Narrative Theories Research

A narrative is originally a story that describes a series of events that happened, fictional or no fictional. An example of this would be the phrase 'once upon a time' which immediatly sets the sotry in the past with the use of the word 'once', and with the use of the words 'upon a time' it shows that the story is set in a world other than our own. This is very often used in fairy tales, or childrens stories.
A narrative is important because a strong narrative for a media text such as a film, can make it somewhat more successful at the cinema, as he customers will be engorssed and wanting to see it more than a film with a poorer narrative.
There are 3 different narrative theories that narratives tend to follow. The first is character type, and is as follows:

• The Hero: Leads the narrative and is usually looking to solve something (Puzzle, Problems etc.).
• The Villain: Conflicts with the hero.
• The Heroine: Is usually some sort of prize or reward that the hero receives.
• The Father: An authority figure who offers a reward to the hero for completing their quest.
• The Helper: Helps the hero; often acts as a sidekick.
• The Donor: Gives the hero something; a clue, a piece of information, or object that helps them to complete their quest.
• The Mentor: Teaches and guides the hero.
  

The second one is the binary opposition theory.  Binary Oppositions are a pair of concepts that are complete opposites to each other. An example of this would be good vs evil, powerful vs weak, hero vs villain, men vs women, etc. Binary Oppositions are almost always used to show the good characters and bad characters within the narrative.


The final narrative theory is the Equilibrium theory. The Equilibrium theory is split into three different sections including the equilibrium, the disequilibrium, and the new state equilibrium, which each have their own individual input to the narrative. The Equilibrium is the start of the story and is normally the main character living their life as it is normally. The Disequilibrium is something that drastically changes the characters normal everyday life and they have to overcome this. And finally the New State Equilibrium is the change in the characters life and how they have be changed in some way. 


In my opinion the most important narrative theory to use for a film opening, is the Equilibrium theory, as it not only helps to set up a strong and reliable narrative plot, but it can also ensure that the narrative will be interesting and appeal to audiences.


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