Narrative theorists

Roland Barthes• All shots that make up a video are full of action

and enigma codes.• Action codes are all the small things which show

something is about to happen e.g. pouring a glass of water because the person is thirsty.

• Enigma codes are things that happen which makes you ask questions and are the ‘bigger picture’. E.G. What will happen?, Will they stay together?

• Enigma codes help to move the narrative along, and keep the audience engaged

• These codes can be interpreted in different ways dependant on people’s cultures and background.

• He says that you have to think about every little thing that you put in the shot.

Claude Levi Strauss• Strauss declares that most videos

include binary opposites.• Examples of this are Male/female,

Light/Dark, Good/Evil• Jaques Derrida took Barthes’ and

Strauss’ theory and recognised that these ‘binary’ pairs are never equal.

Vladamir Propp

• Propp identified 31 plot elements which he developed into 8 spheres of action narrative theory.

• They are: The villain, The hero, The donor, The helper, The princess, Her father, The dispatcher

Todorov

• Todorov has developed a simple five step narrative which can be used in videos. They are:

• The narrative starts with a state of equilibrium• It then get disrupted• The disruption is recognised• There is an attempt to repair it• The equilibrium is restored

My video

• I think that I can apply several theories to my video.• Firstly, Barthes theory of action and enigma codes can

definitely be applied. One example of an action code is that when he is running away from the amazons he is scared. An example of an Enigma code is, Will he get the girl?

• Secondly Strauss’ theory of Binary opposition can be applied. We have the obvious opposition of the Male and Female, we have Good and Bad. The slightly less obvious ones are the opposition of country(fields) and town(streets).