Applying Narrative Theory to The Shining.

Tzvetan Todorov explained that film starts with an equilibrium where this is then interrupted by an dramatic event that will produce a series of events throughout the film. This is the disequilibrium which is however resolved into a new equilibrium at the end of the story.

The equilibrium in 'The Shining' - looking for a job; a happy family.

Disequilibrum- husband goes mad, the house is haunted.

Equilibrium- wife and son escape.

Vladimir Propp discovered there are 8 character roles within a narrative.


If we look at 'The Shining' it is hard to state which character has which particular role.


For example:






Hero- Wendy/Danny? (Not easy to say for much of the film.)


Villain- Jack/Hotel/Grady?


The Helper- Wendy/Danny/Tony?


Princess- Wendy/Danny?


False Hero- Jack?






Propp's theory is too vague, especially for 'The Shining,' with too many possible character titles. However, it stops the audience thinking of narrative with characters but instead, with functions and processing.






More about Propp....


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Propp










Claude Levi-Strauss looked at narrative structure in terms of 'binary oppositions.'


For example:


Good/Evil


Natural/Supernatural


Past/Present


Sanity/Insanity


Love/Hate


Saftey/Danger






We could look at 'The Shining' and say the good turned into evil as Jack starts off as an ordinary man but then goes mad wanting to kill his own family.













Bordwell and Thompson stated narrative as 'a chain of events in a cause-effect relationship, ocurring in time and space.'


When watching a film, the audience try to make sense of what is happening to see a sequence of cause and effect. However, the chain of events in 'The Shining' are unpredictable and the plot and events never make much sense. 'The Shining' uses a timeline which goes back and forth with flashes of scenes which Danny sees for example.