Narrative: blog task

 

Read Media Factsheet 14 - Telling Stories: The Media's Use of Narrative and answer the following questions:

1) Give an example from film or television that uses Todorov's narrative structure of equilibrium, disequilibrium and new equilibrium. 
The movie Shrek follows this structure.

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.

In this clip from killing eve, we’re introduced to a woman eating alone in an ice cream shop in Vienna. She appears to shyly smile at a child, however the child stares back with a blank expression. We then see the child grin at the shop. worker who smiles widely with teeth. The woman imitates the man and the child smiles back. The woman is presented as a sociopath/psychopath as we see her shove the ice cream on the little girls shirt. The little girl is presented as innocent and a typical person wouldn't hold a grudge towards a child, yet the woman does as she’s irritated by the child’s initial attitude.

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

Princess, Fiona

Villain, Lord Farquad

The helper, Donkey

The father , the king

Pretty woman

Hero, Edward

Princess, Vivian

Villain, Eds friend Phillip

Wolf of Wall street

Hero/villain jordan

Princess naomi

Sidekick donnie

4) Give an example of a binary opposition.

Voldemort and Harry Potter, they have direct conflict and actively fight against eachother throughout the series.

5) What example is provided in the Factsheet for the way narratives can emphasise dominant ideologies and values?

Episodic narrative - Good for casual viewer and the disruption is fixed within an episode 

Overarching narrative - A story line that progresses through multiple episodes or multiple series 

Mixed narrative - from the perspective of multiple people

Multi strand overlapping narrative -it has multiple narratives happening all at once with different characters

6) Why do enigma and action codes (Barthes) offer gratifications for audiences?

Enigma codes create questions in media and draw and maintain the audience’s attention as they are intrigued to find the answers to their questions. Action codes promise action and drama which grab the attention of the audience and makes it interesting and makes them feel tense and involved.

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

• Episodic narrative (the series)… An episodic narrative is a series with recurring characters where each episode resolves its own plot, allowing viewers to watch in any order, which benefits casual and loyal viewers
• Overarching narrative (the serial)… An overarching narrative, or serial, spans multiple episodes without resolution until the end, often using cliffhangers to keep viewers engaged, requiring them to watch episodes in sequence
• Mixed narrative…A mixed narrative combines episodic and overarching elements, allowing individual episodes to resolve smaller conflicts while maintaining longer story arcs
• Multi-strand overlapping narrative (soap narrative)….A multi-strand overlapping narrative, commonly used in soap operas, involves multiple ongoing storylines with different characters, tones, and durations, where some stories resolve while others continue, maintaining audience interest through a broad appeal and frequent cliffhangers.
  
  

8) How does the Factsheet suggest adverts use narrative?  

Adverts show that a problem can be solved through using their product.