Narrative Theory

Todorov Theory
Todorov believed that they were five stages to tell the story; these are:
1- Equilibrium (a state of balance - everything is normal)
2- Disruption (something happens to unbalance)
3- Recognition (the key characters recognise the problem)
4- Reperation (there is an attempt to repair the problem)
5- New Equilibrium (the story has changed, it is new, not as it was at the beginning)


Roland Barthes
Barthes believed that there were five codes that told the story, however only three of these are used in title sequences. The narrative codes are combinations of technical features, that give specific meanings.

Hermeneutic Code (enigma code)
The Hermeneutic code creates questions, it becomes a mystery to the reader. This keeps the audience guessing until the final scene, where closure is then achieved.

Proairetic Code
The Proairetic code builds tension, as it refers to an action that indicates what is going to happen. This gets the audience to try and guess what is going to happen next.

Semantic Code
The Semantic code refers to how pictures or music are used to show a different meaning perhaps, to the ones they are showing.


Levi-Strauss and Binary Oppositions
Levi-Strauss introduced the idea of binary oppositions as a way to think of the meaning in the story.
Examples of binary oppositions found in films are:
good v evil
rich v poor
hero v villain
male v female

You see binary oppositions in individual films and in film genres, for example science fiction films generally contain the opposition 'alien v human', or 'our world v another world'.