Narrative theory in relation to ‘The Crazies’ and ‘Halloween’ The Crazies (Eisner, 2010) Does the Crazies follow 'classic Hollywood narrative'? Why or why not? Todorov suggested that stories the 'classic Hollywood structure' as the most common structure in Hollywood films. The basis of what Todorov's theory involved described how films started with a state of equilibrium, which is disrupted by an event which then sets of a chain of events. Following this the films tend to finish with a resolution and a new equilibrium. In Eisner's 'The Crazies' I believe the film follows the 'classic Hollywood narrative' to a small extent. At the start of the film the town sheriff, David, and his deputy Russell enjoy a Diagram: Todorov’s ‘classic Hollywood narrative’ baseball game. This all seems very normal until seconds later a man walks onto the pitch with a shotgun and is shot dead by the sheriff before he causes any more damage. This part of the film, the very start, can also be seen as a disequilibrium in Todorov's theory. As the film progresses the characters battle to get things back to normal like any other horror movie and at the end only two of them survive. This fits to the typical 'Hollywood structure' however the very end of the film sees a new decontamination program about to start - a disequilibrium.
How many of Propp's character types can be identified in the film?
Many of Propp's character roles can be identified in the film. Firstly, the hero of the film is not a hero but in fact two heroes. Judy and David both make it out alive and they fight together to stop the crazies. Both help others and help each other, it is difficult to choose one over the other. Although most characters eventually turn into villains, the government are the main villain in the film as they started the virus. Judy and David can also be seen as the helpers. They are reliant on each other and David saves Judy from the government very early on in the film. He helps her through it and as does she with him. Judy could also be seen as the princess in this film, she is saved by her hero. Russell can also be given more than one character type. Throughout the majority of the film he is the helper. He helps David consistently, saving his life on more than one occasion. As the film draws in David hands his life to the government in order for Judy and David to escape he is now also the donor. The mayor of the town is the dispatcher... He has the chance to turn off the water supply and save lives however he refuses to do so.
List five examples of binary oppositions in the film and explain them briefly. Innocent/Guilty - In the film most of the characters are portrayed as guilty because of the simple fact they are killing people (due to the virus they possess). Despite this, everyone is actually innocent and this becomes clearer as the film progresses. It is not their fault that they have the virus therefore they cannot help their actions. The real guilty party are the government, who have placed the virus in the town. Safe/Unsafe - The film is clearly trying to promote the idea of safe/unsafe and this is mainly done through the use of day/night. Everyone is relatively safe during the day or when there are a lot of people in one place. Some examples of unsafeness within the film are when the government first enter the town to undergo the operation - which is at night. Also, the house is burned down by the man with the virus at night. To begin with the characters are safe during the day, however as the film progresses and more and more people become infected they become more and more unsafe. When Judy and David arrive at the fuel station to be confronted by a group of people who have escaped with the virus it is at night.
Order/Chaos - At first everything seems to be in order in the town, there is a good sheriff, a good doctor/nurse and a good community of people. There is a lack of arrogance or crime and everyone seems well ordered about their day to day stuff. As soon as the virus is introduced the town becomes increasingly unordered and chaos soon breaks out. A good example of this is when the people locked up in the containment area escape pushing the metal fence down. The government open fire free-willingly. People are soon just simply killing each other, both the people infected violently murdering other innocent victims and the government eliminating people for no reason whatsoever. This is chaos. Right: Some other examples of common binary oppositions.
Identify the three 'durations' and give an estimate of the time each duration covers. Screen duration - 92 minutes This is the exact length of the film. Plot duration - 3 days This includes the time from which the virus is first introduced/discovered in the town all the way to when the town is blown up and Judy and David escape. 3 days’ worth of action into 92 minutes worth of the film. Story duration - months It is impossible to tell the exact length of the story however this includes the day the plane crashes and infects the water supply of the town with dangerous chemicals. This most probably happened months before the virus is first discovered at the baseball game. Following this event it was all over within 3 days, and maybe with a second contamination program which is shown at the end of the film another couple of days.
Give two examples of events that cause later events in the film but which occur before the film 'starts'.
Before the film starts the town's water supply is contaminated with dangerous chemicals as the result of a plane crash. A second event is the fact that Judy is pregnant before the film starts. During the film this causes her to be taken away from David by the government and put into an isolated room with other people who have the virus. She doesn't have a virus however, she just has a high temperature due to pregnancy.
List two events from the 92 minute film that happen in a different time and space to the one we are shown. The deputy sheriff Russell is on screen through large parts of the film however there are some stages where he is absent. Despite him being absent we are able to defer where he was/what he was doing because of the events we are shown. Towards the end of the film it becomes clearer that Russell has the virus. When re re-unites with David in the sheriff's office he doesn't say where he has been however we know as an audience that he was taken away by the government because he has the virus and later escaped.
Halloween (Carpenter, 1978) Todorov created the narrative theory also known as the 'classic Hollywood structure'. He said that most narrative stories. He said that they began with an equilibrium which could be referred to as ‘the normal’. Following this there will be a disruption. This could be anything from a death to a small offence. This disruption will then be resolved, creating a ‘new equilibrium’. The story would usually end with the new equilibrium. In the film Halloween this structure is not followed. At the start of the film a young boy brutally murders his sister - this is not at all an equilibrium. As the film progresses and Mike Myers escapes from mental asylum there is more disequilibrium. Finally, the film finishes with Mike Myers escaping without being killed. There is no new equilibrium as the killer is still on the loose. Propp's theory identifies 8 different character types some of which can be found in most films. There are 3 easily identifiable character types in Halloween. 1. Laurie is the hero of the film. Although she does not kill the murderer or eliminate him, she is the main focus of the film and survives. 2. The villain is quite blatantly Mike Myers. He stalks and murders the townsfolk. 3. Finally, Dr Loomis, Mike's doctor would be the helper. He helps Laurie in her battle against Mike throughout the film. Claude Levi-Strauss created the theory of binary oppositions. This was more about themes that gave the media text narrative structure. There are two identifiable binary oppositions in Halloween;
Good/Evil, Known/Unknown. Both of these help create terror and horror. The fact Mike Myers wears a mask creates a sense of unknown, he is less terrifying when we see his actual face as is anything we know more about. Good/Evil is a basic binary opposition and in Halloween Mike Myers is the only source of evil. Good comes throughout the film in Laurie' persistent struggle to stop him. Bordwell and Thompson in their book ‘Film Art: An Introduction’ explained their theory that narrative is ‘a chain of events in a causeeffect relationship, occurring in time and space’. For them, a narrative usually begins with one situation followed by a series of changes according to a pattern of cause and effect and finally a new situation arises that brings the end of a narrative. They go on to conclude that we use cause and effect for everything we do in life. An example being that if we are feeling sick we will look for a cause – this might be the excessive amount of alcohol we drank the night before. Directors have exploited this idea of cause and effect to great extents within their films. We link shots and scenes in films the same we do in real life and this is key to our understanding and enjoyment of the film. In ‘Halloween’ Michael killing his sister ‘sparks’ the subsequent actions/events throughout the film. The initial killing itself is a cause to the effect that Michael is omitted to a mental hospital. Fifteen years later he escapes and the consequential event of this is for Laurie Strode to be stalked. These are cause-effect relationships that look at the bigger picture in the film however more detailed cause-effect events are also present.