Applying Narrative Analysis

Refreshing the idea of Narrative Theories allowed me to be able to think about what type of characters I can put in my graphic narrative. One main example of a theory is Vladimir Propp's narrative model, a famous idea among classic Hollywood films. From this I applied each example to a character in either a film, a graphic narrative or a video game -

• The Villain - The Joker (Batman)
• The Dispatcher - Gandalf (LOTR)
• The Helper - Sam Wise Gamgee (LOTR)
• Princess/Item - Peach (Mario). This idea was not always a female being rescued like in Disney films, but possibly a male or an item or even something like freedom.
• Donor - Alfred or Lucious Fox (Batman)
• Hero - Harry Potter
• False Hero - Lando Calrissian (Star Wars)

During analysing a narrative other things to study included - 

• The Setting
• The Characters
• Binary Opposites
• Emotion Content
• Enigma Content
• Enigma Codes
• Equilibrium
• Themes

I then applied this to an extract from The Hulk comic book - 

• The extract was set in the desert implied by the cacti and the other surrounding images suggesting so.
• The main characters were Hulk/Bruce Banner (Hero), Betty Ross (Princess), Boomerang (Villain), General Ross (Villain/False Hero/???).
• The obvious binary opposite was Hulk and Boomerang contrasting by being the Hero and the Villain in the narrative. Another possible example could be Betty Ross and General Ross by their contrasting views on Hulk/Bruce Banner or their Father/Daughter relationship.
• The narrative follows an idea of equilibrium. For example Hulk is alone (Equilibrium), then Boomerang captures Betty Ross (Disturbance), followed by Hulk continuously chasing Boomerang until he retrieves Betty Ross (New Balanced Equilibrium).