Week 7 - Visual Narrative & The Media

Why is narrative important when shaping a visual image to the audience?

As we know, narrative is defined as the art of storytelling, something that we all do every day. It is based on the settings such as series of events, actor, time and location.  It is a worth that it is a part of our lives.

However, there is a different between the story and narrative. Story is a series of incidents or events, in other word is a plot. While, narrative is the way those incidents are gather as one to be presented to the viewers. Narratives can be found in all media text whether in magazines, news, television, novel and etc.

“Most of us in our daily life actually spending time more in telling the stories such as gossiping about friends, joking, collecting family photo albums to tell story, ghost story, fairy tale and etc” (Branston & Stafford, 2006). All of it have different characteristics; even though have the same elements on it that led us become aware of the fact on each of it. This is because, every each of it might be told in different point of view, ways or styles in order to make the audience understood what the story are telling them about.

Therefore, it also make us aware on the unclear boundary that presents between the ‘fact’ & ‘fiction’ that are both narrated and shaped fro the audiences.

According to Branston & Stafford (2006), there 4 theories that could shape the audience perspectives towards the narratives. The theorist’s ways in narratives are as follow:

• Vladimir Propp – using character role
• Tzvetan Todorov – narratives start with equilibrium
• Roland Barthes – using 5 codes (action, enigma, symbolic, semic & cultural)
• Claude Levi-Strauss – expressed with binary opposition

Every picture or film tells a story. Take an example from the film figure above – The Hangover.

In this film, I’m applying the Todorov’s theory where the narratives consist of 3 parts.  First stage, the opening begins with equilibrium where everything was stable. Then second stage, the disequilibrium takes place, where the normality has been disrupted. Finally, the new equilibrium resolves over again, which is the resolution.

1^st stage - equilibrium

One of the main characters is suppose to be getting married, two days before his wedding; he and his friends decide to go to Las Vegas for the bachelor party.

2^nd  stage - disequilibrium

Then the conflict begins, where the trouble was occurred. All the men are drugged and when wake up the next morning, they not knowing what had happened the night after. The groom is lost, so they all go on a ride to look for him, along the way they come across the people to help them discover the incidents of the night before.

3^rd  stage – new equilibrium

Lastly, it ended with the resolution, where the groom’s friends had founded him and bring him home just in time for his wedding.

Here is the Hangover video trailer.

Therefore, a narrative is important in shaping the visual images to audience. The producers need to show what exactly they want to tell to the audience. The way they deliver the message must be easily recognize by the audience so that they would be able to interpret and reasoning behind the message without confliction. 

References:

•  Branston, G. & Stafford, R. (2006). The media student’s book. 4^th Ed. Routledge Taylor & Francis Group.
• Griffin, E. (2009). A First Look at Communication Theory. (7th ed.) New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
• Narratives in media. Retrieved on September 25, 2011 from http://www.glyndwr.ac.uk/rdover/med-stud/narrativ.htm