Narrative theory and in relations to Halloween and the Crazies

Tzvetan Todorov

Tzvetan Todorov came up with a narrative theory that stories begin with an equilibrium where everything is balanced and normal. This is than changed by a disrupts of some type of event causing a chain reaction of events. These events are than solved making a new equilibrium.

  In Halloween Todorov theory doesn’t work, there is a equilibrium with changes when Michael Myers kills his sister also the event could be when he escapes from the hospital but this event isn’t solved and a new equilibrium doesn’t start because the villain wasn’t killed. 

Vladimir Propp

Vladimir Propp looked at 100s of folk tales and came with eight character roles.

These are the roles.

·         Villain, an evil character that cause a problem and in which the hero must defeat. 

·         Hero, the main protagonist and victor.

·         The donor, provides and object with some magic property to the hero.

·         Helper, aids the hero in his quest.

·         Princess, a reward for the hero and object I the villian’s schemes.

·         Her father, rewards the hero.

·         The dispatcher, who sends the hero on his way

·         The false hero, double agent who hinders the hero rather than helping him.

These character roles can be applied to all kind of narratives.

Some of the character type’s work for Halloween but because of the small cast and few main characters of importance, not all work.

·         Hero- Dr Sam Loomis, is the hero as he on a quest to stop the killer Michael Myers also saving the princess

·         Villain- Michael Myers, is the villain as he trying to kill the Princess and kill other during the film.

·         Princess- Laurie Strode, as she it’s in need of help from the villain however she does fight back as a part of the final girl theory.

·         Helper- Sheriff, helps the Hero to find the Villain.

Claude levi-Strauss    

Levi-strauss looked at narrative structure in the terms of binary oppositions. This is opposite values which reveal the structure of media texts. Such as good and evil, these are not interested to be in the order of which events were arranged in the plot. This is the overall theme of the theme.

Halloween is a horror film in which binary opposition is Good VS Evil. This is shown as the villain ‘Michael Myers’ is the evil and our hero ‘Laurie strode’ is the good. in a classic Hollywood film the good would overcome the evil and win, but in this horror film this isn’t the case as the villain lives at the end.

Bordwell and Thompson

This theory is important to narrative structures, the theory is that the audience can watch a film and connect the events to make sense of what is happening, to a line of cause and effect. We can connect key events that happened off scene, example book of Eli, set in future apocalypse world from this we know there was a nuclear war of some kind which destroyed the world. This is a natural reaction because making connections is how we make sense of the world around us.

The other part of this theory is time and space of what we see on screen and what happens off screen in the same time period for example is when we see three people and one of them go off screen of some time and comes back with supplies and a car, some this we know he went and found supplies and a vehicle.

narrative, thus uses technical techniques to manipulate our awareness of time and place, flashbacks, replays of action, slow motion, speeding up, jumping between places and times, a prime example of this is a film called Cloud Atlas where the film jumps back and forward for time going to the future and back to the past also the present.    

Halloween is 1 hour and 27 minutes long with this time we see scenes over 15 years of Michael Myers as a kid and when he is older. The main plot duration is about a 32 hours. From the set of Halloween is can tell is based in America 1970’s on the 30^th October. Time off screen in this film is important one sense the camera pans right which the audience see a dead male we connect his death with Michael.  

Narrative structures- The Crazies, 2010

Does The Crazies follow the CHN? Why or why not?

The Crazies doesn’t follow the Classic Hollywood Narrative because the film starts with a scene of the town ’Ogden Marsh’ on fire and destroyed. An event happens which was toxic potion in the water that changes the lives of everyone in that town causing mayhem and chaos that ends in the town being bombed by the government.

But however the last scene indicates the treat isn’t over by a view of a military satellite highlights first the couple, then the city with the words “initiate containment protocol.” This leaves this film on a cliff hanger also at the same time there is another structure happening which is the life on the two main characters (David, Judy). The event changes there normal life followed by them trying to escape the government and get out of town, ending in them escaping together so there new equilibrium would be survived.

How many of Propp’s Character types can be identified in the film?

·         The villain – the government, the government is the overall villain because they poisoned the town and tried to clean up by destroying the town and killing everyone.  

·         Hero- David, the hero is on a mission is save Judy and escape form the villain and the town.

·         The Helper- Deputy Russell Clank. He helps the hero through most of the film.

·          The false hero- Deputy Russell Clank- he is the hero help but however he also is the false hero as the infected side of him starts to take over.

·         The Princess- Judy is the hero’s wife and he trying to save and protect her.

These are the character types from propp’s theory, there isn’t many as this film doesn’t follow CHN and the small cast of importance of the characters

List five examples of binary oppositions in the film and explain them briefly

1.      Moral and immoral- the behaviour difference from the infected and non-infected.

2.      Good and evil- this is shown from Russell as he fighting the evil within him.

3.      Peace and war – the difference between the two scenes of the town destroyed and a peaceful day.

4.      Rebellion and government- the people of the town start to revolt against the government as they are trying to kill them.

Give two examples of events that cause later events in the film but which occur before the film ‘starts’

1.      The first one I choice is the plane crash we don’t see the crash but we know it crashed before the film starts and which portioned the water.

2.      The other event is the first person that gets infected, we know he drunk the water but we don’t see him drink the water and the changes of him as he gets infected.

Give two events from the 92 minute film that happen in different time and space to the one we are shown.

1.      When Judy is in the school and can’t escape is see the hero come save her want we don’t see is how the hero got to the school and got it.

2.      The other is the helper “Russell Clank” does to his car and the car is full of supplies, we don’t see him get the supplies but its applied he got them all as its his car.  

The Crazies Trailer