Narrative Theorists- Roland Barthes

Roland Barthes who is also a narrative theorist came up with give different codes which activates the reader to make sense of the text. These five codes are:

Hermeneutic/Enigma code
Action code
Semantic code
Symbolic code
Referential code

Enigma code:

The enigma code refers to a mystery part in a text. This is where clues are given but the definite answer is not. This is related to my coursework as noone knows it is the boyfriend that tries to kill the girl until the end. So part of the enigma code is in my short film, but because the answer is given at the end then the mystery is resolved.

Action code:

The action code refers to action in a text. This relates to my short film as there is action all the way throughout. There is violence and getting hit by a car.

Semantic code:

The semantic code refers to different meaning of one text.

Symbolic code:

The symbolic code refers to what the text ,and what is in the text, symbolises. For example, in reference to my short film the black and white scenes can be symbolised. Because the black and whit scenes are of bad, violent memories than the black symbolises the violence and the evilness of the boyfriend and the white symbolises the innocence of the girl.

Referential code:

The referential code refers to anything in a text that refers to something else. So like intertextuality.

Narrative Theorists- Valdimir Propp

This narrative theorist came up with seven different character types that appear in most if not all films. These are:
Hero- usually male who embarkes on a quest,
Villian- who usually disrupts the equilibrium.
Princess- usually female who is in danger from the villian and gets rescued by the hero.
False hero- uaually appears to be a good person but at the end of the film, it shows that the person was indeed bad.
The donor- usually gives the hero something to help him on his quest.
The helper-  aids the hero.
The dispatcher- usually sends the hero on their quest.

For example, Harry Potter...
Hero is Harry
Villian is Voldemort
Princess is the magical world
False hero is Dumbledore
The donor is Snape
The helpers are Hermione and Ron
The dispatcher is also Dumbledore






















In relation to my short film, there is a hero, a villian, a princess and a false hero.




The hero and the princess is Aimee who is played by Becky. She is the princess




as she needs saving from her boyfriend who tries and kills her. She is also the




hero as she survives being hit by a car.










The villian and the false hero is Jack who is played by Zak. He is the false hero as




he is supposed the hero and save his girlfriend but he is the one who is trying




to harm her. Leading from this he is also the villian. 

Narrative Theorists- Claude Levi-Strauss

Claude Levi-Strauss is a narrative theorist who came up with the idea of 'binary opposites'. For example,
light, dark
love,hate
black,white
war,peace.

Binary opposites are in my short film and they are:

love, hate- In my short film the relationship between the two main characters is a love hate relationship.He loves his girlfriend but at the same time wants to kill her.

black,white- In  my short film the bad memories/flashbacks are physically in black and white. This suggests that the violent memories/flashbacks are black and white.

male, female- Obviously its simple but, the main characters are male and female.

Audience Theories- Hypodermic Needle Model.

It was the first attempt to explain how mass audiences might react to mass media in the 1920's.
This model suggests that audiences are passive and passively recieve the information without any attempt to process or challenge the data.

Governments discovered the power of advertising produced a propoganda to try and sway people to a different way of thinking. The experience, intelligence, and opinion of an individual are irrelevant. This theory also suggests that as an audience we are manipulated by the creators of the mediaand that the audiences thinking will be easily changed by media producers. The theory also suggests the the audience are passive and belong to the same group, (heterogenous).

Audience Theories- Reception Theory.

Extending on the concept of an active audience , work was done on the way audiences recieve and interpret a text, and how their individual lives affect their reading or reception. This  work was based  on Stuart Halls encoding/encoding model of the relationship between text and audience.
The text is encoded by the producer
The text is then decoded by the reader
There may be major differences between the readings of the same code. This may happen dependant on the readers SAGEL (socio economic group, age, gender, ethnicity and lifestyle).
Therefore, texts can be polysemic, which  means many meanings.
By using recognised codes and conventions, audiences expectations, the producers can create a certain amount of agreement on what the code means. This is known as preferred reading.

Audience Theories- Uses and Gratifications.

During the 1960's , people were the first generation to have a television. Media theorists became increasingly aware that audiences made choices about what they did when consuming texts. Far from being a passive mass, audiences were made up from individuals which are also known as active consumers.
Uses and Gratifications theory was expanded by researchers Blumler and Katz, (1974), saying that individuals might choose a text for different reasons. They came up with four purposes as to why individuals might choose a text. They are:

Diversion- 

escaping from everyday problems and routines.

Personal Relationships-

Using the media for emotional and other interaction. For example, substituting soap operas for family life.

Personal Identity-

Finding yourself reflected in texts, learning behaviour and values from texts.

Surveillance-

Information which could be useful for living. For example, weather reports, financial news, holiday bargains etc).

Related to my coursework.

These purposes could be used for my short film. People could get a sense of personal relationships. In my short film there is a relationship that takes place and people can get emotionally attached as it is quite a sad and emotional film. One purpose that shows up for every film is diversion. My short film has a purpose to entertain. Therefore, it is a diversion from everyday life.

Audience Theories.- Two-Step Flow.

The Hyperdermic model didn't exaplin enough of the relationship between audience and text for media researchers. Introduce the two-step flow.
Created by Lazarsfeld et al (1940) they analysed voters decision while making a presidential decision. Their findings suggest that information from text does not flow directly to the audiences mind. However, the information filtered through 'opinion leaders' who communicate the information over whom they have influence over.

So what are opinion leaders?

They can be key people who can affect others.




They pay close attention to the mass media and recieve their message.




They pass on their own message alongside the media content.




Audience then mediate the information recieved directly from the media alongside the ideas from the opinion 




leaders. Therefore being influenced by a direct process, by a two-step flow. This diminshed the power of the 




media in researchers minds and made them conclude that social factors were also important in they way in




which the audience interprets texts.

How does this relate to my coursework?

This relates to my coursework as Ashleigh and I have a message to give to  our audience.  Our message was

that even people you love and trust can betray you. Opinion leaders will have their own opinion and may think

that the boyfriend did not even hit her, it was suggested that way. So with our message and opinion leaders 

message, the individuals will decide what they may think.