Narrative Structure - Todorov's Theory of Equilibrium

The Proposal

1. A State of Equilibrium
In the opening of the film, the audience see two separate scenes. Margaret in her expensively furnished and neatly tidied apartment, jogging on a treadmill and reading work in the early hours of the morning before she goes to work. The audience then see her getting ready and entering work in clean business wear. Conversely, the audience see Andrew waking up late to his alarm in his messy apartment then rushing through the street of New York to get to work on time for Margaret to receive her coffee. Margaret is a successful book editor and spends everyday degrading and making her assistant, Andrew, work for her with no rewards of his own.

2. A Disruption of the order
Margaret is called into her bosses office to be informed that she faces deportation back to her home of Canada due to her expired Visa. This means that she is unable to work for an American company and therefore would lose her highly ranked job and have to move back to Canada. The man that will succeed her and take on her job, once she is deported, is the man that she recently fired.

3. The Recognition that the Order has been Disrupted
Margaret has come to terms with the problem and to avoid deportation she tells her boss that she is engaged to her assistant Andrew (an American citizen). Their marriage would mean that she can stay in America and continue working as the book editor. He, after Margaret's pleading, agrees that they will marry and later divorce to avoid her deportation and as repayment Andrew will have his book published. However, they has to convince the INS Agent that they are legitimately in love and are going to be married otherwise Andrew will be charged and imprisoned for fraud and Margaret will be deported.

4. The Attempt to Repair the Damage

Margaret accompanies Andrew to his hometown of Sitka, Alaska for his 'Gammy's' 90th birthday. They use this trip to try and trick Andrew's family and friends into thinking that they are truly in love and will be married. In this attempt, the encounter more problems such as: Andrew's family deciding for the 'couple' to be married that weekend on 'Gammy's' birthday and the INS Agent pays them a visit and warns Andrew's father and the couple that if they proceed with the marriage and are proven wrong they will be arrested. This then differs from the original attempt to restore the equilibrium of Margaret and Andrew marrying and later divorcing him. Margaret, due to her feelings developing feeling towards Andrew, changes the equilibrium to her leaving admitting that the marriage was fraud and goes to leave America so that Andrew can get off scot free.

5. A State of New Equilibrium

The two accidentally fall in love with each other whilst trying to trick everyone else into thinking that they are in love. Due to them falling in love, Andrew tries to stop Margaret from moving back to Canada because he wants to be with her and eventually will marry her. The new equilibrium is that they are now a couple and can legitimately justify to the INS Agent that they are in love and will be married.

Western Genre

The film 'The Good, The bad and The Ugly' is typical of its western genre by iconography, narrative, representation and ideologies.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly contains key iconography which connotes the western genre. Within the text, the characters are seen carrying and using guns and have bullets strapped around them. The costumes consist of leather cowboy boots, beige coloured clothing and a stetson (cowboy hat). Other elements of mise en scene include the isolated desert along with an open ground space which is typically used for a showdown.

Within the narrative, the events that take place such as a showdown between two men are common conventions of the western genre. Also, the shooting and killing of men is a common feature. The structure of a western film often involves a large and suspensive build ups to a showdown. Propp's theory of character types is shown as the hero within the scene kills the villain and is triumphant in the text. Also, the villain is shown as a weaker character once he is defeated either by escaping from the scene or dying.

CRASH is represented by showing the men within the scene as macho and strong.

The James Bond franchise is a clear example of the film objectifying females and forcing the audience to view females via the male gaze. The scene within 'Die Another Day' when James Bond meets the character Jinx demonstrates the previous statement by...

The use of technical conventions such as a slow motion shot, a post production technique, when Jinx emerges from the water. This is unrealistic, however, it is used to highlight the importance of the female character and to supply the male viewers with a longer time to gain female pleasure. Also, it implies that Bond's world has been slowed down due to the dream-like beauty of Jinx.

Another camera convention used is vignetting to show the scene as if through Bond's binoculars - this shows that the scene is from a male point of view and therefore the audience see it from the same view point. This shows the focus is on Jinx as the rest of the world as been removed from the shot. The vignetting shows a mid-shot of Jinx to show her face and her body movements within the same shot. This is done to emphasise that, both, her face and her curvaceous body are visually pleasing.

The use of music is used to emphasise the importance and the beauty of Jinx. As Jinx jumps up from the water, the music volume and pitch rises to a crescendo which highlights to the audience that she main focus of the scene. The rise of pitch makes it seem more feminine and the build in the volume shows her significance compared to the rest of the views seen through Bond's binoculars.

The dialogue exchanged between Bond and Jinx is suggestive and flirtatious. This shows hegemonic ideology as Bond first appears to be dominating the scene by saying "magnificent view". This is use to suggest that the view of the female is "magnificent". By saying this, he has shown his interest in her and has objectified her by judging her on her initial appearance.



Using a slow motion camera shot
Music volume and pitch rising when Jinx rises out of the water
Use of vignetting to hone in on Jinx
Dialogue exchanged between Bond and Jinx is suggestive

Coursework Practise Question

How does the media use idealised women to advertise junk food focusing on Haagen Dazs advertising campaign and uses a more realistic representation of women to advertise healthy food focusing on Special K advertising campaign?

Stereotype

Mr and Mrs Smith
In the trailer, the showing time of male and female is equal, however, they are represented in different ways.
Brad Pitt is in skin-tight t-shirts which accentuates his physique and defines his muscles showing him as a strong and macho character. Pitt is also shown to be wearing suits throughout the rest of the trailer which portrays him as a sophisticated and high class business man. He's frequently seen using a variety of guns and weaponry which shows a bad boy character and his dominance over others. Pitt is seen surrounded my males which suggests his male brovado and he is playing cards and gambling which also shows his masculinity. I feel that a stereotypical male representation has been created of Pitt, however, in elements of the trailer he seems inferior to a female which breaks the stereotype.

Angelina Jolie is shown as a strong and dominating character too, however she is still sexualised. During the trailer, she is shown in dresses even when she is on a mission. One clip shows her in a body-con PV dress which is extremely objectifying as it shows her cleavage, legs and figure. This then implies her appearance overpowering her knowledge. Adding to the sexualisation, the is shown several times in her underwear and dressing herself, this is done to entice the male audience. Jolie is feminised as she is shown using a handbag, a typical female accessory, as a gadget on one of her missions. This then contradicts the traditional stereotype as she uses the handbag purposefully and to enforce her power. Also, she is shown to be surrounded by men which shows her using her sexualisation to her strength by seeming to be at men's disposal and undermining them. This is done to adhere to Laura Mulvey's theory of Male Gaze, as it is an action film which stereotypically attracts a male audience. Finally, clips from the trailer show her in her kitchen in an apron which presents her as a typical suburban housewife. However, the rest of the trailer and the film defy this as she is undomesticated and has the same ranked job as her husband. Although Jolie is stereotypically sexualised and objectified, she also defies the female stereotype and is in as much control as Pitt.

Both Pitt and Jolie are represented as being upper middle class due to the house that appears within the trailer and the film. It is a large, lavishly furnished, detached house which implies that they are wealthy. Also, they are portrayed to be of a similar age which again adds to the equality of the characters.

Favourite TV Programme

Brothers & Sisters

Brothers & Sisters is an American drama about an upper class family, made up of 5 siblings (3 brothers and 2 sisters) all aged over 20 and their mother. They live in California and their father created a family business but had a secret affair and later died. The series is about the problems that arise due to the father's mistakes and the effects that it has on the family.

The gratifications from the program include escapism as the constant challenges that occur leave the audience intrigued and interested and you forget about everyday life. Also, it gives emotional release, for example, when Justin is called back to Afghanistan after recently coming out of rehab for his drug addiction. It also gives positive emotional release, such as when Kitty and Robert are able to adopt a baby boy. Brothers & Sisters gives aesthetic enjoyment as all of the male cast are good looking and have a fit and manly appearance, particularly Justin, Tommy and robert, which is pleasing to the female audience.

It also enables me to connect with my family as we rarely have chance to be together, however, we make time to watch the program together. Over the series you become emotionally attached to the characters and their life situations so it can act as a substitute for real-life companionship. I feel encouraged to carry on watching it to satisfy my curiosity of what will happen next. Finally, I am able to find models of behaviour from the characters as they are all successful in their careers and work hard to do well.

Another gratification gained from the program is the variety of subject content that the text contains. For example, it has business content relating to the Ohja family business and, family content about the issues that they encounter and how they overcome them and romance content. Romance is also able to target a wider audience as it has a homosexual couple within the plot as well as other heterosexual couples.

Brothers & Sisters gratifies all of the 4 sections of the Uses and Gratifications theory. The text follows a mainstream narrative structure by Todorov as during each episode the equilibrium is disrupted and the rest of the episode is used to restore it. For example, in one episode, Justin Walker had overdosed on drugs and is in a critical condition. By the end of the episode, the family have found Justin, taken him to hospital and have began looking for rehabilitation centres. However, the scheduling and placement of the text is Niche. Before the program finished, it was shown on More 4 at 10pm which was necessary due to some of the adult content that it contains. Also, More 4 is not a very popular channel and was not accessible to all TV owners. More 4 was a channel set up by Channel 4 to target an adult audience which sophisticated and intellectual content.

Mainstream and Niche Audience

A mainstream audience applies to a text that appeals to a wider range of people as the content gratifies them all due to its range of characters and topics and therefore attracts a larger audience. These texts are shown on the main TV channels that are available to most of the population and are shown at peak times. Ensemble casts appeal to a mainstream audience as the variety of characters can be of different ages, races and in life situations that will appeal to more people. E.g. X Factor, Big Brother, Coronation Street

A niche audience is targeted to a specific audience, which mean the audience is usually smaller, as the content would only interest and gratify an passive audience. They are shown on less popular channels or on channels that are only available if they have been paid for or subscribed to and are shown at non-peak times. E.g. Time Team, Homes under the hammer, Sky Sports