Narrative Theories

Propp Theory

This theory states that characters in programmes and even films, fit a certain subtitle. These include the hero, villain, the helper and more. For documentary this does fit perfectly into place but can be thought about when creating a documentary. For instance ‘the helper’ could be the person leading the documentary to reach the goal at the end.

This theory states the classic notion about a story having a beginning middle and end. This very much relates to documentary as they usually have some sort of order that lead the audience into reaching the goal at the end (which could be an event or information).

Todorov theory

This theory states most stories or any time line of events is taken through the eyes of a quest. In novel terms this the most classic way, and example of which being ‘The lord of the rings’. For documentary this is a common related theory, becoming increasingly popular with celebrity admiration. This is the theory that relates most to our future

documentary, most probably.

The quest narrative theory