blog 2: Media theorists and theories

Media Theorists and  Theories

Barthes – Enigma Codes
Levi Strauss – Binary Opposites
Traditional Hollywood Narrative Structure – 3 Acts (linear)
Todorov – narrative theory – 5 stages
Propp – Character Types.

Traditional Hollywood Narrative Structure.

Three Act Structure = the typical Hollywood narrative = set up (25% time) /confrontation (50%) /climax (Final 25% of film time)
Linear (chronological), few, if any, sub-plots, tendency towards closure at end of film.

Barthes Enigma Codes

Enigma (mystery).
Roland Barthes: all texts are ‘complex’ bundles of meaning.
Enigma codes (problems introduced) – usually in ‘disruption’ stage.
Open – not resolved at end
Closed texts – resolved at end
 Polysemic texts – lots of different meanings

Levi Strauss Binary Opposition

He said narratives can be organised through binary opposition -  two things opposed – often dominant vs subordinate - e.g. male/female, hero/villain

Todorov's Narrative Theory

In 1969 Todorov produced a theory which he believed to be able to be applied to any film.
Todorov  believed that all films followed the same narrative pattern through various stages.
Todorov – the 5 Stages
There are five stages the narrative can progress through:
1. A state of equilibrium (All is as it should be.)
2. A disruption of that order by an event.
3. A recognition that the disorder has occurred.
4. An attempt to repair the damage of the disruption.
5. A return or restoration of a NEW equilibrium

Vladimir Propp

Vladimir Propp – character types – analysed traditional folk stories – 8 key character roles
 Hero/Villain/Helper/Donor(Provider)/Father/Dispatcher/Princess/
  False Hero -  N.B. one character can perform more than one role
 

Representation of Women in Film

The male gaze = women viewed as the objects of male erotic desire – in film and audience
 men active / women passive.
Women do not  have agency – they do not move the plot forward.
The audience is forced to identify with male gaze.
Cinema reflects patriarchal (male dominated) society
Patriarchy and phallocentrism linked – phallus (penis) a symbol of power – e.g. in cinema guns = phallus = power.