Film Theorists

Film Theorists

There are many theories idealised by different people based on how films are made. The traditional Hollywood narrative structure is made up of three acts; the set up is 25% of the time, the confrontation is 50% and the climax ends with 25% of the film time. It is the most common structure of storytelling in mainstream films, and is based on a three act format that organises the story, as mentioned before.

Roland Barthes: Enigmas

Roland Barthes believed that all texts are complex bundles of meaning. The enigmas codes introduce problems and usually happen at the "distribution" stage. He also said that polysemic texts have lots of different meanings. An example of a film with a lot of enigma and a large sense of mystery is in "The Birds" - because even at the end of the film the audience are still completely unaware as to why the birds attacked the people or what drove them to do it, the film ends strangely with the problem unresolved.







Levi Strauss: Binary Opposites

Strauss said narratives can be organised through binary opposition - two things opposed - often dominant vs subordinate e.g. male, female, hero or villain. An example of a film which can support this theory is "North By North West" because the villain is of much higher authority, and is a much more dominant figure than the hero, who throughout most of the film is trying to find out what has happened to him and why he was kidnapped and being accused of somebody he is not.

Todorov: Narrative Theory

Todorov in 1969 produced a theory which he believed to be able to apply to apply to any film. He believed that all films followed the same narrative pattern. They all went through stages called the equilibrium, disequilibrium, acknowledgment solving and again equilibrium. There are five stages the narrative can progress through: a state of equilibrium, a disruption.  

Vladimir Propp: Character Types

Propp analysed traditional folk stories, and claimed that in films there are eight key character roles:
- The Hero          
- The Villain
- The Helper
- The Doner (Provided)
- The Father
- The Dispatcher
- The Princess
- The False Hero
- The False Villain
He also made it clear that a single character has the ability to play more than one role. The majority of characters in all sorts of genres of film have one of these eight roles. The hero is usually the main character in which the audience wish to see succeed, and the villain is the person who is often portrayed to look like they will be victorious, however, they are usually not.