Theme
Plot
Narrative
In Media Studies, it is important to tell the difference between narrative and story.
Story = a sequence of events, known correctly as the plot
Narrative = the way those events are put together to be presented to an audience.
Therefore, when analysing a narrative we analyse the construction of the story ie the way it has been put together, not the story itself. You also need to consider what the story is about in its most basic terms, ie the theme (eg Love, war, winning).
All media texts have a narrative, whether they are a six hour TV miniseries or a one paragraph newspaper story or a glossy magazine photograph.
Analysing a narrative will involve the following:
Technical Codes
This refers to all the aspects of narrative construction that involve technical decision making. Therefore anything to do with camera angles and movement, lighting, sound, props. shot framing and composition, design and layout and editing. What do each of the choices made tell you about what is going on - for instance, is a character shot from a high or low angle and how does that make you, the audience, feel about them? How are sound effects used to help you make sense of what is going on?
Verbal Codes
The use of language - written and spoken - and signs contained in graphics. We learn a lot about a narrative from what we are told in this way, but the best narratives show rather than tell, leaving the audience to draw their own conclusions.
Symbolic Codes
These are the signs contained in the narrative that we decode as being significant and having meaning - for example a ragged coat worn by a character may mean that they are poor and possibly hungry. Think of them as clues that have to be followed, and different viewers/readers will follow clues in different ways.
Structure
Russian theorist, Tzvetan Todorov, suggests that all narratives follow a three part structure. They begin with equilibrium, where everything is balanced, progress as something comes along to disrupt that equilibrium, and finally reach a resolution, when equilibrium is restored.
This simple formula can be applied to virtually all narratives - it is a more formal way of thinking about the beginning, middle and end, and it takes into account Aristotle's theory that all drama is conflict ie there is a disequilibrium at the heart of every narrative.
Character
Todorov came up with his theories after making a study of Russian folk tales. So too did Vladimir Propp, who came up with the theory that there are only a certain number of characters, who crop up in most narratives. It is easy to spot the hero and villain in most cases, but here are some others:
Leads the narrative, is usually looking for something (a quest) or trying to solve something (a mystery). Does not have to be male :)
Conflicts with the hero
Is usually some sort of prize or reward for the hero. NB if your hero is female, your heroine can be male :)
An authority figure who offers a reward to the hero for completing their quest. That reward might be a prince or a princess or a cool new job
Helps the hero - often acts as a sidekick
Gives the hero something - a clue, a talisman, a special power - which helps them complete their quest
Teaches and guides the hero
These characters and the typical things that they do can be seen across a wide range of narratives. We expect them to be there, and to behave in a certain way. Try identifying them in Star Wars, and then think about how they are used in Shrek.
Conflict
As well as Aristotle deciding that 'all drama is conflict' in the 4th century BC, 20th century theorist Claude Levi-Strauss suggested that all narratives had to be driven forward by conflict that was cause by a series of opposing forces. he called this the theory of Binary Opposition, and it is used to describe how each main force in a narrative has its equal and opposite. Analysing a narrative means identifying these opposing forces eg
and understanding how the conflict between them will drive the narrative on until, finally, some sort of balance or resolution is achieved.
That's a lot to remember...
Yes, but don't forget you have been deconstructing narratives since before you could read. All the theorists do is provide a formal framework for describing how you understand the meaning and significance of a narrative.
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