Media Theories

There are many types of media theories directing towards a certain topic.

Todorov Theory- 5 stages
His theory was presented in 1969. This theory was believed to aim at any film type of film that exists. He believed all films followed the same narrative pattern, through various stages:

1. A stage of equilibrium (All is as it should be)
2. A disruption of that order by an event 
3. A recognition that the disorder has occurred
4. An attempt to repair the damage of the disruption 
5. A return or restoration of a new equilibrium  

Examples of some films are: Taken, Toy story, Orphan, Thor... 

Example of Todorov Theory applied in a film- Orphan. 

Stage 1- Everything as it should be. There is a family with two kids, a boy and a girl and they are living like a normal happy family. The parents decide to adopt a child which they soon find and her name is Esther.
Stage 2- Esther isn't how she is presented to be, her innocent is just a facade. Deep down theres something very dark and evil in her. Her behaviour is very disturbing and dangerous. For example in one scene she pushes a little girl off the slide leaving her injured.
Stage 3- The mother realizes that she isn't the innocent little Esther that everyone knows her as. She finds out all the deeds she has done behind their back and realizes her families life is in danger, as she finds out Esther's past  incidents
Stage 4- The mother attempts to get rid of her before it's too late. However she was too late as Esther managed to kill the father and attempted to kill the daughter.  She managed to get her daughter back and won the fight by killing Esther as the end.
Stage 5- A new equilibrium was reached, the mother managed to keep her two children safe and sound. So they all lived in happiness and peace. 

Todorov main point was structure and layout, that every film has the similar structure, stages and layout. Without it the film would be quite confusing and all over the place.

Levi Strauss 
He lived in the early 1900's and his theory was about binary opposites. This is when something is completely different, opposite of the other. He believed human brain automatically thought of the opposite. There are countless of binary opposites in films such as the hero and the villain, in the horror genre the binary opposite of good and evil, sane and insane, human and supernatural. Films such as twilight, the binary opposite of vampire and werewolves. This opposition was visible within the film and the bond between the characters to show they are completely opposite from one and another. Harry potter the good which is harry and the evil which is Voldemort. In every film there is always a visible dominate and subordinate. Normally the hero or good guy is the subordinate and the villain is the dominate and so the hero has to become more tactful and powerful to balance it and soon defeat the dominate (villain).

Laura Mulvey's Theory-
"Visual pleasure and narrative cinema" (1975)
Her theory was about the 'male gaze' in which woman was viewed as the objects of males longing passion in the film. Men are more involved than the woman. Audience is compelled to identify the male gaze whether that be it by the characters or the way the camera has captured it. E.g. if the camera lingers on the curve of the female body, events that occur to woman are presented largely in the context of a mans reaction to these events.
Woman are not seen to take the major parts in film, they always have a side role, they do not move the plot forward. They play passive roles, only slow the  narrative. Cinema is a male dominated society. E.g. films like North by North west, Bourne Identity, Man of steel are all male dominated.
Also in films posters woman are made to attract the male audience, as you can see in mr and mrs smith,  Angelina is wearing an slit black dress, which makes her look more 'sexy'. This would typically grip males attention. Woman are made to look like that so they intrigue people on watching the film.















Barthes 5 Codes- (Narratives)
The hermeneutic/Enigma Code- This code refer to the mystery of the text, something that is not fully explained therefore becomes a puzzle to the audience. No clear answers are given so it intrigues the reader more and makes them want to know more. Unanswered enigma tends to frustrate audience these answers are soon revealed at the end of the film.
E.g. Who is she? Where is he going? What happened to him?
The intention of the author is to commonly keep the audience guessing and interested until the end of the film.

The Proairetic/Action Code- This code adds suspense to the text, as it is referring to the an action or event that leads to something else occurring. Again gets the audience guessing, keeps them entertained and intrigued.

The Semantic Code- This code refers to parts within the text that suggests or refers to additional meaning. It adds an extra layer to the meaning of the text instead of the typical direct meaning, its more deeper and and more feeling surrounds it.

The Symbolic Code- This code is there to add symbolism to the text. It has greater meaning to the text, Its similar to the semantic code. adds more drama to the character and film. Typically done in the use of antithesis where new meaning arise in the  the conflict and opposing ideas.

The Cultural Code- This code cannot be challenged, you can't question it. Its assumed the foundation of truth. Typically involved science or religion. The gnomic code is  a type of cultural code, that particularly refers to sayings, cliches etc.