Narrative

1) Give an example from film or television that uses Todorov's narrative structure of equilibrium, disequilibrium and new equilibrium. 
Answer) A movie that follows Todorov's narrative structure of equilibrium would be The Avengers. The world is in relative peace (equilibrium), Loki's appearance is the disequilibrium in the movie, he causes that peace to go and creates fear and stress. The ending where loki is defeated is the new equilibrium, although there is peace, the world is changed along with the heroes mentality. 

2) Complete the activity on page 1 of the Factsheet: find a clip on YouTube of the opening of a new TV drama series (season 1, episode 1). Embed the clip in your blog and write an analysis of the narrative markers that help establish setting, character and plot.
Answer) The opening begins with a police car driving down a very long road surrounded by greenery, this is a geographical marker that shows the viewer that the scene takes place in a country side due to the fact that not only are these kind of woods and greenery not common in cities, but the wide winding roads are also very uncommon in cities. It is quite apparent that the setting takes place during the day, this is a temporal marker.Due to the modern cars, the opening shows the viewers that the tv show is set during modern time, around 2010, this is a historical marker. There are a few reasons why the audience knows that the main character is a police man (Character Marker). The main hint would be the dressing of the main character during the opening clearly shows that he has a police background, another hint would be the fact that the main character arrives in the scene in a police car also gives a hint that the main character might be police officer or at least has a police background. Later on in the opening the main character talks to a little girl, during his dialogue he mentions the fact that he is a police officer, again showing the audience that he is a police officer. The scene contains only two characters, this shows the viewer that the world is deserted or abandoned, the addition of the countless abandoned cars along with the cars that are burnt, again supports the idea that world has been destroyed or deserted. When the main characters (Rick Grimes) finds the little girl, it is made apparent that the tv show is going to be scary in nature since half of the girls face is ripped off (This is a generic marker). 

3) Provide three different examples from film or television of characters that fit Propp's hero character role.

Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring:

• The hero: Frodo 
• The villain: Sauron 
• The donor: Gandalf
• The dispatcher: Gandalf 
• The helper(s): The fellowship 
• The princess: Frodo (he needs saving and protection from the main villain throughout the movie)
• The father: Peace to the world.

The Avengers:

• The hero: The Avengers
• The villain: Loki
• The donor: S.H.I.E.L.D.
• The dispatcher: Nick Fury
• The helpers: S.H.I.E.L.D
• The princess: New York 
• The father: The worlds safety 

StarWars 

• The hero: Luke Skywalker
• The Villain: The empire
• The donor: Obi Wan Kenobe 
• The dispatcher: Leia 
• The helpers: Han solo, R2-D2, C-3P0, Chewbaka
• The princess: Leia 
• The Father: Saving the universe.

4) Give an example of a binary opposition.
One example of a binary opposition would be almost every superhero movie, a basic convention of the genre is once side (good) and another side (evil) battling it out. One specific example would be spider-man: Homecoming.

5) What example is provided in the Factsheet for the way narratives can emphasise dominant ideologies and values?
The Factsheet uses the examples of a police officer catching a criminal, this emphasizes the ideology of law and order. Another Ideology that was displayed in the factsheet was heterosexuality and how traditional rom-coms/Romantic movies further reinforced those ideologies.

6) Why do enigma and action codes (Barthes) offer gratifications for audiences?  
Enigma and action codes offer gratification for the audience since the codes lead up to the climax of the text, the climax is generally where the audience feels the most excitement, stressed and are at an emotional high spot. The text will then get to the resolution of text, answering a lot of the audiences questions. The codes create questions for the audience that they wait to be answered later on in the text.


7) Write a one-sentence summary of the four different types of TV narrative:

• Episodic narrative (the series)
• Overarching narrative (the serial)
• Mixed narrative
• Multi-strand overlapping narrative (soap narrative)

Answer)

Episodic narrative: Mainly in sit-coms where the narrative arc is resolved at the end of each episode.

Overarching narrative: Mainly in drama tv shows. This is when there may be mini narratives within the episode, but the episodes lead up to a resolution that occurs at the end of each series.

Mixed Narratives: This is a combination of both episodic and overarching narratives.

Multi-strand overlapping narrative: A continuous narrative where throughout the narrative there are multiple stories being told.

8) How does the Factsheet suggest adverts use narrative?  

The factsheet says that idea of problem and resolution is vital, when a problem arises, the advertise then almost immediately offers the solution to create a quick resolution