In this lesson, we looked at the ‘N’ of M.I.G.R.A.I.N.E which stands for Narrative. Personally, I don’t struggle too much with including this in my analysis but I’m often unsure of how to weave it in throughout. I usually stick to mentioning the narrative techniques at the start, when I’m looking at the film/book as a whole. Since we were recapping, we quickly sped through the key definitions, which I’ll put below, whilst watching a few examples. It was interesting however to learn about some new theorists, and I’ll be going more into depth with that part of the lesson.
Narrative: The way the story is told (e.g. book or film).
Plot: Everything we see that is transpiring on screen, the key events and important information relayed through the scenes.
Story: Everything we can assume happens, even if it is not included in the plot. This often includes things that are unimportant to the plot, like eating or going to the toilet.
Linear Narrative: A chronological timeline (beginning, middle and end).
Non-linear Narrative: A mixed timeline (flash acks and forwards, jumps in time etc.)
Parallel Action: A narrative device that shows two scenes happening at the same time, usually by cross-cutting between them.
Multi-narrative: Separate (often interlinking) narratives that each focus on a different character, place or time.
Restricted Narration: One person’s perspective of the story, which can sometimes be unreliable.
Omniscient Narration: Multiple viewpoints throughout a story, which can be used to add suspense.
Mode of Address: The way in which the audience is addressed, either verbally or visually, such as voice-overs (or perhaps even other methods).
Audience Positioning: Where are placed as an audience, either in terms of location or point of view. This can also be interpreted mentally/emotionally and how this changes throughout.
Open/Closed Structure: A clear, satisfactory ending would be closed but left open, it usually means that there is no final conclusion and left to the interpretation of the viewer.
Narrative Theorists
Propp – Character Types
Vladimir Propp was a Russian folklorist and scholar who analysed the basic structural elements of Russian folk tales and found that certain character types consistently repeated themselves, performing similar functions. He called them character roles or spheres of action because they could also be types of action as well as characters. Not all the characters have to be present for his theory to apply and one character can also occupy multiple roles in the film or play. However, these character types will not fit every film because they are fundamentally built upon folklore. Most modern films have a wider range of film genres and more current views and ideologies, for example, the ‘princess’ is no longer seen as a prize.
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Character Type |
Role within narrative |
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The Hero – |
Leads narrative, usually seeks something such as a quest or tries to solve a mystery. |
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Villain – |
Gets in the hero’s way or tries to disrupt the hero and sabotage the hero’s end goal. |
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Princess – |
This is a prize or reward for the hero, usually in the form of a prince or princess that the hero has been fighting to save from the villain (snow white, sleeping beauty, cinderella). Can possess something the hero and villain are after. |
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Princesses Father – |
Doesn’t necessarily have to be a father however is an authority figure usually of the heroine or hero. |
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Helper – |
The helper helps the hero by offering support, they would often act as a sidekick. |
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Donor – |
The donor can help the hero by providing them with something whether that may be an object, advice, information or special power that would help them complete their quest. |
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Dispatcher – |
The dispatcher teaches and guides the hero and would send them on their way. |
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False Hero – |
A character that falsely assumes the role of a hero. |
Todorov – Formula
Tsvetan Todorov a Franco-Bulgarian philosopher coined the term narratology meaning to look at units of meaning in a text. He proposed that all media texts have a recurring formula:
- Equilibrium: A narrative starts with a state of equilibrium or harmony, for example, a peaceful community getting on with and enjoying life. A firm sense of social order is established.
- Disequilibrium: Into this world of stability comes a force of disequilibrium or disruption; a problem, an evil outsider or an event, that disrupts this stability.
- New equilibrium: By some mechanism, the problem or the evil is removed or the event is restored to new harmony, in the form of a new equilibrium.
Again, this theory can be seen as a little outdated/inaccurate. Most films do not create a world solely for the purpose of disrupting the equilibrium and we most often see multiple dilemmas throughout the story, not just one. These vary from small emotional obstacles to massive world-changing problems and can be mixed together for more realism and drama in the plot. However, there will always be a sense in the film of what life was like before the problem came along and therefore what the characters can return to if they can only sort the problem out.
Strauss – Oppositions
The work of French anthropologist and ethnologist Claude Lévi-Strauss was key in the development of the theories of structuralism and structural anthropology. He looked at narrative structure and themes in texts in terms of binary oppositions (opposite values that reveal the structure of media texts), arguing that all meaning-making, not just narratives, depend on binary oppositions – a conflict between two sides/qualities which are opposites – for example, good vs. evil. He was particularly interested in the deeper meaning (paradigmatic) of themes in a narrative, hence the focus on binary oppositions. Examples of such include:
Barthes – Codes
This is the new theorist that we went over. If we had previously talked about his theory, I must not have understood it in full detail because most of what was said was entirely new to me. Roland Barthes was a French critic, literary theorist and philosopher, who argued that narrative works through a series of codes that are used to control the way in which information is given to the audience. We looked at two of these codes specifically which have great importance to understanding how narrative functions in media texts:
Enigma Code: A narrative device that teases the audience by presenting a puzzle or riddle to be solved. It creates a question which the film “text” will then go on to answer and so is often used in trailers of movies as well as posters. They make the audience wonder, for example, “who murdered the protagonist?”, or “how will they survive the apocalypse?”. This code is used to pique the curiosity and intrigue the viewers, providing narrative suspense with the intention of making them go see the movie.
Action Code: A narrative device that refers to ‘actions’ that are significant to the progression of the story; anything that alters the state of the narrative to give revelations or introduce a new problem. This can be something as simple as a phone ringing.
Narrative Analysis
We were then tasked to choose a film to analyse and apply narrative theories to. Since we were in the stage of solidifying our idea for the brief, I decided to choose a film of some relevance to my chosen direction.
Also known as Dr Seuss’ The Lorax, The Lorax is a 2012 American fantasy comedy film produced by Illumination Entertainment. It is a 3D computer-animated musical and is based on Dr Seuss’ children’s book of the same name, holding key themes of environmentalism, capitalism, human nature, compassion and forgiveness. The narrative choice is what brought this story into the light, since as an animated film, it has grown to be far more known than the storybook, and is an excellent film for teaching children the important message to put the well-being of our home above greed and fame. I chose this film exactly for these themes since I am focusing on communicating a similar idea through my project.
The adaptation builds and expands on the world of the Lorax and Ted, the previously unnamed boy who visits the Once-ler. Ted Wiggins is a 12-year-old who lives in Thneedville, a walled city where all vegetation and plant life is artificial and oxygen is bottled and sold to the polluted city. We essentially see the consequences of the Once-ler, who discovered a lush forest of animals as a young inventor and cut down all of the trees for his production of the knitted article “Thneed”, which lead his business to great heights but also destroyed the planet, leaving the barren, contaminated wasteland in which Thneedville was built. Because of this, the story follows a non-linear narrative, with frequent flashbacks and cross-cutting between different periods of time, constantly bringing our attention to how the Once-lers decisions lead up to the current state of the world and reinforcing the idea that people’s actions can have long-term consequences. It is also the reason for the omniscient narration since with all of the characters, we switch from different povs frequently. This method allows us to see each character’s motives, emotions and how they change throughout the film, making them both relatable and more human.
Experiencing something in someone’s shoes for a while can really resonate with the audience, and in the Lorax, this is used both positively and negatively. As the plot progresses, we find ourselves sympathising, hoping for and rooting, temporarily hating and worrying about the characters, and we are ultimately put face to face with the parts of their personalities that we see in ourselves, especially effective when trying to enforce a message about the environment when guilt is a key tool. Another key effect in using multiple viewpoints is that there is an underlying tension that is built upon as we come to certain realizations with the characters. We follow and learn about the story through them and alongside them, bringing us closer to them as an audience, which as we’ve learned is a double-sided coin in this film, causing greater self-reflection. This is an excellent use of the Action Code, one of the five codes introduced by Barthes, that refers to actions that alter the main narrative, such as when Ted ventured outside of the city, leading to the discovery of the Once-ler and the story that lead behind the world he was born in, and consequently what he would do to change it.
Because this is an animated film with a relatively young target audience, we have a lot of very distinct characters, with one or multiple clear character roles that fit well into Vladimir Propp’s character theory, based on folklore and fairytales.
Firstly we have Ted who listens to the Once-lers story and realises the change that has to be made. Even though he doesn’t do a substantial amount for a good portion of the film, he is the most important character since he is chosen to change his world and goes on a quest filled with danger and obstacles to do so. For this reason, I believe he is the hero of the film.
Next, we have Aloysius O’Hare or just O’Hare as he is known throughout the film. He, like the Once-ler, has an eye for business with a key difference, however: his insatiable greed and lack of remorse. We see this throughout the film with his continuous attempts to stop Ted from planting the seed, especially at the end, when given a chance to redeem himself, he refused, opting instead to let the trees die out completely. His selfish agenda, attachment to money, power and control, and generally unpleasant behaviour clearly spell him out to be the villain of the story.
Our next character is Audrey, a young girl that lives in Thneedville that Ted likes and admires greatly. She is also one of the main motivations behind his call to action since her love of all things natural make him want to plant a tree for her and restore the forests that she longs to see. At the end of the film, she also helps Ted immensely on his journey to plant the seed, both emotionally and otherwise, fighting the bad guys and taking Ted’s side in a most crucial moment, which makes her a good fit for the role of Helper. However, we cannot ignore the conventions that point to the Princess role either – a stereotypical pretty girl that is the romantic interest of the hero and doesn’t partake in his adventures as prominently as a sidekick would.
Finally, we have the extremely important characters of the Once-ler and the Lorax. The Once-er, was responsible for the collapse of the natural world but also for its rebirth. He and the Lorax meet when he chops down a tree in the forest that he discovered. The Lorax tries to warn him of the consequences of his actions, but he would not listen, too blinded by his business booming, and the success making his family proud of him. He can be seen as the false hero, having been on a journey of his own that ended badly, and also having that materialistic, ‘evil’ streak inside of him that false heroes tend to have. However, he also fits the role of doner and dispatcher because of his aid in Ted’s escapades. The Once-ler provided Ted with the last seed and through this and the telling of his story sent him on his quest to bring back what was lost. He and the Lorax are seen together a lot, making us think of hero and sidekick, but ultimately, The Lorax is an advocate to the trees and his purpose is not to be a friend to humanity, but a teacher. We see him continuously try to prevent the Once-ler from destroying the forest, and eventually leaving when the damage could not be undone, making a greater impact on the Once-ler, who was incredibly remorseful after realising what he had done. I believe he bests fits the role of helper or dispatcher, through his guidance and support, even if those things were relayed in a negative way (through his departure).
