Narrative theories

There are four main structure that a film can have which are linear: a story that has a beginning, middle and ending; open structure: which is when the audience wonder what happens next to make sense of it themselves; closed structure: which has a definite ending and a clear conclusion for the audience; circular structure which has the beginning and ending events in the same place. There are four main theorists called Propp, Barthes, Todorov and Levi Strouss.

Propp's theory of narrative was it is driven by the characters using a set of narrative functions: a hero, a villain, a princess, a father, a dispatcher, a donor, a sidekick and a false hero. Functions - the victim fooled by a villain, the false hero gets exposed and the hero saves the day. Propps theory applies to most films especially action films as they include most of these characters.

Barthes theory of narrative was that it is a series of codes which include: the action code which is literal, enigma code which is hidden, semic code which is recognised by connotations, symbolic code which is abstract concept and the referential code which is cultural understanding.

Todorov theory describes narrative as going from equilibrium to disequilibrium back to an altered equilibrium.

This image illustrates Todorov's theory of narrative.

Levi Strauss theory on narrative was that it is created by constant conflict of binary opposites. For example, 

• love and hate
• light and dark
• peace and war
• black and white
• young and old
• man and woman
• strong and weak
• rich and poor
• control and panic 
• mankind and aliens