A narrative is a report on connected events, presented in a sequence of spoken words. In simpler terms, It is essentially how a story is told. It refers to the roles of characters and the situations/dilemmas they solve and are confronted. Without a narrative, a film would certainly not be enjoyable to watch because the series of events would not be in chronological order. This is because that in films, the viewer seeks to distinguish a beginning, a middle and an end.

Conventions of narratives in the following genres: 

Comedies can be based upon a variety of storylines - its the adaptation of dialogue/physical movement to make the audience laugh is what makes a film fit into the Comedy genre. There are 3 main adaptation/conventions of the Comedy Genre. These are:

• Slapstick - This form of comedy uses physical movement and gestures. Physical comedy is often influenced by clowning.
• Dark Humour - Deals with disturbing subjects such as death, drugs, rape, terrorism, racism and sexism.
• Wit/Wordplay - More intellectual forms of comedy based on clever, often subtle manipulation of language, e.g. Puns.

Comedies usually reach a climax when disaster strikes and finish with a positive ending.


Horror films usually end with the majority of characters being doomed/killed, or the villain being defeated by them - restoring peace in humanity.

• A child has an imaginary friend, but the adults don't believe in it and think it's just their imagination. In the end, the friend turns out to be real and usually a ghost/demon within an object, e.g. 'Annabelle'.
• A serial killer, typically an individual who is insane, brutally murders and tortures victims.
• A family moves into/a group of people discover a haunted house that has dark history and is possessed by a ghost/demon.

Action

Action films usually contain a specific/iconic hero who saves the world from an evil villain who aims to take control over it.  The hero is usually dressed in a distinctive way e.g superhero costume and meets and falls in love with a girl/boy who motivates them further to save the human population from eternal doom.

Narratives of Action films include/vary from:

• Marvels / Superheros / Supervillians of a large organisation
• Wars/battles between countries
• Chase scenes
• Contain mass killings/violence
• Army fighting against aliens
• A long west/mission which continues throughout the film

Drama

As the drama genre possess a variety of different films, its hard to label common narrative conventions within it. Dramas often have a serious storyline/message, therefore they do not always end how the audience wants/imagines them to. However, all dramas have to:

• Move the audience emotionally
• Should exhibit real life situations and characters
• Social interaction with other characters
• Plot Twists

Romance 

• Boy meets girl. Whilst in many films they instantly fall in love or show a romantic interest for one another, the two can also instantly dislike each other due to significant differences. Despite variations of climaxes,  a common theme of 'Opposites Attract' is shown and the film ends with them loving each other and having a happy ending.
• A boy falls in love with a girl for a long time and keeps it a secret until a situation occurs and the boy takes extreme chances to show his commitment and love towards her. They result in a mutual connection and have a happy ending.
• The boy/girl will decide that they have to leave, perhaps because they live/study somewhere else. This can happen at the end of a romance film, or when it reaches it climax & puts their relationship to the test.

Types of Narratives used in films

• Circular Narrative: A story that ends in the same place where it began.
• Episode Narrative: A chapter/event/short period of time
• Restricted Narrative: A point of view from only one character, so the audience only knows as much as the character does.
• Omniscient Narrative: When the audience knows more about what is happening than the character does.
• Linear Narrative: A story told in order of events - from the beginning, middle and end.
• Non-Linear Narrative: In contrast to a linear narrative, non-linear narratives start at the middle of a story or the height of a conflict and then double-backs to the beginning.

Narrative Theories

Vladimir Propp (Character Theory): Vladimir's theory was that characters have a narrative function by providing a structure for the text.  By studying 100 books/tales, he found 7 typical characters - The hero, the villain, The donor, the Dispatcher, The false hero, The helper, The Princess, and her Father. Vladimir also suggested the recognition scene - this is the stage of a film where the hero is recognised, the false hero/villain is unmasked and perhaps punished. The hero then attains the reward (Princess/kingdom) and they live happily ever after.


Tzvetan Todorov: Tzvetan's narrative theory states how there are 5 steps of a story that follow the same pattern/path. These are:
1) Equilibrium - This is when the story displays a happy start, and everything is in equal balance between powers and characters.
2) Disruption/Disequilibrium: A problem/scenario occurs which disturbs the happiness.
3)Realisation: When The problem that disrupted the peace is acknowledged to be a big issue.
4)Restored order: When an attempt to solve the problem & repair the damage is made.
5)Equilibrium again: A return or restoration of a equilibrium occurs at the end of the film.


Claude Levi - Strauss: Produced the theory of binary opposites. This is because he believed that using this method, certain words would be easier to understand. His theory links with ideological values and how we should feel to view the world. Examples of binary opposites found in some film narratives are:

• Hero vs Villain
• Good vs Evil
• Human vs Supernatural
• Rich vs Poor