Unit 6- Narrative Theory
Task 3- Individually Be able to develop responses to media products
Narrative Theory
Narrative theory is the theory of telling a story through narrative. This can be done in many different ways such as documentary, characters, action in dramas and also role plays. Narrative can be portrayed in many differing ways through whatever genre is being represented. An example of this would be romance. A character in a romantic drama would most likely loved up and the music used would stereotypically be romantic music. Another example of narrative would be voice overs. Voice overs example certain situations in a drama that may be hard to understand without one. So narrating over a story for the audience can be vital for a story teller message.Theorists-
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Todorov- Todorov (March 1, 1939- February 7, 2017) was a Bulgarian Literary theorist who believed that most narratives start with equilibrium which means life is normal and the protagonists are happy, he also believed that within film making the protagonists life is disrupted by something or someone that wants to make the story bad. An example of this would be any super hero movie. Super hero movies such as Batman have the man protagonist being Batman and then an enemy which wants to end the world such as Bane. Todorov also states that within the story the main protagonist should always come out winning this is because the audience would be upset on the outcome and may not want to watch again..jpg)
Vladimir Propp- Vladimir Propp (17 April 1895-22 August 1970) was a Russian critic and literary theorist who proposed ways of characters in eight different types of 'spheres of action'. Below is a transcript which shows what the 'spheres of action' mean. Transcript of Vladimir Propp - Spheres of action
The Villain
Known to scrptwriters as the antagonist because he seeks to stop what the Hero want to do.
Known as the protagonist who has to fulfill his destiny in the story. this may be a quest for fame and fortune.
The Hero
The character who provides a special device so that the hero can fulfill his mission.
The Donor
Known to scrptwriters as the antagonist because he seeks to stop what the Hero want to do.
Known as the protagonist who has to fulfill his destiny in the story. this may be a quest for fame and fortune.
The Hero
The character who provides a special device so that the hero can fulfill his mission.
The Donor
The hero has to have a side-kick who helps the hero in the quest
The Helper
The Princess
Remember that Propp had studied fairy tales so he uses terms that are familiar in traditional stories. The princess is the reward for the hero.
The person who rewards the hero for his achievement and also can provide a moral safeguard for the hero to be measured against.
The Father
The character who sees that something needs to be done and sets up the hero's quest and sends him out into the world to fulfill his task.
The Dispatcher
The character who also lays to claim to the princess but is unsuitable and causes complications.
The False Hero
Vladimir Propp - Spheres Of Action
Vladimir created a theory of Morphology from common folklore based on ways of grouping characters and their actions into eight broad character types or 'Spheres of action'
The Helper
The Princess
Remember that Propp had studied fairy tales so he uses terms that are familiar in traditional stories. The princess is the reward for the hero.
The person who rewards the hero for his achievement and also can provide a moral safeguard for the hero to be measured against.
The Father
The character who sees that something needs to be done and sets up the hero's quest and sends him out into the world to fulfill his task.
The Dispatcher
The character who also lays to claim to the princess but is unsuitable and causes complications.
The False Hero
Vladimir Propp - Spheres Of Action
Vladimir created a theory of Morphology from common folklore based on ways of grouping characters and their actions into eight broad character types or 'Spheres of action'
Fairy Liquid Adverts-
1960's:
This advert was designed in a time period which is very different to the one that we live in now. Firstly this is seen from the characters representations in the clip. The only gender represented in the advert is Female. This is for many people including me somewhat sexist and also stereotypical for the time. The 1960s was a time before equal rights and public opinions where very much different than todays. A big factor in the advert would be what the advertisement wants you to think about the product. The product is seen as a clean and friendly which is portrayed perfectly by the Mum and Daughter. Back in the 60s women were known for being housewife's and people who looked after children whilst the Man of the house would go out and work. This would ultimately be the main reason why they have decided to use them. Furthermore another example of Genre characteristics would be that the women states "Fairy liquid keeps my hands soft and smooth". This may be used so women who watch the advert buy the product as a beauty accessory. You would most likely find it very hard to find something like this for a product that is aimed at males for the time period. Another example of this could be in the form of the way the women places the fairy liquid bottle, whenever she uses it and puts it down on the counter its always very elegant. As if she hasn't even used it or put much effort in using it.
The main narrative to this advert is that the product is for Females, this is seen prominently as it only uses Females. Also the advert is produced in a way to show that its family friendly with the addition of a little girl. For its time period I think its hard to call this sexist however looking back on it in modern times its incredibly out dated, as seen in ways however most prominently through the pair cooking and only being in the kitchen.
2015-
Firstly I feel that Fairy have consciously designed the advert in this way so some members of the public don't find it offensive, which in modern times would be understandable. This is prominent as the main gender used is male. Very much unlike the 1960s advert which heavily relied on women in the kitchen and the way that they carried themselves in it. The little boy who appears in the advert is very much like most children his age, playful. This is seen from him waving around the fairly liquid bottle. Another interesting point is the selected audience that the producers have looked for. This can be seen from the child playing with the bottle. Fairy have done this so if children see the advert they can possibly be pulled in and engaged. Very much like many products that include toys. A clear narrative seen in the advert would be the amount of time it takes to finish the bottle. The advert focuses on this in two different ways firstly in a diagram that shows the size of the bottle is a lot bigger than others in the past. And also the child counting down the days until he can take the bottle and use it as rocket. In fact the child has to wait over a month for the bottle to run out which shows just how long the bottle can last. However the Advert does show the women washing up and at this time the male is sitting down reading the paper so I'm sure some people would notice that and get upset as it could be seen as sexist.
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