Narrative

OPEN – questions remain unanswered eg. a cliffhanger, the end of the first part of a serial.

CLOSED – all questions are answered, e.g. a magazine

LINEAR – the narrative is in order, it makes sense.

NON-LINEAR/FRACTURED – out of order e.g a film trailer or use of flashbacks

SINGLE STRANDED – one storyline in the media text

MULTI-STRANDED – several storylines weaving into an overall narrative eg. Soap operas

Roland Barthes—narrative codes

This French critic devised five different narrative codes that we can use when analysing media products:

Action code:

The audience will recognise an action code in a media text as it is used to indicate what is the next logical step. It advances the narrative eg the buckling of a gun belt in a Western film signifies the start of a gun fight.

Look at the following…. What do you think they indicate?

Packing of a suitcase?

Starting of a car engine?

Whistle of approaching train?

Flashing lights?

Mystery Code or Enigma code:

This code is used to explain the narrative by controlling what and how much information is given to the audience. It grabs the audience’s interest and attention by setting up an enigma or problem that is resolved during the course of the narrative. Eg, someone’s murderous hand in the opening sequence – who does it belong to?

The Semic Code

Basically, this code is all about signs and meanings in a text that tell us about its narrative and characters. Eg, in a horror film, the supernatural would be signified by the fear of light/garlic, an increase in body hair etc.

The Cultural Code

This code is used in order for the narrative to make sense to a culturally and socially aware audience. It makes reference to elements from the real world that the audience will recognise, eg Aston Martins and Martinis in James Bond films.

Code of Oppositions

This code refers to a narrative that relies on binary opposites, eg, black v white, hot v cold, male v female, nature v civilisation, war v peace etc.

Claude Levi-Strauss (1970)—binary opposites

Alike to Barthes, theorist Levi-Strauss (the man, not the jeans) also worked with the idea that there are binary opposites within media texts. He studied the myths of tribal cultures and discovered how there were underlying themes in these myths, such as darkness v light, good v evil. In media we look at his work to find out the underlying themes and symbolic oppositions in media texts. For example men v women, good v evil.

Tzvetan Todorov— Equilibrium and disequilibrium

Todorov looks at the way narratives are structured. He suggested how in many narratives there is a change. The narrative begins with the equilibrium or balance or harmony. But then this is then disrupted by something known as an ‘agent of change’ which brings unbalance to the narrative or unpredictability causing disequilibrium. For the audience to feel that all is well, the equilibrium or balance must be restored.

Vladimir Propp (1968) - Propp’s Morphology

Propp came up with the idea of how fairy stories have certain stages to it. He then applied the same theory to different genres and realised that in many cases it was accurate. Altogether there are 31 stages to Propp’s Morphology, but we can condense it into six stages…

Preparation the scene is set

Complication a problem occurs or some evil takes place

Transference the hero receives help (often a magic object) and goes on his quest

Struggle there is a fight

Return the hero succeeds in his mission

Recognition the villain in punished and the hero is rewarded

You should also be familiar with Propp's roles of action, which explain a set of characters which are common to any story.