At the beginning of the short film, it is unclear which narrative structure it's following. The the story is slowly revealed, it's apparent that it is non-chronological (in the sense that it's started midway through the action). The first few minutes or so are mainly restricted narration as the two characters' identities are being concealed from the audience, so they can only assume the worst.
Using Bordwell and Thompson's theory of story and plot, the audience can see only a small part of the overall story told in the limited plot line; at first it's a woman possibly being brutally murdered by a stereotypical 'red-neck', but then it changes into something completely different and the audience can piece together what else may have happened before the two characters met. The plot shows the audience the man helping the woman, but the story tells them how it came to be (mainly at the end when an ELS shows more of the area surrounding them).
Todorov's theory can be applied here because the narrative is technically linear, but not fully. The first part of Todorov's model has been skipped as there is no beginning equilibrium. The films starts part way through the second part, the disruption. The confrontation then takes up most of the film, as the man rushes to apparently clear away the evidence. As the film builds up to the climax and then reveals the baby, the resolution emerges and finally the new equilibrium and normality is restored.
Roland Barthes' theory can be used for the majority of the short film. The enigma codes continuously used throughout the piece keep the audience guessing; the scattered items and discarded clothing, the phone, the woman's screams, the man's knife, the crow, the car and the black bag. The blanket is also one of them because as this film is assumed to be of the thriller genre, a blanket isn't iconographic of that particular genre, so it can be seen as an enigma code. There are a few action codes that signal something about to take place, such as the knife coming down into the ground suggesting the murder is done, and the crow tapping on the roof of the car signalling to the man to change his mind.
Also, the baby can be seen as an action code. When it appears in the frame, the lighting and the music completely changes, signalling a change in the mood of the film. Clearly there are more enigma codes in this than action codes, as it's about altering the audience's perception of things and see where they are positioned when presented with specific features of a genre.
The theory of Vladimir Propp can be applied here. At the beginning of the film where the audience can see the man supposedly attacking the woman, they immediately assume that he is the villain and the woman is the 'damsel in distress'. It's only when the baby appears that the man's character changes from villain to hero. This theory can only be applied loosely as there are only two characters in the film, even if the man's character changes.
Similarly to Propp's, Claude Levi-Strauss' binary oppositions theory can be applied, but not as a whole. There are only a few obvious binary oppositions, the most prominent being good and evil. The man is apparently attacking the woman, so he is instantly labelled as evil. Another would be protagonist and antagonist, even though the protagonist (being the woman) is physically unable to help herself. One other opposition would be young and old, mainly at the end when the baby is revealed. The man at first represents age and the woman is younger so she represents youth. The baby then comes in and the representation of youth is transferred from the woman, even though she is still young.
The final theory, Chris Vogler's 'The Hero's Journey', is very similar to Todorov's, but as there is no apparent hero at the beginning of the film, only one part of it can be applied, which is the final segment of the theory. The man delivers the baby and becomes the hero, inevitably 'facing his greatest ordeal'. This doesn't last long and the film moves into the final stage as everything returns to normal. However, if the audience were to look at the film from a more optimistic perspective (if they knew he was helping deliver the baby), then the theory could be applied slightly more effectively. The whole film is based around how he helps her, which lengthens the 'resolution' segment.
Using Bordwell and Thompson's theory of story and plot, the audience can see only a small part of the overall story told in the limited plot line; at first it's a woman possibly being brutally murdered by a stereotypical 'red-neck', but then it changes into something completely different and the audience can piece together what else may have happened before the two characters met. The plot shows the audience the man helping the woman, but the story tells them how it came to be (mainly at the end when an ELS shows more of the area surrounding them).
Todorov's theory can be applied here because the narrative is technically linear, but not fully. The first part of Todorov's model has been skipped as there is no beginning equilibrium. The films starts part way through the second part, the disruption. The confrontation then takes up most of the film, as the man rushes to apparently clear away the evidence. As the film builds up to the climax and then reveals the baby, the resolution emerges and finally the new equilibrium and normality is restored.
Roland Barthes' theory can be used for the majority of the short film. The enigma codes continuously used throughout the piece keep the audience guessing; the scattered items and discarded clothing, the phone, the woman's screams, the man's knife, the crow, the car and the black bag. The blanket is also one of them because as this film is assumed to be of the thriller genre, a blanket isn't iconographic of that particular genre, so it can be seen as an enigma code. There are a few action codes that signal something about to take place, such as the knife coming down into the ground suggesting the murder is done, and the crow tapping on the roof of the car signalling to the man to change his mind.
Also, the baby can be seen as an action code. When it appears in the frame, the lighting and the music completely changes, signalling a change in the mood of the film. Clearly there are more enigma codes in this than action codes, as it's about altering the audience's perception of things and see where they are positioned when presented with specific features of a genre.
The theory of Vladimir Propp can be applied here. At the beginning of the film where the audience can see the man supposedly attacking the woman, they immediately assume that he is the villain and the woman is the 'damsel in distress'. It's only when the baby appears that the man's character changes from villain to hero. This theory can only be applied loosely as there are only two characters in the film, even if the man's character changes.
Similarly to Propp's, Claude Levi-Strauss' binary oppositions theory can be applied, but not as a whole. There are only a few obvious binary oppositions, the most prominent being good and evil. The man is apparently attacking the woman, so he is instantly labelled as evil. Another would be protagonist and antagonist, even though the protagonist (being the woman) is physically unable to help herself. One other opposition would be young and old, mainly at the end when the baby is revealed. The man at first represents age and the woman is younger so she represents youth. The baby then comes in and the representation of youth is transferred from the woman, even though she is still young.
The final theory, Chris Vogler's 'The Hero's Journey', is very similar to Todorov's, but as there is no apparent hero at the beginning of the film, only one part of it can be applied, which is the final segment of the theory. The man delivers the baby and becomes the hero, inevitably 'facing his greatest ordeal'. This doesn't last long and the film moves into the final stage as everything returns to normal. However, if the audience were to look at the film from a more optimistic perspective (if they knew he was helping deliver the baby), then the theory could be applied slightly more effectively. The whole film is based around how he helps her, which lengthens the 'resolution' segment.
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