Narrative Theory Todorov/ Strauss

During my research into the narratives that I could construct in the limited time period of the short film that I shall produce I used Todorov's theory of equilibrium as a basis for this planning.

This theory states that all stories can be broken up into five section these are

1. An equilibrium is set up
2. An event Disrupts this equilibrium
3. There is a recognition of this disruption
4. An attempt is made to repair the damage that this causes
5. After this a new equilibrium is established at the end

What I have decided to do is focus on point four of this theory the section in the narrative where  an attempt is made to repair damage in this case the damage that has been done both by the panic of nearly school and the break up of a long term relationship. The film therefore ends on point 5 with the new equilibrium established as both characters look to the future

In addition to this the themes of this piece of the opposition of past and future are directly picked from the theories of Levi-Strauss with his ideas of binary oppositions.

Levi Strauss, a French anthropologist in the 1900s, proposed a theory of 'binary opposites' which entails that the majority of narratives in media forms such as books and film contain opposing main characters.These binary opposites help to thicken the plot and further the narrative; and introduce contrast. For example, in a superhero film this could be good vs. evil, in a horror film this could be human vs. supernatural, and in a comedy this could be young vs. old. 

In the film Danny and Sam are supposed to be Binary Opposites of each other with Danny being a nervous pessimist while Sam is an eternal optimist and it is the conflict between these two ways of thinking that is central to the films narrative.