NARRATIVE

Although the term narrative usually does mean precisely the same as the everyday word story, when used technically, the word story is usually reserved to describe for the simple chronological sequence of events that occur within the narrative.

• Many of the narratives that are cued by texts are of a kind called cultural myths.
   
  • Narratives that are termed cultural myths are those that have endured within our culture in one form or another and which shape our thinking about how life should be - often at its most ideal or best; such narratives work very powerfully indeed to shape our thinking about ourselves and central aspects of life and provide a framework against which we can measure reality.
     
  • Common cultural myths are stories of such social 'realities' as heroism and cowardice, romance, the family, femininity and masculinity. There are very many - our heads are full of them.
     
  • It could be said that narrative + ideology = cultural myth 
     
• What makes narrative important is that it is such a pervasive and compelling aspect of everyday life - and a vital part of very many texts - especially media texts of all kinds.
   
  • A day will not pass without you telling, reading or hearing about some aspect of life in the form of a narrative. Of course, these stories will not begin with 'Once upon a time...' but - in important ways - they do provide a sense of comfort and enjoyment that those early childhood stories created. There is certainly something very engaging about a well constructed and told story.
     
• It can be argued that narratives are an important means by which media institutions reinforce and maintain our society's dominant ideologies and so form a key aspect in any analysis of media audiences and media representation.
   
• Two important narrative theorists you might wish to study after reading this web site are Svetan Todorov and Vladimir Propp. This site focuses more on the ideological aspects of narrative, rather than narrative form and structure - which was the interest of these theorists. A quick Internet search will reveal plenty on these important theorists.

What makes narratives so engaging is hard to pin down but it is certainly linked to aspects of their structure and form. The form of a typical narrative involves an individual (called the protagonist -  a character who is presented as some kind of 'hero' and on the side of right); this protagonist is brought to face a conflict that disturbs the equilibrium of life. The conflict is created by another character (or a system) called the antagonist presented as being on the side of wrong, i.e. as a 'villain'. There is usually, too, some form of 'helper' object that aids the protagonist. Events are narrated in a sequence using a structure that seems convincingly to move along a course of cause and effect events; these events seem naturally lead on to a climax which is followed by a satisfying resolution. We feel compelled by this form and structure; we become interested in 'what will happen next' which creates a kind of tension; we want to know 'where it will all lead'; equally importantly, we enjoy relating to the protagonist and the guesswork involved.