CS Narrative theories: Todorov and Propp's archetypes

Introduction of Todorov 

Tzetan Todorov was a Bulgarian/French historian. He was also a philosopher, structuralist literary critic, geologist and socialist. He has written many books and essays linking to literary theory, semiotics, sociology and cultural theory. In 1996 he created the narrative structure theory. He believed that this theory could be applied to any film or media text with a narrative structure.

5 Stages of Theory

1. A state of equilibrium - This means everything is happening as it should 
2. A disruption of the equilibrium - This disruption can happen throughout the film
3. A recognition by the characters that a disruption has occurred 
4. An attempt to repair the disruption
5. A reinstatement of the equilibrium 

Introduction to Propp 
Vladimir Propp was a soviet folklorist who majored in philology. His character types went unnoticed until they were translated in 1958. The characters were a breakdown of fairy tales divided from 31 sections into 7. These seven character types can also be known as archetypes.

The Seven Archetypes 

1. The Villain (antagonist) - struggles against the hero
2. The Donor - prepares the hero or goes the hero a magical object
3. The Helper - helps the hero in his journey or quest
4. The Hero (protagonist) - reacts to the donor, is the person who saves the day, gets prize/princess
5. The False Hero - takes credit for the hero's actions and tries to claim the price/princess
6. The Princess or Prize - the hero's journey often ends with him wedding the princess or receiving a prize
7. The Dispatcher - a character who takes the unknown known and tells them to the hero

Star Wars Example

The Villain - Darth vader

The Donor - Obi-Wan Kenobi

The Helper - Han Solo
The Hero - Luke Skywalker
False Hero - Lando

The Princess - Princess Leia

The Dispatcher - R2D2