Vladimir Propp
In order to help me understand the some of the theory behind film-making I decided to look into the work of Vladimir Propp.
Propp argued that all fairy tales and other works of fiction were constructed of certain plot elements, which he called functions, and that these elements consistently occurred in a uniformed sequence. He draws on an analysis of Russian folk- tales; he concluded that regardless of individual differences in terms of plot, characters and setting. Such narratives would share common structural features. There were the functions of particular characters: 'the villain', 'the donor. 'the helper', 'the princess', 'her father', 'the dispatcher', 'the hero' and 'the false hero'. There were also 31 narrative units descriptive of a particular action. These units were;
- Absentation- A member of a family leaves the security of the home environment. This may be the hero or some other member of the family that the hero will later need to rescue. This division of the cohesive family injects initial tension into the storyline. The hero may also be introduced here, often being shown as an ordinary person.
- Interdiction- The hero is told not to do something or not to go somewhere, She/he is warned against some action (given an 'interdiction').
- Violation of Interdiction- This generally proves to be a bad move and the villain enters the story, although not always confronting the hero. They can appear in many different forms but will be present nonetheless.
- Reconnaissance- Either villain tries to find the victims/money/treasure etc. or the intended victim questions the villain. The villain (often in disguise) makes an active attempt at seeking information, for example searching for something valuable or trying to actively capture someone. They may even speak with a member of the family or a friend of the hero who innocently divulges information. They may also seek to meet the hero, perhaps knowing already the hero is special in some way.
- Delivery- The villain gains information about the victim. The villain's seeking now pays off and he or she now acquires some form of information, often about the hero or victim. Other information can be gained, for example about a map or treasure location. This usually puts the villain in a position of power, installing fear for the hero.
- Trickery- The villain attempts to deceive the victim to take possession of victim or victim's belongings (trickery; villain disguised, tries to win confidence of victim). The villain now presses further, often using the information gained in seeking to deceive the hero or victim in some way, perhaps appearing in disguise. This may include capture of the victim, getting the hero to give the villain something or persuading them that the villain is actually a friend and thereby gaining collaboration.
- Complicity- Victim taken in by deception, unwittingly helping the enemy. The trickery of the villain now works and the hero or victim naively acts in a way that helps the villain. This may range from providing the villain with something (perhaps a map or magical weapon). Or maybe the hero is captured by the villain and/or his henchmen.
- Villainy or 'Lack'- Villain causes harm/injury to family member in some way. Alternatively, a member of family lacks something or desires something. There are two options for this function, either or both of which may appear in the story. In the first option, the villain causes some kind of harm, for example carrying away a victim or stealing/hiding whatever is desired (which must be then be retrieved). In the second option, a sense of lack is identified, for example in the hero's family or within a community, whereby something is identified as lost or something becomes desirable for some reason, for example a magical object that will save people in some way.
- Meditation- Misfortune or lack is made known, (hero is dispatched, hears call for help etc. / alternative is that victimized hero is sent away, freed from imprisonment). The hero now discovers the act of villainy or lack, perhaps finding their family or community devastated or caught up in a state of anguish and woe.
- Beginning, Counter-Action- Seeker agrees to, or decides upon counter-action. The hero now decides to act in a way that will resolve it, for example finding a needed magical item, rescuing those who are captured or otherwise defeating the villain. This is a defining moment for the hero as this is the decision that sets the course of future actions and by which a previously ordinary person takes on the mantle of heroism.
- Departure- Hero leaves.
- First function of the donor- Hero is tested, interrogated, attacked etc. paving the way for something/someone to aid them. (donor)
- Hero's reaction- Hero reacts to actions of future donor (withstands/fails the test, frees captive, reconciles disputants, performs service, uses adversary's powers against him).
- Receipt of magical agent- Hero acquires use of a magical agent (directly transferred, located, purchased, prepared, spontaneously appears, eaten/drunk, help offered by other characters) (obviously this function will not be the same in all cases but can be translated to suit the genre).
- Guidance- Hero is transferred, delivered or led to whereabouts of an object of the search. (In modern fiction, this is the point where a twist sometimes occurs.)
- Struggle- Hero and villain join in direct combat
- Branding- Hero is branded (hurt, marked, ect.)
- Victory- Villain is defeated (killed in combat, defeated in contest, banished ect.)
- Liquidation- Initial misfortune or lack is resolved (object of search distributed, spell broken, slain person revived, captive freed ect.)
- Return- Hero returns.
- Pursuit- Hero is pursued (pursuer tries to kill, capture, undermine the hero).
- Rescue- Hero is rescued from pursuit (obstacles delay pursuer, hero hides or is hidden, hero transforms unrecognisably, hero saved from attempt on his/her life, hero defeats pursuers)
- Unrecognised arrival- Hero unrecognized, arrives home or in another country.
- Unfounded Claims- False hero presents unfounded claims.
- Difficult task- Difficult task proposed to the hero (trial by ordeal, riddles, test of strength/endurance, and other tasks).
- Solution- task resolved.
- Recognition- Hero is recognised (by mark, brand, or something given to them).
- Exposure- False hero or villain is exposed.
- Transfiguration- hero is seen in a different way (gains respect, new garments, healed ect.)
- Punishment- Villain is punished.
- Wedding- (hero marries, 'gets the girl', is awarded/promoted ect.)
The characters were seen as stable elements from story to story, despite individual variations of appearance and/or personality. The narrative units were sufficient to describe all of the stories, although not all the units appear in all of the stories, when they do appear, they are in the prescribed order. While it might appear that such narrative structures are specific to a given genre or culture, the model has proved adaptable to other movies. They inevitably had to be translated somewhat from the original. However, the accounts do have a degree of credibility, and at the very least have the function of making the analysis of a narrative 'strange'.
Despite that, the 'proppean analysis’ does depend of the existence of a single narrative operating in a linear way, also, Propp’s analysis fails to recognize the importance of such story components as tone, mood, characterization, and writing style. In all, I think that by studying Propp's theories I have gained a valuable understanding of essential plot components, however, due to the downfalls mentioned above, I believe that it is best to use Propp's theories only as a guiding base structure for a modern narrative.
