Narrative

This task was to apply what narrative is and narrative theories to openings of movies.


Narrative is the retelling of something that has happened. The narrative is not the story itself, but how the story is told.

                                                                    Narrative Theories

Barthes
1. Action Code
2. Enigma Code
3. Semiotics Code

Aristole
All stories have a beginning, middle and an end.

Todorov
Narrative has five stages -
1. Equilibrium stage (state of normality)
2. Disruption of equilibrium
3. The main protagonist recognises that the equilibrium has changed.
4. Reformation of equilibrium
5. New equilibrium

Propp
All narratives has certain types of characters -
1. Hero
2. Villain
3. Donor
4. Dispatcher
5. The False Hero
6. The Helper
7. The Princess
8. The Princess's Father

Levi-Strauss
All narratives use 'Binary Opposites'. E.g. -
1. Good and Evil
2. Old and Young
3. Black and White
4. Masculine and Feminine
5. Heterosexual and Homosexual
6. Poor and Wealthy




In the married life scene in 'Up' there many signs and symbols. For example, their handprints on the letterbox represent unity.
An example of how the narrative is moved along in the scene are when the couple are looking at the clouds. They see the clouds in the shape of babies and this makes the couple realise they want baby and this moves them on to the next stage.
A key theme in the scene is the obstacles that the couple faces. For example, the couple want to move but do not have enough money and they want a baby but are unable to get pregnant.
There are also binary opposites in the scene because the woman is outgoing and her husband is much calmer.




Bathes theory of semiotics can be applied here because of the hats first seen in the opening. The hats could be symbolism for magicians or could be hinting at the time period that the film is set in. Lightning is also used which could be used to hint at danger and the unpredictability of some of the magic tricks.
His theories of enigma can be applied to the opening because the audience is left asking many questions - Why are there hats on the floor? Who put them there? Does the man in the tank escape? How does he escape? Who is he? Was the man falling in the tank an accident or did someone put it there deliberately? Who is the little girl? Who is the man showing her the magic trick?
Examples of the action code are - the man squashing the birdcage, the man stepping into the electricity bolts and the man getting locked in the water tank.
In the opening the young girl is meant to represent the audience as she watches the older man perform a magic trick innocently. She is unaware of how the trick is performed and that the bird dies when the cage is destroyed. The bird therefore represents the victim in the man's magic trick and the man in the water tank represents the victim in the parallel one.
The two magic tricks being shown in parallel are binary opposites- the old mans trick seems calm, innocent and safe (despite the bird dying) but the other trick seems to be chaotic and tense. Another binary opposite seen in this opening is the ages of the two characters in the bird trick scene, there is a very young girl and an old man.