Narrative Essay

The narrative of a film is always created using a specific structure that has to be followed, in order for the film to actually become what its meant to be. There are many theorists that have created ideologies as to how a film should be ideally constructed. In this essay, I'll be explaining what this structure is, and apply it to my own film trailer. The first theorist is Propp, who came up with the idea that in films, there are always some characters that could always be seen. These characters were: the hero, the villain, the helper, the princess, the dispatcher and then the false hero etc. The theory that these type of characters can be found within a movie does, in fact, apply to our film trailer; although it falls into the category of zombie horror - so these type of characters have been changed to fit the sub genre, showing the type of characters that can be found within a zombie film. Out horror trailer includes: the survivor, the sacrifice, the betrayer, the moron, and the expert; highlighting that Propp's theory applies to our film trailer. The second theorist, is Todorov. Todorov conjured up the theory that a film is made on the the structure and form of an: equilibrium, disequilibrium and a resolution. The equilibrium in a film is essentially "the calm before the storm", where all is fine in the world, introducing characters and setting the scene. The disequilibrium is when problems start to arise and the threat has been made aware, as people start dying one by one. Lastly, the resolution is where everything is resolved (or is it?) and the final girl steps up to the threat/villain or is left on a cliffhanger. Todorov's theory can be applied to my film trailer as it involves his structural form. The equilibrium in The Flesh Eaters is when the young teens are in a fancy dress shop, trying on costumes and having fun; introducing the main characters. The disequilibrium, is when the threat has been made aware to the viewer; in this case, when zombies start to appear and start eating everyone. The resolution of the trailer has been left as an enigmatic cliffhanger to keep the audience on their toes when watching the film trailer. Levi Strauss is another theorist that'll be discussed in this essay, as he created the idea that binary opposites are embedded within films, and they can be seen by anyone anytime, anywhere. For the horror genre, the main binary opposites that people will find would be the typical "good vs evil" concept, which can be implied through many ways, for example "hero vs villain". Strauss' theory coexists within our film trailer, as the binary opposite that can be found will be "life vs death", as living humans are trying to fend for themselves in a world full of flesh eating zombies - the dead. To end, I'm convinced that the three narrative theorists that I've discussed in this essay link in with each other to make my horror trailer work. Without one theory, the other theories will cease to exist.