Narrative St

Narrative studies

Linear narrative

• Clear beginning, middle and end
• They follow a chronological time frame
• Action A leads to action B which leads to action C etc.

Fragmented Narrative - stranger things

• Fragmented narratives are also called non-linear, disrupted or disjointed narratives.
• They do not have a clear beginning, middle and end.
• Events or actions may be shown out of chronological order and not in the order they would naturally occur in, so C might happen before A for example.
• It is a narrative technique that can help to show parallel stories, a story within a story, dreams and so on within the same episode or serial.
• They are seen to more closely replicate the way the human mind works.

Enigma codes - Roland Barthes

• Planting questions in an episode
• Man in elevator is killed
• When we meet Eleven, where does she come from
• Social worker shooting,
• Will Nancy get with Jonathan

The events unfold in a chronological order but with a fragmented narrative due to the flashbacks

Dramatic Irony

Omnipresent Narrative

• A panoramic, all seeing, view of the world of the story, not just one characters point of view
•  Provides the point of view of many characters and their experience and feelings within the story
• Helps the audience see a broader background to the story from a number of contexts.

Closed endings

Open endings

• Cliff hanger
• Story-telling technique
• Continue watching
• Lftd shows continuation of story

Academic ideas about narrative

TODOROV: Equilibrium Theory

• Traditional narratives follow a 3 part structure of beginning middle and end which unfolds in a narrative arc of 4 phases:
•      1. Exposition 2. Introduction of conflict 3. Climax 4. Resolution
• The narrative is usually a chronological and linear sequence of themes, actions and motives
• Todorov identified that the 3 part structure has 5 stages:
• 1.  Narratives begin with a state of equilibrium
• 2. This equilibrium is usually disrupted by an event to create disequilibrium
• 3. There is then recognition of the disruption by the central character
• 4. The central character goes on a quest to overcome and restore the disruption
• 5. The quest is successful, there is a happy ending and a return to a (changed) normality or a new equilibrium.

Strauss - Binary Oppositions

• Strauss identified that we understand the world by the relationship that two opposites have together
• For example, we understand bad behaviour by knowing what good behaviour should be …
• He believed that narratives are arranged around the conflict of binary oppositions could include:
• Man vs women
• Good vs bad
• Day vs night
• Old vs new
• Right vs wrong
• Injustice vs justice
• Nerd vs bullies

Does the ‘conflict’ between the oppositions help to drive the narrative structure forward?