Monday, 5 October 2015

Narrative of a Trailer

Tsvetan Todorov
Believed stories start in a state of equilibrium, which is disrupted, setting in motion a chain of events. The resolution of the story is the creation of a new or different equilibrium. He summed the journey up in five stages:
  1. Equilibrium
  2. Disruption of equilibrium by event or person
  3. Realisation that disruption has occurred
  4. Attempt to repair damage of disruption
  5. Restoration of equilibrium (usually a new equilibrium) 
Examples of films that the theory can be applied to are Titanic, The King's Speech and Die Hard.

The Narrative Structure of Vanity
  1. Equilibrium: Zac and Florence are newly moved in with each other in a society where vanity is not a main focus, people are more concerned with personality. 
  2. Disruption: Someone in the street tells Zac that he is very handsome - something that is forbidden to say. Zac then finds himself in the bathroom when he realises his reflection for the first time, thinking about the comment. 
  3. Realisation: Zac soon becomes obsessed and infatuated with himself - even though he knows it is him in the reflection. His marriage slowly falls apart due to this obsession with a 'new lover'. 
  4. Attempt to repair: Florence takes Zac to the doctors because she is worried about him. The doctor cures him of his infatuation with his reflection.
  5. New equilibrium: Zac is incredibly unhappy now whereas Florence is happy now she's 'fixed' Zac.

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