Narrative

A way in which narrative is understood is as a series of events, emphasizes on structure. There's a cause and an effect, Event B happens because of Event A; and therefore is in chronological order. the narrative however always centres around a crime, a theft or a murder.

The general Narrative Structure

gives us a basic situation of the story

Complication
Where the situation is disrupted

Climax/Crisis
the turning point

Resolution
where after the crisis, a new situation is established


French structuralist Tzvetan Todorov (1966)

Todorov's theory consists of the traditional idea that there are 5 stages to a narattive.

1. Equilibrium                                                                                                                                    The setting of the film is established, along with the main/key character
2. Distruption                                                                                                                                                    The oppositional character(s) is introducued, perhaps the villian; the atmosphere of the film will gradually decrease from happy to sad.
3. Recognition (of Distruption)                                                                                                           The lives of the characters are distrupted, and this causes the longet tension throughout the whole movie
4. Attempt to Repair                                                                                                                         The main character dradually stops being the victim and becomes the hereo
5. New Equilibrium                                                                                                                           The problem is solved/sorted out

Barthes' Theory
Barthes believed that texts can be either 'open' or 'closed'. He introduced five codes, however I am only studying two of the five codes in my curriculum at present; The enigma code & The action code.

Enigma code 
Enigma code that is also known as the proairetic code is literally the way the tension is built up, leaving he audience with questions of what's happening next. 


Active Code
This is the ideology that one action triggers another.



Beginning or exposition