Narrative Theory

OCR will expect candidates to be able to utilise narrative theory with regard to coursework/films/media texts and productions.

Story: the story of cinderella is....
Narrative: order the story is told but also the style it uses and representations.

Fims with different narrative structures: Pulp Fiction, loop narrative; Donnie Darko; Loop Narrative; Slum Dog Millionaire; Love actually, parrelel and convergent narrative.

Why do we have different narrative structures and styles?

Part of the human condition is that we don;t dream or remember or imagine events (real or not) in linear order.
The human mind needs narrative to make sense of things
in everything we seek a beginning, a middle and an end.
we nunderstand and construct meaning using our experience of reality and of previous texts. Eachtext becomes part of the previous and the next to through relationship with the audience.
Narratives do not take place in real time but many telescope out i.e a slow motion replay of a goal.

BARTHES CODE;
What he nasically says is that a text is like a tangled ball of threads which needs unravelling. So we seperate out the colours. Once we start to unravel texct, we encounter an absolute plurality of potential meaning. We can start by looking at a narrative in one way, from one viewpoint, bringing to bear one set of previous experience, and create one meaning for that text.
Audiences bring diffferent psychological and socialogical/cultural baggae to text. Conttext and where you view a text is important.

TODOROV's Theory;
Equilibrium - Disequilibrium - Equilibrium
High Plains Drifters

PROPP's Theory;
Influenced by fairy tales. The characters have a specific function; applies to action/adventure films predominantly.

CLAUDE LEVI_STRAUSE;
Constant creation of conflict/opposition propels narrative. Narrative can only end on a resolution of conflict. Opposition can be visual (love/hate, Control/panic), and to do with soundtrack. Binary Opposites.