narrative theory

Vladimir Propp was born on 17th april 1895 and died 22nd august 1970 - aged 75. Propp came up with the narrative theory from the russian folk tales.

Vladimir Propp extended the Russian Formalist approach to narratology (the study of narrative structure). Where, in the Formalist approach, sentence structures had been broken down into analysable elements - morphemes - Propp used this method by analogy to analyse folk tales. By breaking down a large number of Russian folk tales into their smallest narrative units - narratemes - Propp was able to arrive at a typology of narrative structures. By analysing types of characters and kinds of action, Propp was able to arrive at the conclusion that there were thirty-one generic narratemes in the Russian folk tale. While not all are present, he found that all the tales he analysed displayed the functions in unvarying sequence.

Try applying these to Star Wars or episodes of X-Files or Star Trek - It can be interesting to see how powerful are the narrative structures of folk mythology, and how they are continually reinserted into contemporary popular culture. The functions he described were as follows:

After the initial situation is depicted, the tale takes the following sequence:

1. A member of a family leaves home (the hero is introduced);
2. An interdiction is addressed to the hero ('don't go there', 'go to this place');
3. The interdiction is violated (villain enters the tale);
4. The villain makes an attempt at reconnaissance (either villain tries to find the children/jewels etc; or intended victim questions the villain);
5. The villain gains information about the victim;
6. The villain attempts to deceive the victim to take possession of victim or victim's belongings (trickery; villain disguised, tries to win confidence of victim);
7. Victim taken in by deception, unwittingly helping the enemy;
8. Villain causes harm/injury to family member (by abduction, theft of magical agent, spoiling crops, plunders in other forms, causes a disappearance, expels someone, casts spell on someone, substitutes child etc, comits murder, imprisons/detains someone, threatens forced marriage, provides nightly torments); Alternatively, a member of family lacks something or desires something (magical potion etc);
9. Misfortune or lack is made known, (hero is dispatched, hears call for help etc/ alternative is that victimised hero is sent away, freed from imprisonment);
10. Seeker agrees to, or decides upon counter-action;
11. Hero leaves home;
12. Hero is tested, interrogated, attacked etc, preparing the way for his/her receiving magical agent or helper (donor);
13. Hero reacts to actions of future donor (withstands/fails the test, frees captive, reconciles disputants, performs service, uses adversary's powers against them);
14. Hero acquires use of a magical agent (directly transferred, located, purchased, prepared, spontaneously appears, eaten/drunk, help offered by other characters);
15. Hero is transferred, delivered or led to whereabouts of an object of the search;
16. Hero and villain join in direct combat;
17. Hero is branded (wounded/marked, receives ring or scarf);
18. Villain is defeated (killed in combat, defeated in contest, killed while asleep, banished);
19. Initial misfortune or lack is resolved (object of search distributed, spell broken, slain person revivied, captive freed);
20. Hero returns;
21. Hero is pursued (pursuer tries to kill, eat, undermine the hero);
22. Hero is rescued from pursuit (obstacles delay pursuer, hero hides or is hidden, hero transforms unrecognisably, hero saved from attempt on his/her life);
23. Hero unrecognised, arrives home or in another country;
24. False hero presents unfounded claims;
25. Difficult task proposed to the hero (trial by ordeal, riddles, test of strength/endurance, other tasks);
26. Task is resolved;
27. Hero is recognised (by mark, brand, or thing given to him/her);
28. False hero or villain is exposed;
29. Hero is given a new appearance (is made whole, handsome, new garments etc);
30. Villain is punished;
31. Hero marries and ascends the throne (is rewarded/promoted).

These narrative functions are also spread between the main characters. Propp also decided that a narrative needed to have:

• the villain, who struggles with the hero
• the donor, who prepares and/or provides hero with magical agent
• the helper, who assists, rescues, solves and/or transfigures the hero
• the Princess, a sought-for person (and/or her father), who exists as a goal and often recognizes and marries hero and/or punishes villain
• the dispatcher, who sends the hero off
• the hero, who departs on a search (seeker-hero), reacts to the donor and weds at end
• the false hero (or antihero or usurper), who claims to be the hero, often seeking and reacting like a real hero (ie by trying to marry the princess)

I have put this information on my blog about Vladimir Propp as he is relevant to my advanced production as for children's TV drama - they will also have a set of characters simular - such as a 'goodie & a badie' which is the hero and villian from Propps theory.

Defining my target audience.

Within my project i had to define the audience which it would be made for. Seeing as the project itself is a children's TV drama the title makes it pretty clear who the audience is for.
To help me to decide the audience in which i wanted to study i did a small survey on younger children. The main questions i got out of this were why they liked a programme - because its funny. Many children like the entertainment factor in all programmes, something that will make them laugh or keep them interested.

Within my project there are many different things i needed to consider as it was being made for children. I needed to use the right language in the print and maybe in the video as this is being made for children. If i was to use actual children in the prints i needed to think of ethnics as i wanted my programme to seem fair.

I'd learnt that for a child to enjoy something it needs to be catchy, so for example the music needs to be short and something they can recognize. Through out my project i need to think of these things to make sure it is to the bet it can be.

Child interview.


what is your favourite TV programme?
- Sponge Bob Square Pants.

Why is it your favourite programme?
- Its Funny and its under the sea which i think is cool.

Do you read magazines?
- yes

What do you like inside the magazines?
- I like playing games and doing the puzzles.

As well as watching TV do you watch DVDs?
- Yes before bed time

What DVDs do you like to watch?
- Finding nemo and Aladdin are my favourite.

Why?
- its funny

Whats your favourite colour?
- Blue





This is my interview with a younger child, the reason why i have asked these specific questions as they are all relevant to my development in my research. For example.
The reason why i have asked the child's favourite colour is so that i know what colours children would be interested in - if they liked a colour they would be more drawn and attached to it.
The questions about the magazines and what they enjoy in them is for my own research about what to put into a magazine as i would want my magazine to be enjoyed.

Children devote much of their free time to watching television--. Although children have everyday contact with other media and many other forms of expression and communication, visual media alone are seen as speaking a "universal language," accessible regardless of age.
In the United States questions about program content and its use by children, about television's influence on children's attitudes, knowledge and behavior, and about the appropriate public policy toward children's television have been central to the discussion of this medium throughout its half century as the electronic hearth.


This is something i got of a American website about children's television intake. Its things like this i have to take into account while making my advanced project as i do want it to fit into every category.

Childrens Television

As back up research i have looked at children's programmes in themselves and did a bit of critical analysing of them.





I started by watching a children's television programme which was on BBC 1, and this was at about 3.20pm on Wednesday 4th November '09. This programme was on Cbeebies.. which is children's version of the adult programme's on CBBC. The programme i watched was called mister maker - this is just a children's TV programme making things. For example the episode i watched they made a toy bird in a birds nest.





Ceebies is set for children of a pre-school age so from 2-4 years old roughly, and for the older children you have CBBC which is primary school age. When it came to studding Cbeebies i had chosen to look at the 'real' programmes. When i say this i mean the programmes which aren't cartoon - and the ones who have presenters, just like mister maker did! However from all of these type of programmes i have looked at i have realised that all the programmes have something in common. This is the colour choices. All of the 'real' children's programmes are mostly set in white studios which can occasionally be dim-Ly lit - For example Mister Maker is lit on a dim blue background. I think this is because the children's eyes aren't distracted away. On the other hand there are a lot of bright coloured things around - and i think this is to contradict the white background and makes the children's focus. Even though things aren't cluttered but from what i took from mister maker it can be quite busy.The image below is a picture from Mister Maker. From this image you can see what i mean by the busy for ground and the duller background.

The first thing and the most noticeable thing is the characters. The Characters of this show are overly excited all of the time - and you can tell this from the picture its self. The characters are always very excitable and i think this is because they are from a children's show - if they show excitement the children will be excited. Just like the wall's the clothing is also very exciting and bright - this may also be to attract attention.

The next point i have to make is about the speech - and this is that the speech is clear and understandable. The speech is many of the children's programmes is slow and repetition is occasionally used. One point i have noticed about many children's TV programmes is that they don't have any people with accents - this may because younger children maybe able to understand them but at the same time I'm not sure. It may just be that the programmes i have watched don't have people with accents in. The point i made about repetition is very clear as children like repetition as it comforts them.

The last point i have to make about what i watched is the sound. This means anything from the sound effects to a theme tune. The sound effects in this programme are clear as they are very noticable. For example from the eposiode i watched - when they are sticking something down they make the sounds stronger so you would know what was happening. I think this is a good thing to do as it makes children pay more attention. There is only a small thing to say about the theme song, and its the same as many theme songs. This is that it's short yet very catchy. This is the same idea they use in TV adverts - its to keep the tune in your head - a bit like productive selling.