his associates in
the 1940 election study were unable to determine the
specific flow of influence.
Today most of the advertising researches are based on
this theory. Especially opinion leaders role in the
society as well as in home to which helps to improve
the market with less efforts.
Strength
The model examines the way that personal
relationships may help to mediate messages from the
media
Weakness
It doesnt explain why opinion leaders should be
active

Strength
s,
Weakne
sses and
Critics

Uses and Gratifications Theory is a popular approach

to understanding mass communication. The theory
places more focus on the consumer, or audience,
instead of the actual message itself by asking what
people do with media rather than what media does
to people (Katz, 1959) . It assumes that members of
the audience are not passive but take an active role in
interpreting and integrating media into their own lives.
The theory also holds that audiences are responsible
for choosing media to meet their needs. The approach
suggests that people use the media to fulfill specific
gratifications. This theory would then imply that the
media compete against other information sources for
viewers' gratification.
The Uses and Gratifications Theory follows a basic
model. It is an audience-centered approach. When an
audience actively seeks out media, they are typically
seeking it in order to gratify a need. For example, in
social situations, people may feel more confident and
knowledgeable when they have specific facts and
stories from media to add to conversation. By seeking
out media, a person fulfills a need to be informed.
Social situations and psychological characteristics
motivate the need for media, which motivates certain
expectations of that media. This expectation leads one
to be exposed to media that would seemingly fit
expectations, leading to an ultimate gratification.

(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uses_and_gratifications_the
ory
)

Blumler and
Katz

 The media dependency theory, has also been

explored as an extension to the uses and
gratifications approach to media, though there is a
subtle difference between the two theories.
People's dependency on media proves audience
goals to be the origin of the dependency while the
uses and gratifications approach focuses more on
audience needs (Grant et al., 1998). Still, both
theories agree that media use can lead to media
dependency(Rubin, 1982).
The media dependency theory states that the
more dependent an individual is on the media for
to fulfill needs, the more significant the media
becomes to that person. DeFleur and Ball-Rokeach
(1976) illustrate dependency as the relationship
between media content, the nature of society, and
the behavior of audiences. Littlejohn (2002) also
explained that people will become more
dependent on media that meet a number of their
needs than on media that touch only a few ones.
Dependency on a certain medium is influenced by
the number sources open to an individual.
Individuals are usually more dependent on
available media if their access to media
alternatives is limited. The more alternatives there
are for an individual, the lesser is the dependency
on and influence of a specific medium.
The hypodermic needle model claims that
consumers are strongly affected by media and
have no say in how the media influences them.
The main idea of the Uses and Gratifications
model is that people are not helpless victims of allpowerful media, but use media to fulfill their
various needs. These needs serve as motivations
for using media.

Blumler and
Katz

The Source magazine is a

great way to escape from
the humdrum of every day
life because you can read up
on the exciting lifestyles of
your favourite hip-hop artist.

DIVERSION

Magazines such as theses use

devices such as rhetorical
questions to address the
readership directly. This aids in
forming a personal
relationship, with the reader,
as if they are friends
discussing the contents of the
PERSONAL
articles amongst one another.

RELATIONSH
IPS

This particular magazines is

appealing to the specific social
group of people who are
interested in gossip, relating
to the music genre.

PERSONAL
IDENTITY
Music Magazines can function
in enabling us to find out
something about ourselves.
For example, we may find a
particular genre or artist in a
magazine that we may not
have heard of before, then go
online a listen to their music
and find out that we like it.

SURVEILLAN
CE

Music magazines can also have a

purpose of keeping us informed
as to the events in the world of
music, especially regarding the
genre it is focused on. It could be
new songs or alum hat are up
and coming, or general news
regarding some of the main artist
or indeed the main cover artist.
This may be presented in the
form of coverlines, on the

de
Levi
Strau
ss

He was a structuralist and

anthropologist whose
work had a great
influence on semiotics.
(the study of signs and
symbols as elements of
communicative behavior;
the analysis of systems
of communication, as
language, gestures, or
clothing.)

 He emphasised the
importance of
structuring oppositions
in myth systems and in
language.
He said that abiding
structure of all meaningmaking, not just
narratives, was a
dependence on binary
oppositions, or a conflict
between two qualities or
terms.

He was less interested in

the order that events
were arranged so he
simply looked beneath
them for deeper themes
- This theory was applied
to Western genre in the
1970s.

He looked at systematic oppositions, these are the

examples he used:
Homesteaders /Native Americans
Christian /Pagan
Domestic /Savage
Weak /Strong
Garden /Wilderness
Inside Society /Outside Society

 We can apply Lvi

Strauss by creating two
opposing lists, this often
occurs in advertisements
too when two
juxtaposing characters
are put next to each
other to emphasise the
product.
(The Media Studies
Students Book - 2nd
Edition (2000) Gill
Branston, Roy Stafford)

 The narrative is based on oppositional forces and resolution

of conflict.
The audience is positioned on the side that justifies their
own cultural values.
(AS/A Level Media Studies - David Probert (2005))

Edward
Branigan

Edward Branigan wrote

Narrative
Comprehension and Film
1993, and said that a
way of organising
spaitial and temporal
data into a cause - effect
chain of events with a
beginning, middle and
end.

 Book quote: (Narrative Comprehension and Film 1993)

Narrative is one of the fundamental ways we organise and
understand the world. It is found everywhere; not only in
films but also in everyday conversations and in the non
fictional discourses of journalists, historians, educators,
psychologists, attorneys and many others.'

GENRE - Laceys Repertoire of

Elements
Lacey considers the 'repertoire of elements' that
work in combination to suggest a media text
belongs to a particular genre or mix of genres.
He provides a useful framework to follow when
analysing genre. Lacey breaks a text down into
these five areas to identify the elements in each:
Setting
Character
Narrative
Iconography
Style
Lacey does not see genres as fixed but as dynamic
and changing over time.

Nick Lacey

GENRE - Laceys Repertoire of

Elements
Narrative: This refers to the story
structure as well as the specific narrative
devices, which genres employ (car
chases, gunfights, weddings, etc.).
Characters: Narrative is usually
developed through characters and their
functions (hero, villain etc). Some
characters are so closely associated with
a genre that they become generic types.
For example, in horror movies, the final
girl, who maintains her personal dignity,
usually defeats the psychopath.

Nick Lacey

GENRE - Laceys Repertoire of

Elements
Setting: Some genres have a distinct location
but this can be subject to change, for example
horror films have moved from the gothic to the
suburban. Genres can also be associated with
time periods like the gangster films set during
prohibition in America but successful films
have updated this.
Iconography: Films contain visual and audio
images, which become instantly recognisable
and associated with the genre. Eg: Gangster
films feature the iconic Tommy gun spraying
bullets in the hands of a man in a sharp suit
usually standing on the running board of a car.

Nick Lacey

GENRE - Laceys Repertoire of

Elements
Style: Iconography refers to the objects but
style describes the way they are presented.
Camera angles, editing, lighting and the use
of colour all contribute to the style of a film.
Now analyse your production work using
Laceys theoretical framework:
What elements can you identify that establish
a particular genre? (Go through the 5 areas)
Are there overlapping/mixed genres?
Is it difficult to categorise your work by genre?
Do you challenge genre conventions?
Nick Lacey

Genre is about repetition

& difference Stephen
Neale

Particular features which are

characteristic of a genre are not
normally unique to it; it is their relative
prominence, combination and functions
which are distinctive (Neale, 1980)
Genres are instances of repetition and
difference (Neale, 1980)
Difference is absolutely essential to the
economy of genre' (Neale, 1980) - Mere
repetition would not attract an
audience.
Now apply this to your own work - What
elements can be seen as repetition of
genre conventions and what can be seen

Stephen Neale

as a Cultural Phenomenon
Media is not content, and not tools for communication, but media
meditates human relationships; when media changes, human
relationships change Michael Wesch

Michael Wesch
Michael Wesch is a cultural anthropologist exploring the effects of new media on society and culture.
An anthropologist is a person with an extensive knowledge of anthropology, who uses this knowledge
in their work, typically to solve problems specific to humanity
Wesch says YouTube is a social space built around video communication that is searchable,
taggable and mashable. It is a space where identities, values and ideas are produced, reproduced,
challenged and negotiated in new ways.

The
Phenomenon

Wesch states social media is not controlled by the few, not one way, and has the potential to
transform social action, online communities are changing this age.
Wesch and his students got online and started trying to understand the YouTube phenomenon.
Its a community created through webcams and screens he shows us a young woman talking
to a webcam explaining that shes talking to the cam, not to you she doesnt know who you
are. Its awkward to talk to an unknown audience Wesch shows us his own awkwardness
talking to the camera. One student points to the camera and says, it would be so much better if
this thing blinked and smiled.
Some find it uncomfortable and awkward but for others, it can lead towards a freedom to have
new kinds of conversations. Sometimes this distance allows us to connect more deeply than
ever before Wesch tells us that the camera allows people to confess things to the camera that
they wouldnt say to their close friends. We see this creating new forms of community and of
social understanding

 The guy in the video goes by the

name One Man, and we see a
Anofexample
of a city
video
him walking around
carrying a what
Free Hugs
sign. Not
hes
only do people give him hugs,
talking
others
take upabout..
the sign and start
hugging. There have now been
thousands of these events held
around the world its an example
of how new media can facilitate
collective action
http://youtu.be/vr3x_RRJdd4

 https://www.youtube.com/w
atch?v=TPAO-lZ4_hU
In this 55 minute
presentation Michael Wesch
talks about YouTube being
apart of everyday culture
and community as its a way
for everyone to share ideas
and connect with another.
the web is not just about
information, its about
linking people, linking
people in ways they have
never been linked before
and in ways we cant even
predict because its always
changing..

An
Anthropologic
al introduction
to YouTube by
Michael Wesch

 http://krex.k-state.edu/dsp
ace/handle/2097/6302
New media not only
introduce new ways for us
to express ourselves, but
also new forms of selfawarenessnew ways to
reflect on who we are and
how we relate to
others. This article analyzes
the experiences of selfawareness generated by
creating, viewing, and
responding to deeply
personal, unaddressed vlogs
on YouTube.

YouTube and
You an
article by
Wesch

How relevant is this theory to

the post-digital revolution era?

YouTube by itself is a social phenomenon, it is more consistent than any other websites
and this is because due to the vast contributions by normal citizens, giving birth to an
era where domains were fuelled by dominantly user-generated content.
Those videos can even become breaking news or even create a whole new culture.
Youtubers around the world and even our local people have made user generated
content that are easily accessible and can even become more aspiring to others. By
doing so, ordinary people are able to upload videos to share their passion, creativity,
opinions, ideology, philosophy, interests, and many other more. In this digital age, more
and more youths are born that realize the potential of social media and one such as
YouTube has been taken advantage to used to create a whole new culture.

More views on if YouTube is a Cultural

Phenomenon...
What started as a site for bedroom vloggers and viral videos has evolved into a global
platform that supports HD and 3D, broadcasts entire sports seasons live to 200+ countries.
We bring feature films from Hollywood studios and independent filmmakers to far-flung
audiences. Activists document social unrest seeking to transform societies, and leading civic
and political figures stream interviews to the world. YouTube Blog
YouTube is a cultural phenomenon: one of a new wave of websites that can rely on their
community of users to create their content. Rushe & Durman The Sunday times
YouTube is the world's most popular online video site, with users watching 4 billion hours
worth of video each month, and uploading 72 hours worth of video every minute.
It has had a huge impact on the way we share information as a community, When I was video
taping shows twelve years ago, I would only be asked for copies on the rarest occasions. Now
because of YouTube and tiny, high quality cameras, sharing video is part of the experience of
an event - YouTube, now a cultural phenomenon, streams 2 billion videos every day by Tim
Connellay