Narrative Theory: Propp's Character Functions

A folklorist researcher named Vladimir Propp was intrigued by the relationship between characters and narrative. He believed in the idea that stories are character driven and that the development of a plot is based on the resolutions and actions of characters and how they operate within the story. Because of this, he suggested that there is a limited number of characters types that have their own role in the story. Following his theory, we were able to identify our main character 'Lucy Merrill' as the heroine (the protagonist) of our short film as she shares her journey through cyberbullying with the audience.

Character Types - relating to Shrek (2001) and Shrek 2 (2004)

• The Villain (antagonist) - an immoral character that tries to create problems for the hero and stop them in their quest. The character may also go on a quest to achieve the reward before the hero. The immorality of the character is used to emphasise the goodwill of the hero, turning the audience against him and encouraging them to abide by the hero. This function is served by 'Lord Farquaad'.
• The Donor - the character who braces the hero for their crusade and the challenges ahead that they will face. They offer the hero something appropriate (e.g. a magical weapon, a large amount of wisdom, clues, powers) to help complete their mission. This role is sometimes combined with the role of the helper. This character is not able to give the hero this gift without an exchange; setting the hero on another task. This function is illustrated by 'Dragon'.
• The Helper - this character has a magical element about them. They may appear at critical moments within the film to support the hero or assist the hero in their quest, being beneficial throughout the story. The character's weaknesses help to magnify the hero's distinguishing characteristics (e.g. intelligence, determination, strength etc.). In Shrek, this role is fulfilled by 'Donkey'.
• The Princess/Prize - the love interest of the hero. This character is regularly searched for in the course of completing the hero's quest and is pursued by many, especially the false hero. The princess cannot marry the hero until the villain's defeat is constituted and the injustice has been resolved. The princess is also seen as a reward for the hero and will either appear only at the end of the film or be a valuable character and escort the hero on their mission. This function is carried out by 'Princess Fiona'.
• The Princess' Father - this character provides the hero with the task. As the father is almost always protective of the princess, the hero must persuade him the most in order to gain permission to marry his daughter. This character may also compete with the hero for his daughter's affection during the film, forming a triangle. 'The King' fulfils this role.
• The False Hero - the character that appears to be good at first, but instead emerges to be evil. They are initially mistaken for the real hero. The false hero, out of jealousy, plots against the hero and manages to take credit for the hero's work so that they can win the heart of the princess. This character is also able to gain respect from the princess' father and control over him, enraging the hero and sabotaging their process of gaining the hand of the princess. This role is carried out by 'Prince Charming' in Shrek 2.
• The Dispatcher - this character has an earlier role in the film. They inform the hero of a dilemma and send the hero on their mission. The character could be a family member of the hero or the princess and may also be merged with another character function (e.g. the false hero who follows the hero and possibly poses as the helper). 'Lord Farquaad' is the dispatcher as well as the false hero in Shrek.
• The Hero (protagonist) - the character on a mission. The hero guides the audience through their journey and leads the narrative, allowing it to progress/develop. The story that the audience is told is, in fact, the story of the hero, causing them to be the character that the audience wants to succeed. They react to the dispatcher and donor positively while reacting to the villain negatively and also resolve any issues and unfavourable occurrences. This is 'Shrek' himself.

Propp's disregarded functions for short films

The majority of Propp's character functions can be used in contemporary media products, however, short films disregard these functions as, conventionally, the short film consists of very few characters. The character functions listed above are meant to be developed throughout a media product, but short filmmakers are unable to do this as they don't have the luxury of time to explore each type of character in detail while advancing the narrative clearly.

Certification

My group and I have decided to classify our short film as a 15. This is because our short film highlights sensitive issues within society. People below the age of 15 do not take this situations seriously as their minds are too immature to understand the severity of suicide over cyberbullying. Under 15s are also impressionable, so we don't want to think that any occurence within the short film is acceptable and lead them into thinking that suicide is the easiest conclusion to resolve cyberbullying if they experience it. We feel that each element of the 15 coincides with our short film idea.

A 15 is only suitable for people aged 15 and over, and has different discrimination, drug, behaviour, language, nudity, sex, threat, and violence policies to an 18. No one younger than this age is able to see a 15 film in a cinema, as well as rent or buy a 15 rated film.

• Discrimination - Although there may be racist, homophobic, or other discriminatory themes and language, the media text must not commend discriminatory language or behaviour as a whole. 

• Drugs - The use of drugs may be shown but the text must not promote/encourage drug misuse (through instructional detail, making it able for young people to take part in this activity). It is unlikely acceptable to display the misuse of easily accessible and immensely dangerous substances (e.g. aerosols or solvents). 

• Imitable behaviour - Alarming behaviour (e.g. hanging, suicide and self-harming) should not be displayed with detail which could be copied. The description of accessible weapons is acceptable in some circumstances - of factors such as realism, context and setting. 

• Language - Strong language is allowed, and very strong language may be permitted depending on: the situation in which it is used and the justification of its context, who is using it, and its frequency throughout the media text. 

• Nudity - There is no pressure on nudity in a non-sexual or education context. Nudity may be shown in a sexual context but typically without strong detail. 

• Sex - The activity may be portrayed, but usually without strong detail. Strong verbal references to sexual behaviour may be used, however, the strongest references are unlikely to be agreeable and acceptable unless they are justified by context. Media texts with a primary purpose of sexual arousal or stimulation are not probable to be acceptable. 

• Threat - Strong threat and horror are permitted. Sustained focuses on sadistic or threatening sexual acts (i.e. grooming) is unlikely to be accepted. 

• Violence - The infliction of pain or injury should not be the main focus, but violence may be heavy. Gory images of the strongest kind are not probably to be acceptable, as well as strong sadistic violence. There may be some detail in verbal references to sexual violence, but its image must be discreet and legitimised by context.

These are the most popular horror films of 2015, each having the certification of a 15.

http://www.bbfc.co.uk/releases/work-play-short-film-about-shining-2017

http://www.bbfc.co.uk/releases/bruce-weber-short-films-1970

Active and Passive Audiences: Audience Theory

Active Theories

An active audience is an audience that makes sense of an encoded message within their personal and social contexts.

Stuart Hall - Encoding and Decoding

Hall argued that, when made, media texts have messages encoded by the institution that favour the current social, economic, and political society (i.e. documentaries). He also claims that when an active audience receives a text it is decoded, allowing them to interpret the message in the following three different ways:

• Dominant reading - the intended interpretation that the institution had.
• Negotiated reading - the agreement and disagreement that the audience may have with different parts of the text.
• Oppositional reading - the disagreement with the text as an audience member is in conflict with the text themselves.

Blumler and Katz - Uses and Gratifications Theory

This theory suggests that audiences view films for seven reasons;

• Escapism - allowing them to seek distraction from their realities by engaging in fantasies.
• Diversion - as a means of forgetting their problems, relaxing, and filling time. It is also a form of emotional release.
• Information - letting them know about the world and affairs that are occurring through time.
• Counter-cultural experience - allowing them to observe cultural diversity that they may not be exposed to.
• Comparison - making them feel better about their current situation and realising that their life isn't as bad as it seems. Things could be worse.
• Sexual stimulation - giving them arousal that they do not experience outside of media.
• Social interaction - enabling them to socialise with others and share similar interests with them regarding the film that they go to view. This strengthens their happiness and self-esteem.

Passive Theories

A passive audience is an audience that follows popular beliefs embedded in a film and that is susceptible to indoctrination.

The Effects Theory

This theory focuses on the belief that the consumption of media texts has an effect or influence on the audience. This effect is considered as negative as the audience is passive and powerless, failing to obstruct the influence. The power is taken by the message in the text.

Lasswell - Hypodermic Needle

The hypodermic needle is a metaphor for the messages in a text being injected into the audience's mind. The message is like a drug; it will intoxicate you and influence/change your mindset. A medium that frequently uses this technique is the documentary.

The Bobo Doll experiment

In this experiment, a group of children were asked to watch a video where an adult very violently attacked a clown toy; the Bobo Doll. After this, the children were taken to a room with aesthetic toys - they were not permitted to have contact with these toys. The children were then led to another room of toys, only this room contained Bobo Dolls. It was then released that 88% of these children imitated and inflicted the same violent behaviour they had earlier been exposed to on the dolls. 8 months after this experiment, 40% of the test group reproduced his some behaviour.

This theory states that certain actions present through media texts can be interpreted and performed by the audience. They will then apply these actions throughout their lives as they are made to believe it is a normal thing to do.

Why is it important that I know this?

Producers need to be aware of these types of audiences in order to construct and promote their media product as some audiences are more mature than others, so they have to make sure their products comply with this level of maturity. I need to apply these theories to my target audience in order to satisfy their needs and expectations.

Genre Theory

Barry Keith Grant

Grant suggests subgenres are used as more specific categories and allow audiences to identify and recognise them by using familiar and what has become recognisable characteristics. This is clear in the Scream film series as characteristics of naivety and masked identities are visible in each film, depicting the slasher subgenre of horror.

These characteristics are also present in the Friday the 13th slasher horror franchise. Character's in this film somehow always end up in the killer's grasp due to their curiosity.

Commonly, the male characters often put on an act of bravery instead of fear as they stereotypically think egotistically, however, some females possess this trait on occasion.

Steve Neale

It has been suggested by Neale that 'genres are instances of repetition and differences'. This is evident in across the SAW film series, where iconography such as blood, weapons, sharp objects and torturing devices are used to depict the horror genre.

Neale's theory is also supported by 500 Days of Summer where the classic romantic comedy story occurs; boy meets girl, boy falls in love, girl breaks boy's heart. Romantic comedies usually include theatrical performances backed by an uplifting, positive soundtrack to illustrate the events taking place in the film. This is very different to that of the horror genre as incidental music is used across this genre to create tension and build suspense.

Notice that nearly every person in the frame during the dance number wears an item of blue clothing except for the main character, highlighting his oblivion as he believes that his love story will end happily, which is not the case as the love between him and his partner deteriorates as the film progresses. Predominant, light colour palettes such as this is typical of a romantic comedy. In this case, the blue palette resembles loyalty, trust and faith.

BBFC

In this podcast, I will be talking about my trip to the BBFC and giving an overview of each age rating that the organisation use to classify films. This information will help me to decide on a classification for my short film.

The Progression of the Drama Genre

Initial Ideas

My group and I constructed three ideas that we could possibly focus our short films on. These ideas were; 1) A teenage girl faces many difficulties in her life, both social and emotional, so she decides to have a 're-do' of her day, in a sense that her memory refreshes every 24 hours. She does this so that she can identify the little actions that she performs incorrectly in her day-to-day life. She tries to 'get everything right' - as teenagers are pressured by their peers to be perfect. 2) A teenage boy is left in isolation as the ones around him mysteriously disappear on New Years Day. He goes on a mission to figure out how and why everybody has disappeared. 3) A teenage girl goes missing and her allocated friends go on a mission to save her, using clues sent to them from an anonymous source - the kidnapper. They finally find her and reveal who the kidnapper is.