Wednesday 12 October 2011

Todorov's theory - Friday The 13th

Todorov's theory suggests that convention narratives are structured in 5 stages. This theory is true for almost every movie. The first stage is a state of equilibrium, in Friday The 13th's trailer, this is the establishing shot, a shot of the countryside. The next stage is a disruption of the equilibrium, this stage is also in the trailer, in this case it is when the girl spots Jason, this disruption is shown through the panic the girl is going through. A recognition of disruption comes after this, in the trailer we are shown a montage of deaths, which is a clear indication of the disruption. Todorov's theory suggests that the next stage would be an attempt to repair the disruption, a lot of trailers do show this attempt, however they're not easily recognized unless you've seen the film. This is not the case for Friday The 13th as we find out that he's looking for his sister which is the attempt to repair the disruption. The fifth and final stage is a reinstatement of the equilibrium. In movie trailers the fifth stage is never shown. For example, Friday The 13th we are not shown how the problem is solved, this is because if the reinstatement of the equilibrium is given away there will be no mystery to the movie, therefore people wouldn't want to get see the movie if they already know what the ending is like.

Todorov's theory also suggests that the 5 stages happen in order, however in movie trailers this does not happen in chronological order. This is because if these stages were to be shown in order, viewers would know exactly what happens in the film, therefore, they would not be interested in going to see it.

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