Theorists

Vladimir Propp

Propp - analysed the basic components of

Russian fairy tales in ‘The Morphology of
the Folk Tale’. He claimed there were only 8
broad character types in all the stories he
analysed. These are:

the villain;
the donor (gives the hero some magical
object);
the (magical) helper who helps the hero in the quest;
the princess (person the hero marries OR a dream or desire which is
sought after in the same way);
her father;
the dispatcher (who sends the hero off);
the hero/victim;
the false hero or usurper.

My trailer follows Propp’s theory as it consists of ‘the donor’ who is the

doctor, ‘the princess’ who is the girlfriend, and ‘the hero’, who is the
boyfriend.

Tzvetan Todorov suggested there were five

stages to a narrative:

Equilibrium
A disruption of this equilibrium by an event
A realisation that a disruption has happened
An attempt to repair the damage of the
disruption
A restoration of the equilibrium which may be
a new or changed one

This is a very basic film theory and can be applied to almost any movie
and mine follows this very clearly. It begins with a happy, healthy
relationship (equilibrium) between a couple until the boyfriend suddenly
falls ill (disruption). Soon, we find out what the actually illness is and is
something very severe; brain tumour (realisation of the disruption), which
the doctors soon try to cure for several months (attempt to repair). It then
restores back to equilibrium as he passes away, however they re-live their
good memories and she moves on with her life with her child that she has
had with her boyfriend.

Stephen Neale observes that 'genres... exist

within the context of a set of economic relations
and practices', though he adds that 'genres are
not the product of economic factors as such.

The conditions provided by the capitalist economy account neither for

the existence of the particular genres that have hitherto been
produced, nor for the existence of the conventions that constitute
them' (Neale 1980, 51-2). Steve Neale stresses that 'genres are not
systems: they are processes of systematisation' (Neale 1980, 51; my
emphasis; cf. Neale 1995, 463). Traditionally, genres (particularly
literary genres) tended to be regarded as fixed forms, but
contemporary theory emphasizes that both their forms and functions
are dynamic.