Classical Hollywood Narrative is a theory which Todorov suggests is how films are made. He suggests that a film begins with equilibrium or normality where ‘opposing forces are balanced’. Then it is disturbed by an event, resulting in a problem, normally in the middle of a film. Once it has been solved, there is new equilibrium. Classical Hollywood Narrative is useful because it portrays to the audience a set list of expectations that they should have. However, films such as Halloween do not follow the Classical Hollywood Narrative as the Bogey man is still alive and therefore new equilibrium is not restored, which adds to horror factor as it leaves the audience in suspense, especially as they are leaving the cinema at night.
Propp was another theorist who
came up with a set list of 8 defined characters. He did this by looking through
100s of old folk tales and saw a pattern within them. Each one included a
villain, a hero, a donor (who help the villain using an item which is magical),
a helper (another person who helps the hero), a princess (the person that’s
either the reward/ needs to be saved), the princesses’ father, the dispatcher
(someone who sends the hero away) and a false hero who turns out to be helping
the villain. Propps character types are not useful because it could take the
audience out of the film as they would be looking for the specific characters
he has identified, almost as a check list. Although it might help understand
media, it is not useful in relation to media narrative. His characters are
evident in Halloween AS:
Hero: Laurie because she protects the children from the villain, putting herself at risk.
Villain: The ‘Bogey Man’ as he brutally murders three of Laurie’s friends and is out to kill Laurie.
Helper: The doctor who is aware of what the ‘Bogey Man’ is capable of. He aids to help Laurie as he informs the policeman to be alert as he is suspicious of the villain’s whereabouts.
Hero: Laurie because she protects the children from the villain, putting herself at risk.
Villain: The ‘Bogey Man’ as he brutally murders three of Laurie’s friends and is out to kill Laurie.
Helper: The doctor who is aware of what the ‘Bogey Man’ is capable of. He aids to help Laurie as he informs the policeman to be alert as he is suspicious of the villain’s whereabouts.
Binary
oppositions help in forming the structure of media texts as they are sets of complete
opposites for example, earth and space. Binary oppositions focus on the depth
of the themes that the film portrays rather than the order of events. Levi-
Strauss looked into this theory and suggests that the force of ‘good’ and
‘evil’, binary oppositions, are heightened when put together. He also suggests
that most conflict, such as in horror films, is based around binary oppositions
and therefore it is a main factor of media narrative theory. I think that
Binary oppositions are useful for understanding media texts because it enhances
the audiences understanding of different values portrayed within the film. Some
binary opposition included in Halloween
are
Darkness vs Light: All the murders and trouble occurs at night, during the day (in the light) is when Laurie and her friends are safe.
Good vs Evil: Laurie against the Bogey man
Safety vs Danger: When Laurie is around other people she is safe or during the day. However when she is alone, especially at night, she is in danger.
Virginal vs Promiscuous is important within the film because it is a clear difference between Laurie and her friends. For example, they all have boyfriends and the thought of boys to Laurie makes her cringe. As well as simple things, such as smoking whereas she coughs when she tries is, implying the audience she’s not used to it which increases her innocence.
Known vs Unknown: Throughout the film we are unaware of where the villain is which is the fear of the unknown. However, when the Bogey Man is after Laurie, we are shown clearly where he is and roughly what to expect.
“A chain of events in a cause-effect relationship, occurring in space and time”- Bordwell and Thompson. This quote is important to narrative of media because it suggests we are constantly looking for reasoning behind everything, which can be related back to reality as we learn how to make sense of the world around us. For example, if we have a headache and have recently started a new job, we might link the headache to the stress of the new changes in our life. Therefore the director can manipulate this factor by choosing certain camera shots in a selected order to create an image. For example, we unconsciously link what happens in one shot, to what happens in the shots either side of it. Such as, if we are shown a scene of a kitchen and then some food being made, we automatically assume it is made in that kitchen. In Halloween the sexually promiscuity of Anna (one of Laurie’s friends), leads to the Bogey Man chasing after her and eventually brutally murdering her. In The Crazies, Judy not passing her examination of the infection, leads to her being separate from her husband David. These are both causes leading to another even happening. In Halloween at the beginning of the film, we are shown a shadow of someone killing Judith Myers, we later assume that it is the little boy, Michael, as his mask is unpeeled and he is holding a bloody knife. Although, we don’t actually see the murder we use the connection between one scene and the next and form a link.
Darkness vs Light: All the murders and trouble occurs at night, during the day (in the light) is when Laurie and her friends are safe.
Good vs Evil: Laurie against the Bogey man
Safety vs Danger: When Laurie is around other people she is safe or during the day. However when she is alone, especially at night, she is in danger.
Virginal vs Promiscuous is important within the film because it is a clear difference between Laurie and her friends. For example, they all have boyfriends and the thought of boys to Laurie makes her cringe. As well as simple things, such as smoking whereas she coughs when she tries is, implying the audience she’s not used to it which increases her innocence.
Known vs Unknown: Throughout the film we are unaware of where the villain is which is the fear of the unknown. However, when the Bogey Man is after Laurie, we are shown clearly where he is and roughly what to expect.
“A chain of events in a cause-effect relationship, occurring in space and time”- Bordwell and Thompson. This quote is important to narrative of media because it suggests we are constantly looking for reasoning behind everything, which can be related back to reality as we learn how to make sense of the world around us. For example, if we have a headache and have recently started a new job, we might link the headache to the stress of the new changes in our life. Therefore the director can manipulate this factor by choosing certain camera shots in a selected order to create an image. For example, we unconsciously link what happens in one shot, to what happens in the shots either side of it. Such as, if we are shown a scene of a kitchen and then some food being made, we automatically assume it is made in that kitchen. In Halloween the sexually promiscuity of Anna (one of Laurie’s friends), leads to the Bogey Man chasing after her and eventually brutally murdering her. In The Crazies, Judy not passing her examination of the infection, leads to her being separate from her husband David. These are both causes leading to another even happening. In Halloween at the beginning of the film, we are shown a shadow of someone killing Judith Myers, we later assume that it is the little boy, Michael, as his mask is unpeeled and he is holding a bloody knife. Although, we don’t actually see the murder we use the connection between one scene and the next and form a link.
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