Propp Narrative and Film Trailers

What was Propp's theory?

Propp's theory was that each narrative had 8 main characters who were vital to the story's progression. Each character has their own purpose within the narrative. These characters are:

• The Hero- the protagonist. Traditionally a male character who's main task is to defeat the villain and rescue the princess. 

• The Villain- the antagonist. the source of disruption within a story. This characters purpose is to provide obstacles the hero must face and defeat in order to reach their goal.

• The Donor- this character traditionally provides an object with magical powers to help the hero with his task. In a more modern world, the object may have a more symbolic meaning than magical. 

• The Helper- this character travels alongside the hero to help him with his task.

• The dispatcher- the dispatcher is the character who sends the hero on their journey, traditionally this character is the princess' father to see if the hero is worthy of the princess.

• The princess- the princess' role is as a prize for the hero for succeeding in his task. in most modern stories, the princess isn't a princess at all, but a female character of whom the hero desires. 

• The princess' father- as the character name suggests, the princess' father is the one who presents the princess to the hero once the task is complete.

• The false hero- this character portrays themselves to be the hero when they are quite often working against the hero, sometimes with the villain, to try to win the princess for themselves.

Sometimes the characters in a film do not fit to Propp's theory. Sometimes a character may fit to two or more of the character types whereas some characters do not fit to any of the character types.

Applying the theory: Fight Club (Spoiler Alert)

• The Hero- The Narrator
• The Villain - Tyler Durden
• The Princess- Marla Singer
• The Helper- Robert Paulson
• The Donor- Robert Paulson
• The Dispatcher- The Narrator
• The False hero- Tyler Durden

Due to the cross over between Tyler Durden and The Narrator and them being the same person, some of the character roles are filled by both of them, for obvious reasons. Fight Club is a clear example of a film in which multiple characters have multiple roles. Robert Paulson (Bob) holds two roles as an example of this. Bob has the role of both helper and donor, by helping the narrator find a way to sleep by crying, giving him an "object" to help with his journey. Bob is also the helper by wanting to stay close with the narrator through his journey so taking part in project mayhem. 

How Will this effect my trailer?

Propp's theory is more difficult to apply successfully to a film trailer however I will ensure to include as many of the character types as possible in my trailer, ensuring that includes a clear hero and villain.