Narrative Analysis

What is Narrative?

  • Definition from Branigan (1992)

Narrative is “the arrangement of story elements in time & space according to a cause-effect chain of events with a beginning, middle, and end that signal the nature of those events.”

Narrative Analysis

Narrative analysis focuses on -

  • The structure of the story

  • The arrangement of story elements

    • Character types

    • Setting, sound, costumes, décor, time, and events

    • Fictional narratives: Cinema, TV drama

      OR

    • Non-fictional narratives: Documentary, news stories

Narratives: As Old as Humans

  • Stories help us make sense of the world and reality.
  • We tell stories to entertain, persuade, and explain.
  • Myths, folk tales, and poetry are some of the oldest forms of stories.

The social role of stories

  • How do people find pleasure in stories?

  • How do stories communicate ideas?

  • How has technology affected narratives?

  • What common structures exist in stories across cultures and media? - This connects to Structuralism.

Structuralist Theorists of Narrative

  1. Vladimir Propp (1895–1970)
  2. Tzvetan Todorov (1939–2017)
  3. Roland Barthes (1913–1980)
  4. Claude Lévi-Strauss (1908–2009)

Vladimir Propp’s Narrative Analysis

  • Russian folklorist who studied heroic narratives and folk tales across cultures

  • Propp’s analysis is based on:

    • 1. Character Roles (spheres of action)

    • 2. Functions (plot events)

Character Roles/Types (Propp)

  • Villain – disrupts social equilibrium

  • Hero – seeks to restore equilibrium

  • Donor – provides advice or useful object(s)

  • Helper – aids or assists the hero in the task

  • Dispatcher – sends the hero to the quest or mission

  • False hero – undermines hero’s quest with badly intended “help”

  • Princess – requires protection and/or rescue from villain

  • Father – rewards the hero after the mission (often by giving his daughter as a prize) NOTE: One character can play several roles

Example: Little Red Riding Hood

Once upon a time, there was a sweet little girl called Little Red Riding Hood. One day, her mother gave her a basket of food and asked her to take it to her sick grandmother who lived in the forest. She warned her to stay on the path and not talk to strangers.

As Little Red Riding Hood walked through the forest, she met a sly wolf. The wolf asked her where she was going, and the girl, forgetting her mother’s warning, told him she was going to her grandmother’s house. The wolf, being cunning, thought of a plan. He suggested Little Red take the longer path filled with flowers to distract her, while he took the shorter path to reach her grandmother’s house first.

The wolf arrived at the grandmother’s house and quickly ate the old woman. He then dressed in her clothes and lay in her bed, waiting for Little Red Riding Hood.

When Little Red Riding Hood arrived, she noticed her grandmother looked different.
“What big eyes you have!” said Little Red.
“All the better to see you with,” replied the wolf.
“And what big ears you have!”
“All the better to hear you with,” said the wolf.
“And what big teeth you have!”
“All the better to eat you with!” shouted the wolf, and he jumped out of the bed to grab her.

Just at that moment, a passing woodsman heard the commotion and rushed in with his axe. He killed the wolf and rescued Little Red Riding Hood and her grandmother, who was still alive inside the wolf’s belly.

From that day on, Little Red Riding Hood promised never to talk to strangers again.

Propp’s Character Roles in the Story

  • Hero:

    • Little Red Riding Hood

  • Villain:

    • The Wolf

  • Donor:

    • The Mother (provides the basket with food and warning)

  • Helper:

    • The Woodsman

  • Princess (sought-for person):

    • The Grandmother (or Little Red herself, depending on interpretation)

  • Dispatcher:

    • The Mother (sends Little Red on her journey)

Tzvetan Todorov’s Narrative Structure

  • Bulgarian linguist.
  • Identified five stages of conventional narrative structure.
    • Equilibrium -> CRISIS -> Action to fix the problem -> OBSTACLES -> Resolution

Roland Barthes: Narrative Codes

  • Proposed Narrative Codes including:
    • Enigma Code: Sets up puzzles or suspense to be solved. Any part of a narrative that is not fully/ clearly explained to the viewer. 

      • How will James Bond escape?

      • How will Harry Potter defeat Lord Voldemort?

    • Action Code: Allows audiences to interpret and identify what is to come according to conventional scripts

      • long gaze >> falling in love

      • drawing a gun >> shootout

  • ENIGMA + ACTION Codes drive the plot forward & keep the viewer interested for the events to follow.

Claude Lévi-Strauss: Binary Oppositions

  • French structuralist anthropologist

  • Less interested in analyzing the order/sequence of events within the plot. (syntagmatic or sequential analysis—order in time determines meaning)

  •  Rather promotes paradigmatic analysis of narratives

    Value-based: Values and characteristics determine meaning

Examples

  • Binary oppositions create conflict between two qualities, groups, ideas or characters

  • A hierarchical relationship – one category is more highly valued than the other

  • Masculine / Feminine, Domestic / Wild, Good / Evil, New / Old, Big / Small, Strong / Weak, Light / Dark, Superior / Inferior, Black / White, Insider / Outsider, Human / Alien, Settler / Native, Police / Criminal

In-Class Activity

Analyze the following ads using Barthes’ Narrative Codes and Lévi-Strauss’ Binary Oppositions: - Mr. Muscle Ad: Watch Here - Adidas Ad: Watch Here

Narration, Story, and Plot

  • Restricted narration = how information about events and characters is distributed

    Narrative voice:

    • First-person (personal): “I” voice – only events that “I” can witness will be presented.

    • Third-person (impersonal): a story that “tells itself” without relying on an individual’s perspective. 

Plot ≠ Story

  • Story (fabula)
    • All events that happen, whether visible /audible / readable OR only inferred (guessed)
  • Plot (syuzhet)  
    • Only the visible / audible / readable events presented to audience

Space in Visual Narratives

  • Diegesis = the space constructed by the narrative

  • Extradiegesis = the space not contained within the narrative framework

  • EXAMPLE: music & sound

    • Characters listen to a friend playing guitar who appears in the frame = diegetic

    • Song seems to be played out of nowhere with no visible or plausible source = extradiegetic

Narratives in Different Media

  • Photography: Freezes a moment in time but infers a larger narrative.
    • Example: “Migrant Mother” by Dorothea Lange, 1936.
  • Comics & Animation: Combines text and image to suggest time passage.
  • Radio & Podcasting: Uses sound and silence to create narrative texture.
  • Film & Video:
    • Time-based” media 

      • Any kind of recording

      • Time & space manipulated to convey a message

  • Narratives usually condensed into conventional time frames

    • Feature film = about 2 hours

    • TV series

Digital Storytelling

  • Non-linear narrative

  • Branching/forking narrative

  • Game-like storytelling

  • Interactive storytelling 

  • A story has multiple narratives

  • Multimedia (TV, smartphone, PC, and app)

Closed vs. Open Narrative Structures

  • Closed

    • Beginning & end

    • Few main characters

    • Hierarchy of prominence

    • Compressed time

    • Same audience assumed for entire narrative

    • Most common narrative structure found in TV (a beginning, middle and an ending

  • Boyhood

Closed vs. Open Narrative Structures

  • Open

    • Continuous action

    • Multi-strand plot; several main characters

    • Non-hierarchical

    • Close to “real-time”

    • Audience can combine new & old members

    • Ends with a cliffhanger; it is ambiguous and open for the interpretation of viewers

  • Russian Doll

Conclusion

Narrative analysis is not limited to fiction: - Advertising - Documentaries - News - Court trials

Emre Toros - Media Studies - Week 4