All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy...

After watching the 1980 film , The Shining, I applied the various narrative theories of Propp, Todorov, Levi-Strauss and Bordwell & Thompson to the film in attempt to see if it is generic in terms of its narrative. On first inspection, The Shining appears to be unconventional in how the narrative of the film plays out, as title cards depict changes in the days, and towards the end, time just seems to blur.


Propp
Vladimir Propp examined Russian folk tails to see if they shared any similar structures. Once his examination was complete, Propp identified 8 character types:

1. The Villain - Jack/the hotel
2. The Hero - Wendy/Danny
3. The Donor - Halloran
4. The Helper - Tony
5. The Princess - Wendy
6. Her Father - Danny
7. The Dispatcher - Ollman
8. The False Hero - Jack
   

These roles and the functions that they play can be applied to all kinds of narrative. The names next to the character role, are who would play that role in The Shining.

The villain, is almost certainly Jack. However it can be disputed that the villain could come from a personified representation of the hotel. The hero is clearly Wendy and Danny, as they ultimately triumph over the villain. The donor is Halloran, as he leaves them the snowcat to escape in. Tony is the helper, as he advises Danny. The dispatcher becomes Ollman, as he gives Jack the job at the Overlook hotel. Jack is also the false hero, as we believe that he will be the central protagonist from the start of the film, this later changes as we see him turn.

This theory thinks about the characters as functions as opposed to people. Which gives a different aspect of the characters in terms of their representation and role within the narrative. However, some characters could fulfil multiple roles, leaving their individual presentation within the narrative confusing.

Todorov

Tzevtan Todorov, a Bulgarian writer, suggested that stories begin with an equilibrium, in which any opposing forces are in balance. This equilibrium is disrupted by an event. This event is overcome, and a new equilibrium can be formed. The new equilibrium is not the same as the equilibrium, as the events that previously happened in the narrative have changed it. This is why the new equilibrium on the image is at a lower level.

Again, this theory can be applied to The Shining, as the film features all of the narrative plot points Todorov mentioned. The equilibrium of the family in their home at the very start, an event which leads to Jack getting a new job at the Overlook hotel, which builds up to the climax of Jack turning mad and trying to kill his family, and a new equilibrium is found once Danny and Wendy escape.

The Shining fits well into Todorov's narrative structure, however, most narratives would. Without any of these features, the story told would be uninteresting, as nothing would happen. However, it can be accepted that some narratives of films do not have a new equilibrium, leaving the audience anticipated for a sequel.

Levi Strauss

Claude Levi-Strauss examined narrative structure in terms of binary opposites. Revealing more about the ideology of the narrative, than the representation. An example of Levi-Strauss's oppositions could be the typical cat and mouse, from Tom and Jerry, or, light and dark from Silent Hill. Of course, these connections are obvious, but they can be interpreted differently as one opposition may appear to have one connection, when in fact it has many more. From The Shining; Man and Child can be taken as an opposition, as Jack is a man, and Danny is his child. But man has other oppositions such as woman and animal.

Before this theory is applied to a narrative, it may seem very vague. But once it can be used, it reveals many things about the ideology. Going back to the Man/Child opposition, and then the other, less obvious connections with man, we get connections with woman, and animal. Of course the woman connecti on is obvious in The Shining as Wendy is a vital character in Jacks path of destruction. But the animal connection makes us think more of Jacks behaviour, which could be described as animalistic.

Bordwell and Thompson

Defined narrative as "a chain of events in a cause-effect relationship, occurring in time and space". Basically, they believe that narrative is driven by the cause and effect of changes within the characters lives. Narrative takes place in space and time, but it could be any space and time, and it could skip between different places and times, this is mainly created by editing techniques and how the film is produced.

When watching a film we try to put together events, and connect them, so they make sense. To reveal the cause and effect of certain actions or changes. The Shining does this to an extent with Danny's flashbacks, they reveal what we believe is going to happen. This theory encourages us to make connections of what we see within a film, giving the audience more of an insight into the narrative.