Narrative Theory In Relation to Halloween (Carpenter,1978) and The Crazies (Eisner, 2010)

Halloween

Todorov- 3 Point Structure   
Tzvetan Todorov followers a simple three point structure also known as the 'Classic Hollywood Narrative' (CHN). The simple structure is the Equilibrium-Disequilibrium-New Equilibrium. In the film Halloween it starts off with Michael Myers killing his sister by stabbing her repetitively with a knife; this is already a disruption in the film so doesn't follow the simple structure which Todorov had created. Already we know that the film doesn't apply with the normal structure which a film normally consists with and makes the film a bit more difficult to follow without a simple order.

Propp- 8 Character Types
Vladimir Propp looked at 100 folk tales and identified 8 character roles within films.
These character types are:

1. The Villain "The Baddie"
2. The Hero "Protagonist"
3. The Donor "Provides an object with some magic property"
4. The Helper "Aids the hero"
5. The Princess "Reward"
6. Her Farther "Rewards the Hero"
7. The Dispatcher "Sends the Hero away"
8. The False Hero "Double Agent; hinders the hero rather than helping him"

Halloween Character Types-Propp

1. The Villain- Michael Myers
2. The Hero- Laurie Strode
3. The Donor- ? Could possibly be the kids as they gave her the strength to protect them
4. The Helper-Doctor Loomis
5. The Princess- The Kids that Laurie saves
6. Her Farther- The hero doesn't get rewarded
7. The Dispatcher-? Possibly be the the doctors who let Michael Myers escape from the mental asylum she wouldn't of had to save the kids.
8. The False Hero- Doctor Loomis could possibly be the false hero as he came at the last minute to try and safe every one yet Laurie did the main job. Also if he didn't allow Michael Myers to escape in the first place then no one would have had to been saved.

Propp's theory does apply with the film Halloween but can be argued to not apply with all character types as most of the character's in the film become more then one character type.

Levi-Strauss- Binary Oppositions
Claude Levi-Strauss looked at narrative structure in terms of binary oppositions. For example we understand the concept of GOOD as being the opposite of EVIL. Levi-Strauss looked for a deeper arrangements of themes. Strauss specifically looked into science fiction binary opposition and came up with six binary oppositions which were created by the narrative
These are:

1. Earth-Space
2. Good-Evil
3. Humans-Aliens
4. Past-Present
5. Normal-Strange
6. Known-Unknown

Halloween Binary Oppositions- (The ones that Levi-Strauss appeal to in the film)

1. Good-Evil: Good/ The Good in the film is the community which they 're apart of and the dedication Laurie shows when trying to save the children.
                      Evil/ The Evil is Michael Myers and his addictive behaviour towards killing innocent victims
2. Past-Present: Past/ We start off in the past and see Michael killing his sister in 1963 on Halloween Night.
                        Present/ It then changes to the present day of 1978 also on Halloween which then allows the viewer to associate the same two events and makes a link within the film. In the film we also see Michael Myers escape from a mental asylum on Halloween linking the two killings together and allowing us to make the judgement that he will kill again on the same night.

Levi-Strauss narrative theory does link in with the film Halloween with certain binary oppositions.

Bordwell And Thompson-Cause and Effect
Bordwell and Thompson study how chains of event work within films and how certain events triggers off another. They defined narrative as "a chain of events in a cause-effect relationship, occurring in time and space". In the film Halloween the first killing of his sister on Halloween night triggers him off to kill again 15 years later on the same night. Also all the killing of the victims linked in with one another. Michael killed his sister after he witnessed his sister 'making out' with her boyfriend and then Michael killed her. With his more recent killings in 1978 he kills in a similar way. All the victims had either been with their partner at the time or was planning on meeting up with them, then he planned his attack.

The Crazies-2010

 

Does The Crazies follow the CHN?-No the film The Crazies does not follow the typical CHN structure as it doesn't start with an initial equilibrium but instead it starts with an disruption to the equilibrium.

How many of Propp's character types can be identified in the film?-
Villain: You could say that the villain was the virus but i feel that the villain was the US government which then driven the US army to kill innocent civilians which stemmed from the virus outbreak.

Hero: The hero in the film was David ( The sheriff ) who had a driven courage to save his pregnant wife and get them back to civilisation.

Helper: There are many helpers in the film starting from Russell (The Deputy Sheriff) , David's wife Judy, The solider in the barn as he didn't give away their location, possibly the government in the black car as he gave them confidential information.

Princess: The princess in the film is Judy.

Dispatcher: The government is the dispatcher as they were the ones that unleashed the virus.

The Donor: The Donor's are Russell and David as they both have guns which help with killing the crazies whilst David provides them with a car.

False Hero: The false hero is Russell as he starts off on their side and trying to survive but then catches the virus and starts killing innocent people and vital people which hold important information. Also the government could be the false hero as they make themselves look like they're helping people while actually they're killing innocent people.

List five examples of binary oppositions in the film and explain them briefly-

1. At the start of the film they show you the town on fire which is seen as (present) but then it flashes back to when the town was a 'perfect' place to live and all innocent and happy (past). The binary opposition :Past/Present
2. There is a significant binary opposition throughout the film 'Good and Evil'. We see good in David and Judy who try and save their town from the crazies but also we see bad in the crazies as they are going around killing everybody and we see bad in the government who makes the military kill innocent people to try and stop the spread of the virus. The binary opposition:Good/Evil
3. Innocence/Guilt- The crazies are perceived as being bad in the film but it isn't their fault that they have picked up this virus which has taken over them so they have a sense of innocence about them. The guilt we see in the film is by the government of making this virus which then leaked out into the wrong town corrupting their society.
4. Human/Aliens- The human part is represented in everyone being the same. Also how David and Judy act. David shows human nature when he goes back to save Judy from the military whilst the alien part is how the crazies are taken over. The way they act are not normal and is very unusual, it is as if they are being controlled by something else and they are possessed. The aliens could also be represented in the government. The government are acting in an aliens like behaviour which is very different to human nature, they're killing innocent people for no reason. This is not the way humans act towards one another and is very un-ordinary. 
5. Normal/Strange- This applies the most to the scene where Russell, Judy, Becca and David have crossed the field to get to David's and Judy's house to get the car. We see Judy start taking down her washing off the washing line. To Judy this is normal and nothing has ever interupted her daily routine, but its strange behaviour due to the circumstances of what is happening around her.



Identify the three 'durations' and give an estimate of the time each duration covers.

• Screen Duration- 92 Minutes
• Plot Duration- 3 Days
• Story Duration- Judy being pregnant and the plane crash, and even the virus being created,tested and sent for incineration.

Give two examples of events that cause later events in the film but which occur before the film 'starts'-

• Judy becoming pregnant: If Judy didn't become pregnant then she wouldn't of been taken away by the military because she had a fever and David wouldn't of gone after her which would of lead to them being killed so the virus wouldn't of been carried on.
• The plane crash: If the plane didn't crash then the virus wouldn't of been leaked into Ogden Marsh and people wouldn't of turned crazy and innocent people wouldn't of been killed. The virus would of been destroyed.

List two events from the 92 minute film that happen in a different time and space to the one we are shown.
When Russell tells David and Judy that the military slashed his tyres even though we didn't see it happen we know he was telling the truth because later on in the film we see his car at the side of the road with the spikes laying next to it.
Another event which we don't see happen is the military killing innocent people. Although we know they are tagging people around the wrists and taking them away when Judy and David go to the supermarket we then see in the film the innocent people that have been shot and burnt in the back of lorries.