Two of the key different narrative theories

 

1. Vladimir propp 

 

He suggested that every narrative theory has 8 different character types

• Hero - The character who is seeking something. looking to resolve any problems in the story line.

• Villain - the character who tries to or blocks the hero's quest and makes things more difficult along the way

• Donor - provides an object which has some magic property

• Dispatcher - send the hero on its way to continue their quest providing a message to guide them.

• False hero - disrupts the hero's hope of reward by pressing false claims

• Helper - aids the hero 

• Princess - acts as a reward for the hero and as an object of the villains scheming  
• Her father - acts to reward the hero's actions      

 

2. Todorovs narrative theory

Todorov believed that all films follow the same narrative pattern going through five stages

• Equilibrium - The equilibrium is the first stage of Todorov’s theory. This stage is found at the beginning of the film, where everything is as it should be and the characters lives are normal

• Disequilibrium -   The second stage is the disruption stage. This is when the state of equilibrium is disturbed by an event occurring.

• Acknowledgement - The second stage is the disruption stage. This is when the state of equilibrium is disturbed by an event occurring.

• Solving -   The solving stage is the part of the film where there is an attempt to repair the damage of the disruption that has been made.

• Equilibrium - The final stage, is the equilibrium stage again. This is the part where there is a return or restoration of a new equilibrium