Fictions 1

January 31st
The activity on your fictions 1 sheet must be completed and emailed to Jan by Friday 4th February.
Tha sheet can be found on the VLE>A2Communication & Culture 2010-11>Fictions>Fictions1.
See items below for information about narrative.

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Barthes' Narrative Codes

The semic code the connotations of signs within a narrative: a descriptive code.
The referential code the relationship of signs to the wider world outside: a code of realism.
The symbolic code the meanings of elements within the narrative: a representational code.

Diegesis

This is the world of the characters in the story. In a film there is information that is only available to the audience, for example captions, theme music or the celebrity persona of an actor. This is non-diegetic information. Non-diegetic information is part of the plot, but not part of the story.

Narrative, story and plot

Narrative
is a series of events. 'I am cold' is not a narrative, but 'I am cold because the evil Tesks of Orthorn have imprisoned me in an ice cavern' is a narrative. Film theorists Bordwell and Thompson describe a narrative as 'a chain of events in a cause-effect relationship occuring in time and space' (1990). This is useful as it places emphasis on 3 key components of narrative:

Causality or why things happen, ('... because the Tesks imprisoned me.')

Time or when things happen ('... I was imprisoned in an ice cavern then I got cold.')

Space or where things happen ('... the ice caverns of Orthorn.')

The Quest Narrative

The quest is a type of story in which the hero sets off on a mission to retrieve some object of value or solve a great mystery. The mission involves many great obstacles and difficulties which must be overcome to achieve an ultimate goal. Standing between the hero and this goal is the villain. The villan (and any villainous allies) must be vanquished before the hero can accomplish the objectives of the mission before triumphantly returning home to claim a well-earned reward.

The theory
The Russian narrative theorist, Vladimir Propp, identified a set of 'character types' typically found in the quest:

The Hero
The protagonist and main agent of change.

The Villain
Places obstacles in the path of the hero. Must be defeated in order that the hero can carry off the prize. Often assisted by henchmen who oppose the hero before the climactic confrontation.

Donor
Provides the hero with a 'gift'. This could be a magical power, a piece of valuable information or a talisman.

Helper
The hero's trusted sidekick(s). Often a dangerous role in quests as helpers are quite likely to find themselves sacrificed to the cause - helpfully providing or strengthening the hero's revenge motive.

Dispatcher
Sends the hero off. May also act as the hero's mentor.

Sought for person
Or 'Princess' - may be the object of the hero's mission and/or the reward for succeeding in the quest.

False hero
Often mistaken for the real hero by other characters (including the princess's father - who may be tempted to bestow the reward on the False Hero instead of the Real Hero).

Features of postmodernism

The main concept of postmodernism is that it breaks the rules. However, there are many other features that are illustrated in the posts below.