Narrative Theory

Narrative Theory

Narrative is “a chain of events in a cause-effect relationship occurring in time” according to Bordwell and Thompson.

Syd Field, an American screenwriter, said that a successful film must have the audience ‘grabbed’ in the first ten-minutes. Due to ‘Eighteen’ being in trailer form we had to subvert this.

We managed to conform to this theory by revealing the plot through small clues; for example our titles that mention ‘isolation’ and ‘depression’, which are the basis of our character’s journey.

Our narrative is restricted which promotes enigmas; this is a tool we used to attract the target audience. The title of our film also helps; “eighteen” with an 18 age rating makes the target audience obvious.

Propp’s theory suggests that characters take on the role of narrative ‘spheres of action’. He claims there are seven different characters types in most media products, including the hero, the villain and the victim amongst others. ‘Eighteen’ subverts this theory as there is only one character. Due to the genre, there isn’t always a hero as it’s based on social commentary. The protagonist takes on two character types: the victim and the villain. This is shown by the character seeming dangerous, implied by the drug taking in the opening of the trailer, contrasting with the shots of the protagonist’s eyes in the mirror, they are bloodshot and show that she has been crying.

Todorov’s theory states that narrative is structured in five stages: a state of equilibrium at the outset, a disruption of the equilibrium and a reinstatement of the equilibrium to finish, amongst others. ‘Eighteen’ starts at the highest point of disequilibrium as drug taking is an uncomfortable subject. As well as this, our music, which is of the electro pop genre, sounds like a heartbeat. This adds to the discomfort of the scene as heavy percussion is introduced at the point of injection, representing the drug entering her bloodstream.

Aristotle’s Unities claim that narrative should be created within a ‘unity’ of time, place and action, meaning that it should all take place in the same location, time and have move towards a logical conclusion. ‘Eighteen’ jumps locations, an example of this is the flashbacks.

Levi Strauss’ Binary Opposition states that tension is based on conflict and opposition. Our trailer conforms to this theory, but instead of opposition arising between two characters, the protagonist struggles with an internal conflict. The heroin taken at the beginning of the trailer can be seen slowly destroying the character’s life, eventually leading to complete isolation and homelessness. The character is dealing with her addiction outweighing self-inflicted pain, which leads to her self-destruction.