Narrative and Genre
A narrative is simply a story. Stories have been told since mankind has had the ability to speak. In
these times they were simple stories to communicate an understanding of their world. As we
progressed and developed more complex societies and the ability to communicate not only orally but
also through writing these stories were shared to a larger audience. Now we have also visual
storytelling, through the advent of photography, film, television and the Internet.
The mass media with a huge audience has the ability to influence on a grand scale, through the telling
of these stories.
When we breakdown these narratives, we discover a simple plot structure and moral base. We have an
understanding of these stories from an early age as our parents will read us fables and stories. These
stories revolve around the human experience and have obvious moral conflicts and assumptions that
‘good’ will triumph over ‘evil’ eg Jack and the Beanstalk.
Most contemporary narratives can be traced back to early mythologies of human experience. As such
all people will be born; develop a moral code; cross the bridge into adulthood often through some sort
of initiation; attempt to meet their ideal partner; face temptation; fight foes; overcome obstacles and
reach gratification. Obviously a narrative will re-tell normally only part of this archetypal heroic journey.
These narratives are worked and re-worked by the media, but are still based on the basic moral
assumption that the more virtuous character will win the conflict.
Using Cinderella as an example we can explore the values and beliefs underpinning this fable.
Cinderella (our victim/hero) is alone and oppressed by the people around her and made to do all the
work. She is representative of the working class and she is poor.
Cinderella is denied the opportunity to mix with the upper class (aristocracy) because of her position
and lack of wealth (power).
Cinderella, later, however is given the opportunity through the Fairy Godmother (supernatural
intervention) to attend the “ball”, giving hope to all oppressed people that they might be an opportunity
to improve their social status and achieve their dreams.
As the story goes Cinderella meets her ideal partner, a wealthy, handsome prince but has to depart as
her true identity will be revealed. She now resumes her previous life.
The prince in his quest to find his “true love”, which he has worked out in a couple of dances, shows
admirable persistence to locate his ideal partner. As a consequence of the myth of romantic love,
Cinderella is able to find gratification by becoming his prize (possession) and obtains a high social
status (wealth and power).
This fairytale is the staple in many mass media productions. Consider Pretty Women and Maid in
Manhatten. Underpinning these stories is the same “ideology”. Anyone from any background can
reach gratification through a combination of hard work, an opportunity and true love.
This “born on the wrong side of the tracks” myth is the staple of many teen dramas/romantic comedies.
The list is endless but would include: Some Kind of Wonderful, Pretty in Pink, 10 Things I Hate
About You, The Karate Kid; La Bamba; and nearly all “Dance” films, Flashdance included.
It can be seen then that the mainstream mass media uses morality tales as a basis to the narratives
the audience ‘views’ or ‘reads’.
What changes then is the genre to suit the cultures changing expectations and experiences.
Student Worksheet Six - Film Genre
Many mainstream feature films tend to use the archetypal heroic journey as a basis for their narratives,
a sub-section of this or a variation on the theme.
These stories have been around for a long time. These stories are reworked and redeveloped by the
media as the audience can relate to the common human experience that as the basis or discourse of
these narratives.
Some examples of these traditional stories could include the following plots.
(i)
Rags to Riches
The hero is taken from or escapes from a state of misery or poverty and after a major crisis
when all seems lost, the hero emerges as a character of exceptional qualities who enjoys
success and is widely admired.
List five media productions which use the Rags to Riches narrative eg Cinderella
(i) Superbad (ii) Aladdin
(iii) The pursuit of happiness (iv)
Slumdog millionaire.
(v) Forrest Gump.
(ii)
Fish Out Of Water
Within the plot, the central character/s are taken or leave their normal or comfortable
environment and travel to a new and radically different (to them) context. The story revolves
around how the protagonist develops their skills and understandings to adapt to the new setting,
by overcoming the obstacles, to survive and thrive within the resolution of the story.
List five media productions which use the Fish Out Of Water narrative eg Crocodile Dundee
(i) Back to the future.
(iii) Terminator 2.
(ii) Alice In Wonderland.
(iv) Australia.
(v) Pretty women.
(iii)
Quest
Far away there is a goal to be achieved. The hero is made aware of this, it becomes a ‘prize’ to
be won at all costs, often to prove themselves worthy. With the aid of helpers (mentor) and
allies (sidekick), the protagonist overcomes hazards and obstacles to gain the prize.
List five media productions which use the Quest narrative eg Lord of the Rings.
(i) Pirates of the Caribbean. (ii) The Goonies.
(iii) Raiders Of The Lost Ark. (iv) The Wizard Of Oz.
(v) Star Wars.
(iv)
Coming Of Age (Rite of Passage)
This refers to the part of the archetypal heroic journey where the central character crosses the
threshold into adulthood.
This transition is brought about by the character displaying bravery by standing up for what they
believe in, overcoming some adversary or discovering a sense of belonging, often by the
acquisition of a partner.
List 5 media productions which use the Coming Of Age narrative eg Karate Kid
(i) Holes (ii) Superbad.
(iii) The Sandlot.
(iv)My Girl.
(v) Stand By Me.
Lone Hero Narrative
If we explore the ‘lone hero’ narrative journey in which the hero (protagonist) enters a dysfunctional,
sometimes violent society in which people are oppressed by the antagonist/s he will eventually
overcome the villains (antagonists) (often through a use of violence, however reluctantly), free the
people and then leave.
This is story behind firstly Greek mythology, then American mythology (the Western) and can be seen
in many Science Fiction and Action/Adventure genres within contemporary society.
What has changed over time is not the basic narrative but the iconography and the stories response to
the changing societal values. We can see the changing values within a society if we trace the
evolution of the central character within this ‘heroic journey.’
Traditionally the protagonists is seen as being virtuous (morally incorrupt) and will overpower the
antagonist and ‘free’ the society of evil for purely ‘altruistic’ reasons where they gain little for
themselves and conquer the enemy.
This character type can be seen in traditional narratives, and narratives made for a target audience of
children.
As societies change and are perceived as more violent, dangerous places the hero also developed
more flaws, as he is also a part of this dysfunctional society, there is less reluctance on the part of the
hero to use violent force to match and overcome the violence in the narratives’ society, often the hero
now expects some sort of payment for their services. This may be monetary gain or some form of selfgratification or redemption. Often the prize is the admiration and love of a female character. This is the
development of the “anti hero”.
In contemporary stories the hero can also be a female as in the Alien trilogy, this reflects the
independence of women in contemporary ‘western’ societies.
We can also see the change in the lone hero through the ‘iconography’ of the weapons used. In Greek
mythology, the beast is killed with a skilfully thrown spear, the Western hero uses his skills of
horsemanship and the six shooter to defeat the enemies, whereas the protagonist of the “Sci Fi” and
action film will defeat the forces of evil with increased violence and weaponry.
The narrative underpins genre. To explore this notion further and gather evidence from media texts to
support this assertion one can explore a narrative type over-time or even across cultures.
An example, of this exploration would be to analyse the morals of the central character in the heroic
journey. If an audience was to analyse three essentially ‘westerns’ feature films over a thirty year period
from the 1950’s to the 1980’s we can trace the changing societies by exploring the moral code of the
central character. Shane (50’s); High Plains Drifter (70’s); and Mad Max II (80’s) all revolve around
the lone hero figure.
Shane is virtuous; he rides into town helps the people out by defeating the forces of evil and rides out
with no expectation of any type of reward.
The central character in High Plains Drifter is more violent and aggressive and expects a reward for his
services. Max is a ‘tortured soul’ who is ultra-violent, in response to the chaotic society in which he
exists. The audience would be able to trace the evolution of the central characters and of the societies
values in which they were produced. “All mainstream popular media texts reflect the values of the
audience they are produced for...”
Working in pairs read through the following web site:
http://www.filmsite.org/filmgenres.html
You will be allocated a Genre to research in more depth…
Post the codes and conventions of the main Genre you have been allocated at
www.dshsmedia.wordpress.com under the discussion forum tab.