TODOROV- NARRATIVE THEORY Flashcards
What is the background of Todorov’s narrative theory?
- Studied the form and content of global folk tales and discovered a 5 stage narrative pattern.
Name the 5 stages of Todorov’s narrative theory?
- Equlibirum
- Disruption
- Recognition
- Attempt to repair
- New equilibrium.
EDRAN
What is the equilibrium phase?
- The story begins in a state of normality or balance.
- Because=everything is stable, and the world is functioning as expected.
What is the disruption phase?
- An event occurs that disrupts the equlibrium, introducing conflict or a problem.
What is the recognition phase?
- Characters realise a disruption has occured and must respond to it.
What is the attempt to repair phase?
- The characters take action to resolve the conflict and restore balance
What is the new equlibrium phase?
- A new state of balance is reached, but it is different from the initial equilibrium (it may be better, worse, or more complex).
(The world cannot be reformed completely to old equilibrium. Subsequent events have altered lives, ideas, values forever)
Narrative can communicate the ideologies of its producers. What ideologies can be communicated through narratives (summary)?
- Narratives are ideological, moral and ethical significations.
- Narratives evoke desire
- Narrative disequlibriums and trangsressions communicate social ideals
- Disequlibirium and ideolgical villiany
Narratives are ethical, moral and ideological signfications?
- Narratives are constructed representations of reality, shaped by the ethics, morals, and ideology of the producer(s).
- The way a story is constructed= reflects what the creator wants to emphasize/critic about society.
Example: In Burn the Witch, the narrative frames the village’s persecution ritual as normal (equilibrium), but through irony and horror, it critiques blind conformity and mob mentality.
How do narratives evoke desire?
- The equlibrium communicates desirable ideals or preferable states.
- (shaping audience perceptions of what is normal or desirable)
- Because characters STRIVE to return to this state its value is reinforced.
Example: In traditional Disney films, equilibrium is often a happy kingdom, reinforcing ideas about monarchy and order.
How is Ideology communicated through Disequilibrium & Transgressions?
- The disruption (disequilibrium) often challenges the social norms or values upheld by the producer.
- In most classical narratives, returning to equilibrium requires punishing transgressors and restoring moral order.
Example: In crime dramas, criminals (transgressors) must be punished, reinforcing law and justice as ideological ideals.
Disequilibrium and Ideological Villainy
- The villain often embodies values or behaviors that the audience is encouraged to reject or fear (reinforcing dominant social ideologies)
Example: In superhero films, villains often represent chaos, selfishness, or dictatorship, reinforcing ideals of heroism and democracy.
Burn the Witch subverts this by making the entire village the villain, critiquing how societies often create artificial enemies to maintain control.
Narratives are NOT just stories…
- They are tools of ideological communication.
- They shape what we see as normal, good, or bad
- == often reinforcing dominant societal values.
