Narrative Theory Exam Question

 Apply the concept of narrative to a media product you have studied (12 marks)

The media product that I have studied is the film Attack The Block (Joe Cornish, 2011). It is an independent film that falls into the sci-fi / action genre, with some horror elements also. The film follows the concept of narrative, which has been analysed by many theorists to form theories of common structures and elements of a narrative. Narrative, at least regarding film, refers to the way that a story is told, the story being the events that take place in the film.

The first theory I will look at is Todorov's narrative stages, which divides a story into 5 key sections; equilibrium, disruption, recognition of disruption, attempt to repair the disruption and finally a new equilibrium. Each of these stages are presented in Attack The Block as follows;

Equilibrium - The opening of the film establishes the "equilibrium", in which the world of the film is "as it has always been", with everything considered normal. In this film, the equilibrium shows a gang of London kids, who are the focus of the film, walking around streets at night and mugging a young woman. This would be considered the "normal" situation of the south London area that the film takes place in.

Disruption - Disruption is when something happens in the story that causes major change to the equilibrium, usually a negative event. In this case, the disruption is when aliens begin to land in the area and attack everyone.

Recognition of disruption - This is when the protagonist/s of the story realise that a disruption has occurred. In Attack The Block, the gang finds out about the invasion straight away because an alien lands on a nearby car.

Attempt to repair the disruption - This is when the protagonist/s of the story tries to restore equilibrium by amending change caused by the disruption. In this case it is when the gang sets out to kill all the aliens. This stage usually makes up the majority of the story.

New equilibrium - This is when the disruption has been repaired and a new equilibrium established, for better or worse. In this case the gang manages to kill all the aliens and saves London, however things do not go back to the way they were because of the relationships forged between characters along the way.