Tzvetan Todorov
Tzvetan Todorov developed the theory disrupted equilibrium. he identified similar to Vladimir Propp that stpries follow a typical pattern, this one through these steps:
-Equilibrium - the 'status quo' where things are as they should be.
-Disequilibrium - the status quo is distrupted by an event.
-Equilibrium - it is resorted at the end of the story by the actions of the hero.
An Example...
In a Horror film, the equilibrium would be that everything is running smoothly, the disequilibrium would be that there has been a murder and an investigation is needed, and the final equilibrium would be that they find the murderer and put them in prison. There can be a number of moments in the plot where the resolution of equilibrium takes place, like this example, when peices of a detective puzzle falls into place.
This theory is extremely clever, it acts as a circle and can be repeated over and over again, as it does in a number of films; there isn't an end to it. The theory is used in hundreds of films and television series and is as if we can estimate the plot outline before we have even seen the film!
Later on Todorov then developed this idea into a 5 staged pattern.
1. A state of equilibrium at the outset
2. A disruption of the equilibrium by some action
3. An attempt to regain the disruption
4. A reinstatement of the equilibrium
5. A reinstatement of the equilibrium
Roland Barthes
Roland Barthes was a French Literay theorist, and believes that there are 5 action codes that enable an audience to make sense and understand the narrative. His work extended over many fields resulting in influencing the development of many schools of theory, including structualism, semiotics, existentialism, social theory, marxism and post -structualism, through critisism he recieved.
His work has become very succesful today, his many works remains valuable sources of insight and tools for the analysis of meaning in any given manmade representation.
1. Hermeneutic (narrative turning points)-We know where the story will go next.
2. Proairetic (basic narrative actions) -eg; detective interviews suspect or femme fatale, seduces hero ( se Vladimir Propp's functions).
3. Cultural (prior social knowlegde) - eg; Our attitudes to gender or racial steriotypes.
4. Semic (medium related codes)-Intersexually
5. Symbolic (themes)-Iconography or a theme such as 'image verses reality' (Curtis Hanson).
Claude Levi- Strauss
Claude Levi-Strauss had the most important insight that the way we understand certain words doesnt simply depend on the meaning of the word but the way in which we percieve it, and the difference between the word and the 'opposite', or as Strauss calls it, the 'binary opposite'.
Strauss is most important for his theory of Binary Oppositions, in order to find those oppositions is what he was least interested in.
Syntagmatic relations is how events line up in the narrative structure to develop the plot, next paradigmatic relations, those events and features that belong to the theme of the piece, expecially genre based texts.
He used the 'western' film genre to develop his theory of Binary Opposition and develop his ideas further allowing the publics further understanding.
An example of this is listed below.
Homesteades/Native Americans
Christian/Pagan
Domestic/Savage
Weak/Strong
Garden/Wilderness
Inside society/Outside society
Strauss noticed another important feature of Binary Opposites; that one side of the binary pair is always seen as a particular society or culture attributes to such words than any meaning the words themselves may actually contain. This helpes us discover and undertsand the different layers of meaning being created, shaped and reinforced by the sense of Binary Oppositions.
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