Narrative theories: The analysis of the synopsis

Tzvetan Todorov argued that there is the same basic structure to every story which is the equilibrium, disruption, resolution, restore and new equilibrium.

In the synopsis the equilibrium is the girl (Carly) and her father move into a new house and the next and she goes to a new school. This is the normal life for the characters. The disruption stage is when the Carly’s friends start dying. This is when the enigma arises. In our story the enigma is who is the killer and how do they stop him? The problem is resolved when the characters find out who the killer is and when the killer is dies. In the synopsis there isn’t a restore stage and therefore the new equilibrium isn’t shown.

Vladimir Prop while studying Russian fairytales recognised a series of recurring functions and narrative strands. These recurring functions can be seen in many films, especially in adventure films.

There aren’t many of props recurring function in the synopsis but there are a few, such as, the hero is tested, interrogated and attacked. In the synopsis Carly is the hero and she is constantly tested and attacked. Fro example, when the killer is running after her, Jack and Maxi, and then soon after is running after back to the house when is killed.

Another one of the functions is the villain and the hero come in direct combat. In the synopsis Carly and the killer come face to face at the end when she finds out the killer is her father and they fight, Carly ends up killing her father which is another function.

Roland Barthes is a structurelist thinker who identified a number of codes (set of conventions, which help find the meaning of the story). Barthes believes that every story have the same codes and conventions behind them.

The two codes that I have identified in the synopsis timeline are the semantic code and the enigma code.

The semantic code is the characters point of view. In the synopsis the point of view the story is told from is Carly’s. The story follows her life and the events that happen to her are shown. So the film starts with Carly and her father moving into a new house later in the story her and her friend go to an abandon house, soon after she is running home from a killer. I selected these scenes to show that the story is about her and follow her life.

The enigma code is the problem. The enigma code is identified in the synopsis when the characters find out that Tim is died and they see some figure outside. The problem is who is killer and how should he be stop? This enigma is resolve when Carly finds out that the killer is her father and then she thinks she has killed him, however at the end he has disappeared, allowing the story to go on in a series of sequels.

Claude Levi Strauss looked more at there are stories unlike Todorov, looking at the structure of stories. Levi Strauss believed that stories were told to explain things, such as contradictions and therefore believed that a story would be full of binary opposites.

The binary opposites that are present in our storyline are hero Vs villain, Carly being the hero and her father, who is the villain as he wants to kill her and her friends.

Another one is male and female. The killer is a male and the victim is a female. This reinforces the dominant ideology in the patriarchal society. And suggest what women and males should be like, which is that women shouldn’t be stronger than men and males shouldn’t be weaker than females.