Propp's character theory
- Propp analysed 100 folk and fairytales to identify how characters are used to move the narrative forward.
- The emphasis was on looking at characters not as representing real people, but as functions whose role was to move the narrative forward.
Characters
- The villain – struggles against hero.
- The hero – drives narrative.
- The donor – provides hero with magic gift
- The helper.
- The Princess.
- The Princess's father.
- The dispatcher – sends the hero on his way.
- The false hero.
I decided to apply this theory to one of my favourite movies, Lord Of The Rings, to see just how accurate it was.
Lord Of The Rings
- The Villain - Salron
- The hero - Frodo Baggins
- The donor - Gandalf
- The helper - Sam
- The princess - Arwen
- The princess's father - The elf king
- The dispatcher - Gandalf
- The false hero - Aragorn
This shows that Propp's theory does work the majority of the time, across all genres.
Criticisms of Propp's theory
- "He ignores character, tone and mood in his analysis which differentiates one tale from another."
- Levi-Strauss was a main critic as he came from the structuralist approach of seeking meaning in these tales, which Propp does not do.
Propp was a formalist who was trying to uncover the building blocks of folk tales and stories.
Todorov's Basic Narrative Theory
- A state of equilibrium
- Disrupted by an agent of change
- Leads to a process of final resolution
- Return to a new equilibrium
Todorov's Extended Narrative Theory
- Exposition
- Development
- Complication
- Climax
- Resolution
I find these studies useful to an extent, as they fit the conventions of a typical horror movie, however, many films try to play on typical conventions in order to surprise the audience, as well as stick to common conventions. This means the theories do not apply to every horror film, for example, Scream. Scream is a film that tries to break the common narrative of horror movies in order to keep the audience constantly on edge and surprised.
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