Narrative theory in relation to Halloween (John carpenter 1978)

What is meant by the term Classical Hollywood Narrative? How useful is this narrative theory and does Halloween follow the CHN?

The Classical Hollywood Narrative was suggested by Todorov and it proposes that all narratives start with an 'Equilibrium' or Status quo, this is where all forces are in balance and every is has as it should be. This is then followed by a 'Disequilibrium' where the original equilibrium is disrupted by an event. This set off a chain reaction of events. We are then faced with a 'New Equilibrium' where the problems resolved and order is restored. I feel the CHN is a useful theory for understanding media texts as most do follow this kind of Narrative. It makes story lines and plots much easier to follow and gives the audience a rough idea of what will happen.It is a good narrative basis for all media texts. However the same can not be said for horror films. The horror genre tries to stay clear of the CHN this is because the horror audience do not want to see a 'happy ending' or what we class as a normal story 'plot' as this would be predictable and quite boring considering the context of horror films. In relation to Halloween it can be said that this too does not follow the CHN. This is shown first of all at the start of the film where we are shown a murder that turns out to be a little boy (Mike Myers) murdering his sister.This means Halloween actually starts with a disequilibrium. As well as this there is no 'new equilibrium' at the end of the film, nothing is resolved as the villain ' Mike Myers' doesn't die and he in fact escapes. No one is safe and all the characters are all still in danger with him on the loose. Halloweens structure completely goes again the CHN.

What are Propps various character types and how did he decide on the list? How useful are his character types for understanding media texts and which of Propps characters are present in Halloween?

Vladimir Propp identified 8 character roles and 31 narrative functions. He did this by examining hundreds of examples of folk tales to see if they shared any structures.

I feel the characters Propp identified are useful as they can be applied to all types of narrative. Most of these characters can be spotted in most films including horror films and even in narratives such as TV news programmes. However I think nowadays these 'roles' aren't as distinct and a lot of characters can be identified as playing more than one character type. For example in The Crazies, we can not identify one specific villain, we don't actually see the villain, this being the government and scientists who made the biological weapon. As well as this the character Russel who is the deputy is shown to be a helper, Donor, and the false hero.Although Propps character types is useful for identifying and understanding the different characters within films it is not particularly suitable for understanding the media text as a whole, it is limited in its use when it comes to analysing and predicting what happens in the film.
In relation to the film Halloween most of these character types can be identified. Mike Myers is clearly the villain, who is portrayed to be 'pure evil' and kills many people. As for the Hero this is Laurie, this is shown by her androgynous characteristics and when she fights back again Mike and gets away without being killed. The helper of the film could be identified as the Psychologist who has worked with Mike Myers since he was little. He knows Mike better than anyone and tries to track him and down and get him put away again before he kills anyone else. The psychologist could as be named as the dispatcher as he tells and instructs the local police officer to keep watch of Mike Myers house and tell him of the danger the Town is in.

What is meant by the  term Binary Opposition and how useful is it for understanding media texts? List five examples of Binary Oppositions that is shown in Halloween. 

Th Binary Oppositions theory was suggest by Claude-Levi-Strauss. This theory suggests that within a narrative structure two opposite sets of beliefs and values are used in contrast with each other too reveal a structure of a media text. Using Binary Opposites within films makes it a lot more interesting for the viewer as they are able to look for the 'deeper' meanings,making it a lot more three dimensional rather than just what we physically see on the screen. I think the binary opposition theory is very useful for understanding media texts as it helps the audience to identify the underlying central conflict of the media text and the contrast of the oppositions make each force or feeling a lot more intense and meaningful e.g. Good is emphasised more when there is bad. Halloween shows a variety of binary oppositions throughout the film. First of all there is the obvious 'Good vs Evil'. The good that is represented in this film is done through Laurie and also the Psychologist as these are the characters they try to stop the 'Evil', the evil being Mike Myers who is the cold hearted 'inhuman' Killer. 

A second opposition we can identify is 'Known vs The Unknown'. The Unknown is represented by the mask in the film which is worn by Mike Myers and hides his face throughout the majority of the film. The use of this mask is to create anxiety and tension as not being able to see the face of the killer makes it a lot more frightening to the audience as they can not identify with the character, Not being able to see his face, which we as humans naturally examine to read emotions and behaviours makes the killings seem very cold and brutal. This is contrasted by the 'Known' that are the characters without masks, we are able to read them and their emotions and see how they feel and react to every scary and challenging situation throughout the film.
Another is 'Past vs Present'. We can identify this at the start of the film where we are shown a 'flashback' to Mike Myers first killing on Halloween night where he murders his own sister. After this we are shown Mike escaping the asylum which he was imprisoned in since the murder. He returns to his home town and continues his killing spree on Halloween night. This is an important date in the film because it important to Mike Myers and is shown to murder people both in the past on Halloween night and in the film 'the present'.
Innocence (virginal) vs Promiscuity can also be seen as an opposition. The main character and hero 'Laurie' is shown to be a very uptight and square character. She is intelligent, very much into her school/college work and we also know she is a virgin. Within the film Laurie's friends are all very idiotic and are shown  constantly being drunken or being promiscuous. It happens to be that these specific characters are all the ones that are killed. John Carpenter describes them as being 'distracted' so they do not see there killer coming. However Laurie who is portrayed as very virginal and sober is very aware of the killer and is able to escape her killer. 
Finally a fifth opposition we can identify is 'Light vs Dark'. The light represents safety, Mike Myers does not attack the other characters in the day time where his chances of being caught will be a lot higher. He attacks them in dark of night where he wont be seen and they wont see him coming, therefore the dark represents 'Danger'. 

''A chain of events in a cause-effect relationship, occurring in time and space''...How useful is this quote from Bordwell and Thompson for understanding media texts?

This quote in relation to Narrative theory suggested by Bordwell and Thompson I feel is one of the most useful theories when trying to understand media texts. This is because it allows the audience to analyse and deduce their own reason's for why events happen and how they have occurred. It allows us to not visually see but mentally see what has happened both on and off screen for specific events to take place ''chain of events in a cause-effect relationship''. One events leads to another and so on. It means the audience understand the media text they are watching in a lot more depth, they are constantly imagining what is not shown but described by the characters. 

In relation to the horror film Halloween one of the events we do not see but know has occurred is Mike Myers time within the Metal Asylum/Prison. We know here he has received a lot of treatment and counselling here since childhood by the same Psychologist 'Dr. Loomis' who is one of the main characters within the film. We know this as Mike's tendency's and 'inhuman' characteristics are described by this psychologist as he knows him better than anyone. This fills in our 'gap' or lack of knowledge on what happened to Mike after murdering his sister all of those years ago. As well as this we also know the Myers house has been abandoned since the brutal killing as we are shown a scene of Dr. Loomis entering the empty home and also by the locals neighbors who do not want to go anywhere near the house. 

This theory helps us to identify why each event has happened in Halloween.For example If Mike hadn't of killed his sister and been in a mental institution all of his life he would not of come home and killed Laurie's friends. Another example is that because Dr. Loomis was trying to find and catch Mike if he had not of been investigating and found out where Mike Myers was, he wouldn't of been able to save Laurie's life by shooting him.