Understanding Narratives - Propp, Todorov and Levi-Strauss

Todorov, Propp and Levi-Strauss

Todorov's Theory

Tzvetan Todorov believes that every narrative has the same five stages to it, based around the main character:

1. Equilibrium - here, the main character's life is balanced and normal. There have been no disruptions to the main character's life...yet.
2. Disruption - the main character's life has suddenly been disrupted, shattering their previous equilibrium.
3. Recognition - The main character now begins to realise that their situation has changed - and not for the better.
4. Repair - The main character now sets out to 'right the wrongs' and repair the situation, so that life can be as good as it was originally.
5. New Equilibrium - The main character has worked through the problems and as a result, have gained back their equilibrium. However - they have grown from their experience, and life is now BETTER than it was at the start.

In the best stories, we can identify with the main character's situation.

We are pleased for them when they reach their New Equilibrium because we have all had to this some point in our lives, too.

If your story can make your identify with the main character and want them to improve their life, you have a good story.

An example of Todorov's Theory is Disney's A Bugs Life.

Equilibrium: The ants are happy as they have succeeded in their gruelling task to collect the food for the grasshoppers, and managed to have some to spare.

Disruption: Flick, the clumsy main protagonist, accidentally spills all of the food in the water and it all goes to waste. After all that hard work from the colony and in one move it is wasted. Flick dreads what Hopper will do to the ants.

Recognition: When the grasshoppers come to collect the food they realise that there is nothing there, so Hopper and the others break into the ant hole, frightening the ants and ordering them to collect more, and he will return again to get it. Hopper also gives them the ultimatum that the royal family will suffer if they do not succeed in the task.

Repair: Flick offers to fix his mistake by finding bigger, stronger bugs that can help defend themselves from Hopper and his cronies. The ants believe wholeheartedly that he has no chance in succeeding in his mission, but they let him go purely because he's an inconvenience; Flick actually brings back bugs from the circus but lie and say they are warriors, hoping to reassure them and ease their nerves, and so they come up with a plan to build a large bird to frighten the Grasshoppers.

New Equilibrium: The plan falls through and the truth enrages Hopper, so he wreaks havoc on the colony. However, the circus bugs help fight against the grasshoppers, and a genuine bird comes and eats Hopper, thus leaving the ants with their peaceful, happy ending, Flick the hero and with new friends.

Propp's Character Archetypes 

An archetype is a typical example of a certain type of person.

Vladimir Propp believes that the same essential types of characters exists in ALL stories:

• The HERO - this is the main character whom the audience will recognise as the key person in the story. This character is usually good, who we want to see succeed.
• The VILLAIN - this character is the opposite to the Hero and is often there to create the disruption (linking to Todorov) in the story. This character is usually bad; this can sometimes be a situation rather than a character.
• The FALSE HERO - this character PRETENDS to support the main character in the story, and generally the audience will be aware of this. However, the main character does not (dramatic irony). Sometimes this character also turns out to be the main villain.

Character Theory 2:

• The HELPER - the main character usually has a companion who helps the main character, gives advice and supports them throughout their journey.
• The DONOR - this character is similar to the role of the Helper. The character will give the main character something which helps repair (links to Todorov) the problem in the story.
• The PRINCESS - this character can be the reward for the Hero or the person whom the Hero and False Hero are in competition for. Just as with the Villain, this could also be a situation rather than an actual person.

For example, in Batman Begins, the list of characters are as followed:

• Hero - Bruce Wayne ~(Batman) - 
• Villain - The Scarecrow
• False Hero - Henry Ducard
• Helper - Alfred Pennyworth
• Donor - Lucious Fox
• Princess - Rachel Dawes

Claude Levi Strauss - Binary Opposition

Binary Oppositions offer powerful levels of meaning within a text and can summarise a theme of a film. Levi-Strauss highlights that several oppositions can be present in a media text.

For example:

• Man Vs Machine
• Good Vs Evil
• Male Vs Female
• Humanity Vs Technology
• Nature Vs Industrialisation
• East Vs West - (we see this in Deutschland 83 between the conflicts of East and West Germany)
• Dark Vs Light
• Dirty Vs Clean

Jacques Derrida took Barthes' and Levi-Strauss' ideas a stage further by recognising that these 'binary pairs' were never equal in a text, i.e, masculinity/femininity. One was always more valued than the other dependent on genre - often enforcing stereotypes and dominant cultural ideas,

One example of a binary opposition in Stranger Things is young vs old. This crafts a conflict between central characters such as Jim Hopper and Mike Wheeler, both of whom have qualities of a traditional hero. It becomes evident, therefore, that this conflict must be resolved before the main narrative's disruption is resolved.

One example of a binary opposition in Deutschland 83 is capitalism (west) vs communism (east). This historical conflict in ideology underpins the motives of key characters. Ironically, the predominantly western and democratised audience is forced to side with Martin Rauch - an East German operative - adding an extra layer to the complicated relationship between the audience and their loyalties to wider economic ideals and beliefs.

• Which of the three narrative theories is the most effective for understanding long form TV drama?
• I think that Levi-Strauss' binary opposition theory is the most effective as it helps to thicken the plot, further the narrative and craft contrasts and conflicts that engage and interest the audience.
• Which is the least effective and why?
• Propp's character theory is the least effective because it does nothing to contribute to the plot or intrigue the audience; it simply tells us the most likely figures within the media texts. However, this is not to say that every single media text contains each of Propp's alleged characters, for example, a horror movie might only have Villains and Heroes and possibly a false Hero, and no princess/donor/helper.