Narrative Theory: Barthes and Propps

All texts are complex “bundles,” of meaning according to Bathes, they can also reveal many more meanings. They can be open, closed or polysemic.

Open texts have “threads to pull,” often the endings are vague, such as Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight Rises and Inception. The audience are left unsure on the protagonists’ survival.

Closed texts have one thread to hold, which is clear and most films tend to opt for a closed text ending. For example “a Cinderella Story” has a happy ending, like most Hollywood films. However, some parts of Hollywood are trying to become more indie, like the film “Like Crazy,” which is can be either labelled as a closed text. On the other hand, it can also be named a polysemic text because the ending can be read in a number of ways; it forms several interpretations. Another example of this is “Scarface,” it  can be either read as a “rags to riches,” story, a glorification of violence, a critique of the values in the 1980s, greed and consumption.

The “threads,” are narrative codes. The enigma code comes under the narrative codes which is used a a way to attract and maintain the attention of the audience. A mystery, or a puzzle is created in order for the audience to attempt to formulate a judgement. Commonly, it is introduced in the disruption phase of Todrov’s narrative model.

Barthes’ theory can be applied to all music videos. A clear example of this is Eminem’s Stan video mentioned in my previous post. There is an ending which is clear to the audience when Stan drives into a river. Him, and his partner are killed. The audience knows that they are definitely dead by the camera revealing a scene in a cemetery, followed by a news report.

Vladimir Propps studied folk stories and identified eight main character roles. This does not limit the amount of characteristics in one character. In “Big Momma’s House,” Martin Laurence plays a mother figure, father figure, the donor and protagonist.

The Hero (Protagonist)

The Villain (Antagonist)

The Donor (Provider)

The Helper (Assistant)

The Father Figure (Gives advice and important information)

The Dispatcher (Sends hero on the missions)

The Princess

The False Hero

Star Wars

The Hero - "Luke Skywalker/Han Solo"

The Villain - "Darth Vader"

The Donor - "Obi-Wan Kenobi"

The Helper - "R2D2, C3PO, Chewbacca"

The Father Figure - "Obi-Wan Kenobi"

The Dispatcher - "Princess Leia"

The Princess - "Princess Leia"

The False Hero - "Han Solo"