The key point of Todorov's theory is equilibrium:
- There's equilibrium
- Suffers disequilibrium
- New equilibrium produced
There are 5 stages to this narrative:
- State of equilibrium
- Disruption by an event
- Recognition disruption occurred
- Attempt to repair damage
- New equilibrium achieved
Propp
Based on ancient folk tales, Propp's theory is that all narratives feature set of stock characters:
- Hero
- Villain
- Donor
- Helper
- Princess
- Father
- Dispatcher
- Victim
- False Hero
Levi-Strauss
- Binary oppositions
- Constant conflict or opposition propels a narrative
- Narrative can only end on conflict resolution
- Examples of binary opposition include:
- Visual (light vs dark)
- Conceptual (good vs evil)
- Narrative/genre based (humans vs aliens)
