60 Second Bunny Task

Propps Theory - Character Theory

Vladimir Propp developed a character theory, which indicates that there were 7 broad characters. The 7 characters are:

1. The villain


2. The donor


3. The helper


4. The princess


5. The false hero


6. The dispatcher


7. The hero

Todrovs Theory - Narrative Theory

Tzvetan Todorov developed a narrative theory which states that there is a pattern in the narratives of films and there are 5 steps in this pattern.

1. The Equilibrium


2. A Disruption


3. Realisation


4. Restored Order


5. A New Equilibrium

Below are slideshares I found whilst researching both theorists they give a brief description of what both theories are. Vladimir Propp analysed the basic plot components of Russian folk tales to identify their simplest narrative elements. Tzvetan Todorov is a  historian and essayist and is the author of books and essays about literary theory, thought history and culture theory.

These theories are easily applied to almost any film/story. The clip below takes a film and uses the theories in order to easily show the storyline in 30 seconds. You can see clearly how these theories have been applied, especially Propps theory as the characters are very distinctive and relatively easy to spot. Todorovs theory is slightly more difficult to spot in a film as some change the order of this.