My chosen media theory 👌😊

 Introduction:

    So today I brainstormed about media theories and took a look at the handout we got earlier in the year. I want to pick the narrative ones because I think that it fits best with filming an opening. Here is what I picked and found out:

Todorov's Narrative Theory of Equilibrium:

    I would like to incorporate Todorov's Narrative Theory. This theory has three main parts to it and as I read through them, I realized my film is already looking like a lot of what the theory states. This theory has three parts, Equilibrium, Disequilibrium and, New Equilibrium. Equilibrium states that the audience is introduced to characters and beginning of the story. This means that the story will start balanced which is what the word equilibrium means. The next is Disequilibrium which states that something punctures the equilibrium or in other words, something like disruption/any other actions before the film reaches its climax. And the last part is the New Equilibrium meaning that the character has resolved their issues but sometimes they don't resolve them and it fully depends on the character developed and the rest of the plot.

How I will use this theory:

    As I read this theory and studied it, I noticed that a lot of my plot surrounds itself with the three parts of Todorov's theory. For the first part, Equilibrium, I plan to show the characters in the beginning of the film and everything is well balanced (at the crime scene). Equilibrium is the definition of a calm or balanced state which will help the viewers to understand what is going on before all of the suspense/reach of climax. The next part which was Disequilibrium, that will be the time when the FBI agent starts to touch objects in the crime scene to clean it but has flashbacks whenever they touch something there. This shows the disruption of the calm state from when the FBI agent woulda arrive at the scene. The last part was the resolution or New Equilibrium. For this part, my film is obviously going to leave off on a cliffhanger (not decided how yet) so there won't be a resolve to what goes on with the objects from the crime scene.

Example:

    As I was researching more about the theory, I found an example from the movie Moana. This movie utilized this theory throughout the whole film. The Equilibrium or calm state of balance was used in the beginning (as stated that it should be) as the island was calm and everyone was helping to fish, cut coconuts, and live freely. The Disequilibrium hit when the coconuts were rotting and there wasn't any fish left in the sea. This was the disruption that destroyed a piece of their island. Moana went to restore the heart of Te Fiti with Maui to make their island bright again. The last part is New Equilibrium meaning in Moana, the main character, healed her island and showed her people about their passed and their voyages, creating a new voyage for them.

    Since the theory was explained in these movie terms, it helped me understand it better since I really enjoyed watching the Moana movie and never watched it in the way of seeing these parts of the theory. Now, I feel that whenever I watch a movie that incorporates this theory, I will be able to see it clearly and understand the plot of the movie way better.

Summary:

    I think that incorporated this media theory and following it will help to better develop my film a lot better since I have something other than the script to follow. This theory was very helpful and I recognized how to begin and end the film so audiences won't be confused in any way. I plan to follow this theory all the way through my film opening to ensure every distinct part of the three equilibriums are used.

Resources:

Media Studies. (2024, March 1). Todorov’s narrative theory of equilibrium and disruption. https://media-studies.com/todorov/