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Film Theories for Textual Analysis Question

Film Analysis

Key terms

Verisimilitude

How real the world of the story appears to the audience- it is believable, for example.

Diegesis/Diegetic world

the world in which the film takes place

Juxtaposition

Placing one object next to another to create meaning

Narrative theory

Theories that categorise narratives and find features common to them. 


Popular Narrative Theories- you only need to use the last name of theorists in exam.


Levi-Struass and Binary Opposition

'Cinema is a set of universal rules, a set of relations that could be described as the grammar of film. 

Levi-Strauss theorised that since all cultures are products of the human brain, there must be, beneath the surface, features that are common to all.

Structuralism attempted to deromanticise the film maker as auteur and apply a more scientific approach to uncover the underlying structures of film. 


Levi-Strauss' Binary Opposition

Narrative tension is based on opposition or conflict. This can be as simple as two characters fighting, but more often functions at an ideological level. For example, Good VS Bad. 


Examples of Binary Opposites

  • Good vs Evil
  • Protagonist vs Antagonist 
  • Man vs Nature


Propp theory

  • Vladimir Propp was a Russian and Soviet formalist scholar.
  • He analysed the plot components of Russian folk tales to identify their basic narrative elements
  • He looked at one hundred folk tales and came to the conclusion that they were all made up of 31 plot elements, which he called functions.
  • He also found that despite the large number of characters which appeared in the folk tales, there were only 8 character types.
The hero- who goes on a quest and usually ends up with the princess
The villain- who is against the hero
The helper- someone who helps the hero on their mission
The princess or prize- is usually the prize for the hero. The hero deserves her throughout the story and must overcome ask/defeat the villain to get her.
Her father- rewards the hero. Usually identifies the false hero.
The donor- helps the hero and sometimes has a magical power/object to help
The false hero- takes credit for the hero's action and tries to marry/end up with the princess.
The dispatcher- who sets the hero off on their quest

Shrek
hero- shrek
villain- lord farquard
dispatcher- lord farquard
donor- fairytale characters
princess- princess fiona
father of princess- father/parent
false hero- prince charming
the helper- donkey

How can this theory be applied to Get out?


Todorov's theory

Tzvetan Todorov proposed a basic structure for all narratives. He stated that films and programmes begin with an equilibrium, a calm period. Then agents of disruption cause disequilibrium, a period of unsettlement and disquiet. This is then followed by the renewed state of peace and harmony for the protagonists and a new equilibrium brings the chaos to an end. 

Todorov's Equilibrium theory

1. Equilibrium

2. Disruption to the Equilibrium

3. A realisation that the disruption has happened

4. An attempt to repair the damage/disruption

5. A restoration of equilibrium


Frozen

Equilibrium- Anna and Elsa reunite at a party
Disruption- Elsa runs away
Realisation- Anna realises she may never see her sister again
Repair- Anna goes on a quest to find Elsa, meeting helpers along the way
Equilibrium- Anna and Elsa are reunited and live in the kingdom together


Action + Enigma Codes- Roland Barthes

Action codes- what will happen next?
she falls over- will he catch her?
she has been caught- what will he do to her?

Enigma codes- the audience question why...
why is there a shoe on the floor?
the audience cannot explain what they mean when they first see it


Denotation
Denotation is what you can see- for example, a red sports car

Connotation 
Connotation is the meaning you derive from a text. For example, we have many different associations with the colour red, such as anger, passion, glamour.
When analysing a text it is important to consider these connotations. 

Denotation
Tree

Connotation- linked to context
Life
Nature
Logo
Recycling
Environmental friendliness
Can also mean terror and fear in the context of a horror film 


Genre and Audience Pleasures

Rick Altman argues that the genre offers audiences a set of pleasures:

Emotional pleasures:
How does the text make you feel?- happy, sad, nostalgic etc.

Visceral pleasures:
Gut responses such as excitement, fear, laughter.

Intellectual pleasures, because there is an enigma code:
How does this make the audience think?
When we get pleasure from working something out.






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