Soap Opera Genre –

Propp’s Character RolesPropp’s Narrative Functions

Name: Patrick CollCandidate Number: 1102Center Name: St. Andrew’s Catholic SchoolCenter Number: 64135

OCR Media Studies – A2 Level

Unit G324: Advanced Portfolio

EastEnders Death of Lucy Beale Trailer

• In this trailer the antagonist/villain (Propp’s Character Roles) represented is the son of Lucy Beale who is heavily featured in the trailer following a dark, non-diegetic, direct soundtrack. There is additionally a scene featured towards the end of the trailer which shows the antagonist in conflict with his mother who is presumably representative of the hero in this trailer creating a ‘struggle’ (Propp’s narrative functions) scenario. The character is also seen damaging property at the beginning of the trailer and listening in to conversation, which might act as motivation to become the villain in the series. Ironically, the villain (Propp’s Character Roles) is a child which is generally not the case. This anti stereotypical representation is effective in creating a mystery around the character and the series.

• The hero/ victim (Propp’s Character Roles) represented in this trailer is Lucy Beale, the antagonist’s mother. The mother is seen calling her husband for help at the end of the trailer portraying her as weak and vulnerable. Lucy Beale is supposedly murdered by her son in this trailer which is hinted as the son raises a hockey stick to the mother’s head. Lucy Beale could however be seen as the villain in this trailer as she is indirectly responsible for her sons motives to kill her. Her attempt to control her son may be a direct influence to cause her son to want to take his control of his life back. This creates a struggle (Propp’s Narrative Functions) at the end of the trailer where we see the villain and hero in conflict.

• It could be argued that there is two antagonists featured in this trailer one being the man at the beginning of the trailer and the women who locks the ‘hero’s in the hospital. The dark soundtrack utilized at the beginning hints that the man could be the ‘villain’ followed by the non-verbal code ‘Just a few more days and you’ll get what you want’ which acts as a threat towards the ‘heroes’. The female antagonist however locks the ‘heroes’ in a hospital, which is stopping them doing what’s right creating a ‘struggle’ (Propp’s narrative functions) scenario.

Hollyoaks Trailer

• In the sequence, a ‘wedding’ (Propp’s narrative functions) takes place between two characters however there is a dispute between who the bride should marry. This conflict involves a protagonist and antagonist where a baby ends up being kidnapped by the ‘villain’ (Propp’s Character Roles). This could be perceived as a difficult task in light of the fact that they need to retrieve the baby from the villain.