Narrative

Linear

Events happen in a chronological order

There is a clear beginning, middle and end
Includes a clear plot, characters, setting and resolution

Examples of linear narrative

The Dark Knight
Die Hard
Non-linear

Events told in a non-chronological order often through:

o Voiceover
o Narration of another story in the main plot
o Dream sequences
o Flashbacks
o Events shown in a non-sequential order
Time isnt presented in order to communicate a particular event

Examples of non-linear narrative

Pulp Fiction different stories that happen at the same time are shown in
separately and out of order, for example the film opens with a diner scene which
then cuts to a different scene and finally back to the same scene but from a
different point of view at the end.
Forrest Gump the films main plot points are told in chronological order but
shown in flashbacks or voiceover. The film also starts at the end/middle and
continues after the flashbacks.
Fight Club film opens with the ending
Memento events are shown in reverse
The Social Network the films events are shown in the form of flashbacks as
characters recount the films events
The Prestige starts off at the end and events are shown out of sequence with
voiceover from the main characters (Angier and Borden) reading each others
journals

The Dark Knight

Linear narrative

Story told in chronological order

Beginning Batman fights organised crime with along with Harvey Dent
and Detective Jim Gordon, who all work together to lower the crime rates
in Gotham

Middle The Joker is introduced, Rachel dies and Harvey Dent becomes
Two Face which the Joker exploits to turn Harvey evil
End Batman stops the Joker and Two Face
The resolution is vague as even though Two Face is dead, the Joker is still
alive as he was never captured and Batman is hunted as a vigilante

Todorov
1. Equilibrium Gotham city is plagued with crime but Batman, Harvey Dent
and Jim Gordon are working to lower crime and defeat the organised crime
in Gotham
2. Disruption the introduction of the Joker
3. Realisation Harvey Dent and Rachel Dawes are captured by the Joker
4. Restored Order the Jokers plan is stopped and Two Face is dead
5. New Equilibrium the Joker and Two Face no longer wreak havoc in
Gotham and Batman is hunted as a vigilante
Propp

Hero Batman/Bruce Wayne

Villain the Joker/ Two Face
Donor Lucius Fox
Dispatcher Jim Gordon
False Hero Harvey Dent
Helper Alfred/ Jim Gordon
Princess Rachel Dawes

Bathes
Enigma codes

Who is the Joker?

What is his plan and why is he causing chaos?
Why does it start with a bank robbery and not show Batman saving
people/stopping crime? is this to show that there in injustice in the city
and crime is still at large, no matter what people do to try and stomp it
out?

Levi-Strauss
Rich vs Poor
Dark vs Light

Justice vs Injustice
o Robbery and murder
o This sets the mood, setting and plot of the film the corruption of
crime and sense of injustice.
o Corrupt banks working with the mob do you have any idea who
youre stealing from?
Morality vs immorality
o Murder unfazed by killing someone, establishes that they are evil
and have no moral compass as they are willing to kill someone and
not feel any remorse.

Good vs evil
o Good vs evil also presented amongst criminals as they kill each
other one by one this shows distrust as they are committing a
crime and already established as criminals but betray each other.
o The bank manager represents the good as he tries to stop the
robbery by trying to sound the alarm and taking a shotgun to stop
the criminals this is quite extreme as it brings into question the
idea of good vs evil and morality as he is trying to stop a crime by
committing another crime (murder). This raises the question: does
the ends justify the means?
Not explicitly introduced to main antagonist the Joker
o Hinted at by zoom in on clown mask and not shown face until the
end, the Joker is spoken about in the car
Enigmas are raised subtly as the bank manager asks do you have any
idea who youre stealing from? The audience dont know that the
money they are stealing is from crime /mod bosses, explaining why the
manager took such violent action to prevent them escaping. However the
audience just assume this is an ordinary bank as the crime lords and the
Jokers chaotic plan havent been introduced yet.

John Wick
Linear

Although the film opens at the end, the rest of the film follows a linear
chronological structure.
Beginning: John Wicks car is stolen and his dog is killed
Middle: John hunts down the man whole stole his car and killed his dog,
killing him
End: John is brutally wounded but retrieves his car and recuses another
dog

Todorov
1. Equilibrium John is a retired hitman, his wife has just passed away, he
receives a gift from her the dog, it is established that he takes great
pride in his car and loves his dog
2. Disruption someone attacks John, killing his dog and stealing his car,
forcing John to come out of retirement
3. Realisation the characters realise who the car belongs to and realise that
they stole from the wrong person as they know how dangerous John is
4. Resorted order- John kills the man who stole his car and killed his dog and
the mans father who tried to kill him
5. New Equilibrium John takes down the mob in his quest to seek
vengeance for his dog
Propp

Hero John Wick

Villain Iosef Tarasov/ Viggo Tarasov

Donor Hotel manager (Charon)

Dispatcher - Winston
False hero - Marcus
Princess Wife/Car/dog

Barthes Codes
Enigma Codes

Why is everyone so afraid of John Wick?

In the opening sequence/scene:
o What happened to John? Why is he injured?
o Who is the woman in the video he is watching?
o Why did he exit the car when he should go to a hospital?
Why does it start at the end, showing John Wick wounded?

Levi-Strauss
Good vs Evil
Justice vs Injustice
Vengeance
Morality vs Immorality