Todorov
Todorov developed 5 generic stages he believed would be found in a narrative
These stages are;
1. A state of equilibrium at the beginning
2. Adisruption of this equilibrium by some action
3. A realisation that there has been a disruption
4. An attempt to repair this disruption
5. A restoration of the initial equilibrium
ProppPropp developed a theory that characters in a story take on single or multiple specific roles of narrative functions or'spheres of action'. The character roles create the narrative of the story. Propp designed 7 character types found in a narrative, the Hero , the Villain, the Donor, the Helper, the Princess, the Dispatcher and the False Hero.
Levi-StraussLevi-Strauss believed in sets of opposite values which reveal the structure of media texts. For example, Good & Evil, , Dark & Light, Old & Young, Earth & Space and so forth. He was not interested in the order of events. Themes contain a variety of binary oppositions, such as sci-fi films may contain Earth & Space as well as Good & Evil and Humans & Aliens, etc.
Barthes
Barthes designed 5 codes which he beleived were beneathe any narrative.
These 5 codes are as follows:
1. Enigma Code - Something the audience does not know.
2. Action Code - Something the audience knows and don't need explaining.
3. Semic Code - Using hints to connote certain concepts such as wealth.
4.Symbolic Code - A structure which organizes meaning such as through the use of binary opposites.
5. Referential Code - Looks at the audiences wider cultural knowledge, morality and ideology.
