Narrative Task

This is a scene from BBC's Sherlock. In this scene, from the episode A Scandal in Belgravia we see the eponymous character coming home and discovering that his landlady Mrs Hudson has been attacked. 

In accordance to Todorov's theory of Equilibrium, the initial state of equilibrium would have been before the attack when we assume Mrs Hudson would have been at home and Sherlock and Watson would have been out working on cases relevant to the plot of this particular episode. The disequilibrium would be the attack itself and Nielsen holding a gun to Mrs Hudson's head as Sherlock tries to work out how he's going to save her and restore equilibrium. Finally the new equilibrium is after Sherlock has called the police, Nielsen has 'fallen' out of the window and John is looking after Mrs Hudson.

According to Propp's character theory, the hero in this scene and indeed the whole series is Sherlock. The princess of this scene is Mrs Hudson since she is the one needing rescuing. The helper in this scene and in the majority of other scenes throughout the series is John. We don't see evidence of a dispatcher in this scene but people who know the series well could assume that it is Mycroft, Sherlock's brother. A possible donor is briefly mentioned when Sherlock calls Lestrade and asks him to send police officers and an ambulance, which both help create a state of new equilibrium by taking Nielsen away. The villain in Sherlock would initially be assumed to be Moriarty because he creates most of the disequilibrium throughout the series but in this particular scene, Moriarty has no involvement and the villain is Nielsen.

There are a number of moments in this scene that could be considered enigma or action codes as created by Roland Barthes. For example, at the beginning of the scene when we see Sherlock re-creating what happened in his head, one enigma code could be that the audience at first are unaware of who attacked Mrs Hudson and how long ago it happened and whether she is alright/still alive and whether the attacker is still there. Later in the scene, Sherlock tells Lestrade that Nielsen 'fell out of the window' yet Nielsen is still tied up, so the audience begin to wonder how Sherlock is going to justify that statement. This could be both an enigma code and an action code because it tells the audience that one way or another, Nielsen is going to fall out of the window.

This scene is the opening to the fifth film in the Harry Potter franchise - Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - during which Harry and Dudley are attacked by two dementors in a subway. 

According to Todorov's theory of equilibrium, the moment of initial equilibrium is when Harry is sitting in a playground minding his own business before being approached by Dudley and his friends who instigate the disequilibrium of the scene when they make fun of Harry and then Harry loses his temper which is followed by a dramatic change in the weather, adding to the disequilibrium. This disequilibrium worsens when the dementors attack both Harry and Dudley but then Harry uses the patronus charm to restore the harmony that existed before the dementors arrived - the new equilibrium.

According to Propp's character theory, the hero in this scene is definitely Harry, since he saves himself and Dudley from the dementors. The princess in this scene awaiting Harry's rescue is Dudley. The helper in this scene who doesn't appear until the end is Mrs Figg, who (after the clip finishes) helps Harry and Dudley to get home and advises them to stay there. The donor appears to be Dumbledore who - as Mrs Figg tells Harry - has sent her to Little Whinging keep an eye on him while he's away from Hogwarts. The villain/s in this scene could be both Dudley and the dementors because they disrupt the equilibrium in their own ways and at different times in the scene.

The first enigma code the audience is probably aware of is when the weather changes and at first we don't know why and we are intrigued as to what's going to happen next. When we are introduced to the dementors we then start to question why they have come to the Muggle world. After the attack, we are introduced to Mrs Figg who we have never seen before and we just assume is one of Harry's neighbours so when she mentions Harry's wand, we are confused and interested to know how she knows Harry and who she is in relation to the Wizarding world.

This is the trailer for the 2004 film adaptation of Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events.

From just the trailer, there are a number of moments that could be seen as Barthes' enigma and action codes. For example, the first thing we see is the children walking through a house that appears to have recently been burned down. This leaves the audience not knowing whose house it is, how the fire started, or how it affects the children. Other enigma codes could be when we are introduced briefly to other characters but are not named so the audience know they exist but don't yet know where they fit in the narrative and what involvement they will have in the lives of the Baudelaire children.

The first moment of equilibrium we see is the Baudelaire children at the beach doing the things they each love best. This is then disrupted by the first moment of disequilibrium which is Mr Poe coming to tell them that their parents have died. This is then followed by further disequilibrium as the children are taken to live with their distant relative Count Olaf who treats them like slaves and cares solely about getting his hands on the fortune the children's parents left behind, even attempting to kill them at one point. There is then a brief moment of new equilibrium as Mr Poe discovers Count Olaf's poor parenting and takes them away from him. After many further encounters with Count Olaf in disguise and the death of two family members, the Baudelaire children end up in another moment of disequilibrium - back in Count Olaf's guardianship where he decides to marry Violet in order to get the fortune before she turns 18, but to hide his plan, he makes it into a play. As Violet is about to sign the marriage certificate, Klaus discovers that Count Olaf caused the fire that killed their parents and exposes him to the entire community who have come to watch the 'play'. Count Olaf is captured, arrested and the children are free of his guardianship which is the final moment of new equilibrium.

According to Propp's character theory, I think the hero of this film is Klaus Baudelaire, since he is the one who reveals the real cause of their parents' deaths and has Count Olaf taken away. The villain of this film is undoubtedly Count Olaf because his only aim throughout the film is to get the Baudelaire fortune. I think there are a number of donors in this film; the two main ones being Uncle Monty and Aunt Josephine, two of the three guardians they have during the film, who both give them subtle information connected with their parents' deaths that only makes sense later. The helper in this film in terms of discovering how the fire started is Sunny, the youngest of the children who, whilst in a cage, directs Klaus to the window Count Olaf started the fire from. Some could argue that the dispatchers of this film are the children's parents, who have in some way arranged for their children to live with this particular relatives in order to discover their fate and the true identity of Count Olaf. There isn't an exclusive princess character in the film but towards the end, Sunny needs rescuing from the cage she's put in by Count Olaf so she could be seen as the princess here.