"A story should have a beginning, a middle and an end, but not necessarily in that order"- Jean Luc Goddard.

Narrative is the story, a chain of events. In a cause-effect relationship occurring in time. - Bordwell & Thompson

4 theorists;

Tzevtan Todorov Claude Levi-Strauss Vladimir propp Roland Barthes

Tzevtan Todorov studied Russian tales, he believed that narratives follow a three part structure. It is a formal way of thinking about the beginning, middle and end also known as equilibrium, disequilibrium and resolution.

Equilibrium – start, level, equal, horror films start normal and happy.

Disequilibrium – main part, something happens also known as disorder.

Resolution – things level out, exorcism life turns to normality.

Claude Levi-Strauss studies myths and legends and he believed that all narratives are structured by pairs of binary oppositions. He argues that narratives are organised around the conflict between

binary opposites such as good vs evil, love vs hate, black vs white and strong vs weak. Vladimir Propp’s theory is based on analysis of folk tales and legends. He suggests that there are limited number of character types which share a function within a narrative. (Hero, villain, princess etc.

Roland Barthes identifies 5 narrative codes which readers use to decode texts. Hermeneutic code Proairetic code Semantic code Symbolic code Cultural code

Hermeneutic code – mysteries, holding the truth back. It refers to any element in a story that is not explained.

Snares; deliberately avoid truth, tension, suspense.

Equivocations; Partial answers

Jamming; no answer, questions never answered or solved.

Proairetic code - Builds tension by referring to something else that is going to happen, get the reader guessing. For example… a gun is drawn. What will the resolution be?

Semantic code – Suggests additional meaning by connotation. Something that signifies that is one step beyond its basic meaning

for example a woman pulls up in a Ferrari. Semantic code for – she is rich and likes fast cars.

Symbolic code – Similar to semantic code. Semantic code is organised together to give a broader meaning. Barthes was most interested in antithesis to create meaning old/young).

Cultural code – Refers to a body of knowledge like science or religion. Shared knowledge about the way the world works.