Vladimir Propp:
It supports male dominance theory as male is often the hero, saving the weak and fragile princess.
Example: Hunger Games
Hero: Katniss.
Villain: President Snow
Donor: Haymitch
Helper: Peter
Dispatcher: District 13
Princess: Katniss’ Sister
False Hero: This role is subverted as there are no true false heros in the narrative.
Therefore the Hunger Games is an example of a film that does not fully support the theory.
My Trailer:
Hero – The hero is not revealed in the trailer as the film is left on a cliffhanger as to whether Becki escapes. However in the film, her father is the hero.
Villian – The kidnapper
Donor – Again, there is no donor in the trailer, however in our film the police would act as a donor as they give the father the name of the suspect they believe has captured her.
Helper – The mother, she travels with Becki’s father in hope to find their daughter and achieve new equilibrium.
Dispatcher – The mother could also be seen as the dispatcher as she is the one to inform the father that Becki has gone missing, which sends him on his quest to find her.
Princess – Becki
False Hero – There are no false hero’s in our trailer.
Therefore our film both supports and subverts Propps character types as our film features the characters, however our actual trailer does not and so subverts the theory. This was intentional because we wanted our trailer to be unique, without the typical characters expected in order to engage the audience’s attention and create excitement at the un-familar characters. For example in our film we would feature a false villain, rather than false hero, who pretends to be helping the kidnapper, when in actual fact his motive is to close enough to Becki to help her father save her.
- He proposed it was possible to classify the character and their actions into clearly defined roles and functions:
- Hero: Reacts to the donor and saves the princess, often falls in love with the princess
- Princess: Needs assistance from the hero, usually because they are in some form of danger, typically the victim
- False Hero: May appear good but has an alternative motive, or attempts to take credit for the hero’s actions
- Villain : Locked in a constant struggle with the hero, often trying to harm the princess.
- Helper: Assists the hero with their quest
- Donor: Gives the hero an object or a piece of information that helps them prepare for what is to come
- Father Figure: The older, wise figure who advises the hero
- Dispatcher: Sends the hero on their quest to restore the equilibrium
It supports male dominance theory as male is often the hero, saving the weak and fragile princess.
Example: Hunger Games
Hero: Katniss.
Villain: President Snow
Donor: Haymitch
Helper: Peter
Dispatcher: District 13
Princess: Katniss’ Sister
False Hero: This role is subverted as there are no true false heros in the narrative.
Therefore the Hunger Games is an example of a film that does not fully support the theory.
My Trailer:
Hero – The hero is not revealed in the trailer as the film is left on a cliffhanger as to whether Becki escapes. However in the film, her father is the hero.
Villian – The kidnapper
Donor – Again, there is no donor in the trailer, however in our film the police would act as a donor as they give the father the name of the suspect they believe has captured her.
Helper – The mother, she travels with Becki’s father in hope to find their daughter and achieve new equilibrium.
Dispatcher – The mother could also be seen as the dispatcher as she is the one to inform the father that Becki has gone missing, which sends him on his quest to find her.
Princess – Becki
False Hero – There are no false hero’s in our trailer.
Therefore our film both supports and subverts Propps character types as our film features the characters, however our actual trailer does not and so subverts the theory. This was intentional because we wanted our trailer to be unique, without the typical characters expected in order to engage the audience’s attention and create excitement at the un-familar characters. For example in our film we would feature a false villain, rather than false hero, who pretends to be helping the kidnapper, when in actual fact his motive is to close enough to Becki to help her father save her.