Media Theories
Narrative Theory
Tzvetan Todorov’s narrative theory Todorov studied Russian folklore and got to the point
where he was able to generalise the development of the
plot within the story.
He thought that narratives have a chronological quality
of the plot
1. Equilibrium
(present at the start of the narrative. Not exactly a
‘good’ state of affairs but its a stable starting point)
2. Disruption
(a jolt to the narrative, gives the story a sense of
movement)
3. Recognition
(someone realises things have gone wrong. Sets the
scene for the next stage)
4. Attempt to repair
(can be broken down into a series of narrative segments)
5. New equilibrium
(reached the end of the narrative. There are lessons
learnt, losses and gains. It is not necessarily a
reinstatement of the original equilibrium)
Claude Levi-Strauss theory of binary All media products have an underlying structure, and
opposition knowledge of this structure helps us to analyse them.
Levi-Strauss claims one of the fundamental ways that we
make sense of not only media products but our lives in
general is through the idea of binary oppositions. As
such, the stories we tell in all societies are heavily driven
by opposite qualities and characters.
eg.
villain vs hero
science vs religion
young vs old
male vs female
human vs subhuman
Vladimir Propp’s character theory Propp was inspired by Russian folklore to create his
theory. His character types can be applied to almost any
story.
● one character can engage in more than one
character function
● one character function can be distributed
between various different characters.
The hero
main character that must achieve a goal or overcome a
challenge, usually gets a prize at the end
The dispatcher
, character than makes the villains evil known to the hero
and sends him off
The princess/prize
The hero deserves her after his heroic efforts but
sometimes the prize is not a person it is peace or justice
Her father
gives the hero his prize and usually guards her, could
also aide the hero in their task
The (magical) helper
helps the hero on his quest, gives advice and company
The villain
fights the hero in some way and tries to stop the hero
from achieving their goal
The donor
Prepares the hero in some way by giving them something
- could be an object or some knowledge
The false hero
character that claims to be the hero but isn't. May try to
claim the prize or take credit for the hero's actions
Roland Barthes narrative theory 1. Roland Barthes said there are some key codes in
media texts that work together like a ‘braid’ to construct
a narrative.
The symbolic code
A part of a text that 'stands in' for, or means something
else.
eg. the gold dress Nicole Kidman wears in the Chanel
No.5 advert symbolizes wealth, luxury, glamour and even
power.
The semantic code
elements of a media test that connotes a hidden
meaning in the plot
eg. a picture of someone hugging a book connotes that
they love that book
The action/proairetic code
elements of a media text that signify something is going
to happen as a result, therefore building tension
eg. a picture of someone pulling out a gun may signify
that at some point there might be a gun fight
The enigma/hermeneutic code
elements that are not fully explained and so create
mystery, encouraging a reader to delve deeper
The cultural/referential code
elements of a media text that particularly appeals to
people from a certain social group or demographic
eg. could be a work of art or a piece of fiction
2. Barthes studied the relationship between the
Narrative Theory
Tzvetan Todorov’s narrative theory Todorov studied Russian folklore and got to the point
where he was able to generalise the development of the
plot within the story.
He thought that narratives have a chronological quality
of the plot
1. Equilibrium
(present at the start of the narrative. Not exactly a
‘good’ state of affairs but its a stable starting point)
2. Disruption
(a jolt to the narrative, gives the story a sense of
movement)
3. Recognition
(someone realises things have gone wrong. Sets the
scene for the next stage)
4. Attempt to repair
(can be broken down into a series of narrative segments)
5. New equilibrium
(reached the end of the narrative. There are lessons
learnt, losses and gains. It is not necessarily a
reinstatement of the original equilibrium)
Claude Levi-Strauss theory of binary All media products have an underlying structure, and
opposition knowledge of this structure helps us to analyse them.
Levi-Strauss claims one of the fundamental ways that we
make sense of not only media products but our lives in
general is through the idea of binary oppositions. As
such, the stories we tell in all societies are heavily driven
by opposite qualities and characters.
eg.
villain vs hero
science vs religion
young vs old
male vs female
human vs subhuman
Vladimir Propp’s character theory Propp was inspired by Russian folklore to create his
theory. His character types can be applied to almost any
story.
● one character can engage in more than one
character function
● one character function can be distributed
between various different characters.
The hero
main character that must achieve a goal or overcome a
challenge, usually gets a prize at the end
The dispatcher
, character than makes the villains evil known to the hero
and sends him off
The princess/prize
The hero deserves her after his heroic efforts but
sometimes the prize is not a person it is peace or justice
Her father
gives the hero his prize and usually guards her, could
also aide the hero in their task
The (magical) helper
helps the hero on his quest, gives advice and company
The villain
fights the hero in some way and tries to stop the hero
from achieving their goal
The donor
Prepares the hero in some way by giving them something
- could be an object or some knowledge
The false hero
character that claims to be the hero but isn't. May try to
claim the prize or take credit for the hero's actions
Roland Barthes narrative theory 1. Roland Barthes said there are some key codes in
media texts that work together like a ‘braid’ to construct
a narrative.
The symbolic code
A part of a text that 'stands in' for, or means something
else.
eg. the gold dress Nicole Kidman wears in the Chanel
No.5 advert symbolizes wealth, luxury, glamour and even
power.
The semantic code
elements of a media test that connotes a hidden
meaning in the plot
eg. a picture of someone hugging a book connotes that
they love that book
The action/proairetic code
elements of a media text that signify something is going
to happen as a result, therefore building tension
eg. a picture of someone pulling out a gun may signify
that at some point there might be a gun fight
The enigma/hermeneutic code
elements that are not fully explained and so create
mystery, encouraging a reader to delve deeper
The cultural/referential code
elements of a media text that particularly appeals to
people from a certain social group or demographic
eg. could be a work of art or a piece of fiction
2. Barthes studied the relationship between the
