Narrative Theory in Relation to Halloween (Carpenter, 1978) and The Crazies (Eisner, 2010)

Narrative theory in relation to Halloween (John Carpenter, 1978)

and The Crazies (Breck Eisner, 2010)

You will need to approach this post from two different angles; firstly you must define, in your own words and backed-up with quotes, the four narrative theories that we looked at last week and secondly, you must relate narrative theories to the two films we have watched in class.

Follow this plan to ensure you cover everything needed:

Paragraph 1

• What is meant by the term Classical Hollywood Narrative?
• Which theorist did we look at for this theory?
• How useful do you think looking at the ‘CHN’ is for understanding media texts?
• Do Halloween and The Crazies follow the CHN? Why do you think this is?

Michael Myers reaching for the clown mask

Paragraph 2
• What are Propp’s various character types and how did he decide on the list?
• How useful do you think looking at the character types are for understanding media texts?
• Which of Propp’s characters are evident in Halloween and The Crazies?

Laurie Strode fighting Myers off

Paragraph 3
• What is meant by the term binary opposition?
• Which theorist did we look at for this?
• How useful do you think looking at the binary opposition is for understanding media texts?
• List 5 examples of binary opposition in Halloween.

Relative safety in the town of Ogden Marsh

Unsafe environment when trying to escape Ogden Marsh

Paragraph 4
• Find and type the quote from Bordwell and Thompson that was on the class sheet and then explain what it means.
• How useful do you think looking at this is for understanding media texts?
• List 2 events in the film that cause another event to happen.
• List 2 events in the film that we know happened but which we don’t see.

Dr Loomis visiting the hospital after
Myers has escaped

Judy visiting the nursery for their
unborn child