Luther and The Theories

Luther
List of Theories that apply:
- Todorov's Narrative Theory
- Propp's Character Types
- Barthes Code Theory

Todorov 
Equilibrium - Luther lives a normal life on the coast.
Disruption - Love interest (Alice) gets murdered, decides to take up detective work again.
Realisation - Gets caught up in the chaos of other mysteries.
Restored order - (Partly) Catches a murder and stops him from killing other captured victims. The big mystery (Alice) however, is still a mystery.
New Equilibrium -

Propp
Anti-Hero - DCI Luther
Villain - Steven Rose / George Cornelius
Helper - DCI Emma Lane
Dispatcher - DCU Martin
Princess - Alice
Donor - Megan?
False Hero - Megan

Barthe
Enigma Code - Constant state of mystery until Luther and Emma catches Steven during a crime. Things such as clues and information would keep constantly making the audience asking questions.

Action Code - Luther visits George, Violently kidnaps him and holds him hostage, Luther interrogates George, George swears Luther dead and now Luther has another enemy. This triggers certain events where assassins are sent to assassinate Luther.

Semantic Code - All of the Symbols each connote something relevant to the story. E.G. The fridge has negative connotations within the story as Steven used a fridge to disguise explosives which later kills a main character. The Black Bird foreshadows a character's death which triggers a narrative.

Symbolic Code - Fridge, Black Bird, Owl, Mutilated Bodies, Knife.

Cultural Code - ???

Luther
There are many Media Theories within the TV Show Luther. There are a range of narratives, key character types and many narrative codes. All of these aspects allow for a successful TV Programme when used in the correct way as they interest the audience and makes them want to carry on watching.

Todorov's Theory is present within Season 4, Episodes 1 and 2 of Luther. There are many narratives within the programme that all tie together with specific events. The overall narrative is as follows: There is an Equilibrium at the beginning of the season as we see Luther living a normal live by the coast. This however is disrupted with two DCI agents informing Luther of his love interest's death (Alice.) There are also many other disruptions within narrative such as a murder mystery. The realisation of the narrative comes when Luther decides to become a DCI agent again and try to solve Alice's death. This is disrupted with a murder and this is when the realisation of chaos starts. As the episodes go on, there is eventual a restoration of the chaos when both DCI Emma and Luther end the murders by killing the murderer Steven Rose. A new Restoration has erupted for DCI Emma as her case has been solved, however as Luther's original disruption was Alice, his narrative has not come to a close.

There are many character types present within Luther. All of these character types belong to Propp's Character Types theory. Within a narrative there is either a Hero or an Anti-Hero. What sets these two types apart is that an Anti-Hero would do negative things for positive outcomes whereas a Hero would only do Good for Good. Luther fits the Anti-Hero type as he does do some negative things within the story. For example: he kidnaps George to interrogate him for information on Alice's Murder.
There are a range of Villains within the TV Show. This is because of the many narratives present. There is arguably no Main Villain as they all play important roles within the story. Steven Rose is one of the Villains - he shows two main aspects of a villain. There are: Ruthlessness and Determination. Within his murders he would not think twice before committing them and would plan them out before hand. Villains stereotypically have some sort of mental illness or are psychotic, this is because it makes them more interesting as characters and also gives them purpose as to why they are committing the crimes. Steven has an illness called Cotard delusion. Cotard delusion is a mental illness which tricks your mind into thinking you're dead. He committed these crimes because of the illness taking over his brain. Another Villain is George. He is a mafia crime leader and hires people to commit his crimes for him. He holds many aspects of a villain within his character. Such as: Determination, Selfishness and Ruthlessness. He is very hostile and threatening towards the main protagonist Luther.
The Helper in the film is DCI Emma. She is a binary opposite towards the main protagonist Luther. They are very different characters and bounce off of each other personality wise meaning a more entertaining experience for the audience. Emma holds many traits of a classic sidekick. She is very intelligent, loyal and offers help and suggestions to the main character to help aid the narrative. 
The Dispatcher of the TV Programme is DCU Martin. He sends both the sidekick and the hero/anti-hero on there quest. They don't usually have any specific traits but the other characters tend to have a good relationship with them because of their lovable personalities. 
The Princess within the narrative is Alice. Even though she is dead she is the main subject of Luther's disruption and this makes her the 'Princess' of the main narrative. There are also other princess characters within the narrative that need saving. For example, the family that Steven Kidnaps to murder get saved by the main characters and they therefore play princess roles. 
The False Hero of Luther is Megan. She, at first, appears like a good character who wants to help Luther with the Alice investigation. However, as the narrative progresses, we find out that she killed Alice and is only pretending to help Luther so that she can help herself. 

Barthes Code theory is present within the TV Programme Luther all throughout the entire two episodes. There are 4 codes present and each are easily spotted. However, casual audiences may not notice these as the codes that they are. As a media student, I can identify the codes present within the episodes.
The first code present is the Enigma Code. This code presents ideas of a constant mystery to add tension to the programme, to also extend the narrative further and to also get the audience members thinking and trying to solve the mysteries present themselves. This adds escapism to the show. There are many enigmas present such as: The question of who the murder is, who killed Alice (Present in only the first episode) and also why all of these events are taking place. These enigmas allow the audience to continue guessing and also entices them to carry on watching the programme.
The second code present is the Action Code. This code states that a single action would then lead onto another action changing how the narrative plays out drastically. This is present when Luther decides to Visit a Mafia Boss known as George. He refuses to come and answer questions for Luther and therefore George is kidnapped and held captive for interrogation. This leads to George becoming angry and swearing Luther dead. George escapes and hires assassins to kill Luther - They fail. This code represents the butterfly effect where the choice of one action if important as it changes how the future plays out.
The final codes are the Symbolic and the Semantic Codes. The Symbolic code states that specific symbols represent different things depending on where and how they are used. The Semantic code looks further into this Denotation and looks at the Connotation of that specific symbol in this specific instance. For example: A fridge in everyday life is an appliance that everyone uses on a daily basis. This is the Symbolic Code. However in these particular episodes, it represents something different as a Villain, Steven, uses a fridge in a negative way by disguising explosives which later kills a main character. This is the Semantic Code. A further example is the Black Bird within the opening scenes of the first episode. The Black Bird, in this case, represents something negative because of it's death. This symbol within the scene is semantic and therefore foreshadows a characters future death. 

All of these theories apply to Luther in a range of different and similar ways - They all aid one another and assist the narrative. They also have effects on the audience and changes the way that they may think about and perceive certain things. 

Barthe's Theory

Barthe's Theory
Barthe's Theory says that a narrative is like a ball of string ravelled up into a ball. It can be unraveled in multiple ways to have different outcomes.

The Narrative can either be open or closed.
- A Closed Narrative is very predictable and seems to be very simple.
- An Open Narrative however has many possibilities and tends to be more difficult to understand due to amount of content of the story.

There are 5 different codes to Barthe's Theory.
These are:

- The Hermeneutic/Enigma Code

The Hermeneutic Code refers to any element of the story that is not fully explained and hence becomes a mystery to the reader.

The purpose of the author in this is typically to keep the audience guessing, arresting the enigma, until the final scenes when all is revealed and all loose ends are tied off and closure is achieved.

- The Proairetic/Action Code

The Proairetic Code builds tension, referring to any other action or event that indicates something else is going to happen, and which hence gets the reader guessing as to what will happen next.

Action code - applies to any action that implies a further narrative action. For example, a gunslinger draws his gun on an adversary and we wonder what the resolution of this action will be.

- The Semantic Code

This code refers to connotation within the story that gives additional meaning over the basic denotative meaning of the word.

The semantic code - any element in a text that suggests a particular, often additional meaning by way of connotation.

- The Symbolic Code

This is very similar to the Semantic Code, but acts at a wider level, organizing semantic meanings into broader and deeper sets of meaning.

This is typically done in the use of antithesis, where new meaning arises out of opposing and conflict ideas.

- The Referential Code

This code refers to anything that is founded on some kind of canonical works that cannot be challenged and is assumed to be a foundation for truth.

The cultural codes tend to point to our shared knowledge about the way the world works.

In terms of Music Video

Barthes’ Enigma Hermeneutic Code can be found in a majority of music videos.

The narrative will establish enigmas (puzzling imagery or occurrences) or mysteries as it goes along.

Essentially the narrative functions to first establish then solve.

Narrative Theory - Part 2

Bordwell and Thompson
Narrative, as defined by Bordwell, is a chain of events occurring in time and space. In creating a narrative there must be an action, which begins as a series of events that occur over a period of time in one or more spaces and finally end in a changed state.

Story time: The earliest event referred to in a film to the latest event.
- The story time creates a whole world that exists even when the characters are not on screen.   Examples: Pulp fiction, Eastenders (  ), Lord of the Rings.

Plot time: The earliest event that the audience see in the film to the latest event.
- Plot time is necessary in order to show a complete story within the limited screening time of a film. Examples: Pulp fiction, Another 24 hours, Gladiator, Cloud Atlas, The Terminator, etc.

Screen time: The actual playing time of the film.

Propp's Theory (1928)
Vladimir Propp’s (1928)  the Morphology of the Folk Tale.

- Identified 32 categories of action which he called “functions.”

- Identified a set of  basic “spheres of action” or character roles.

- The character roles help to provide structure for the (media) text.

- The character roles perform a certain function.

The Functions

Preparation: A community, kingdom, family; an ordered state of being.

A member of a family /community leaves home (the hero is introduced as a unique person within the tribe, whose needs may not be met by remaining)

A warning is given to the community or its leaders/ a rule is imposed on the hero (a command NOT to do something e.g.'don't go there', 'go to this place’)

The hero ignores the warning/the rule is broken.

The villain attempts to discover something about the victim.

The villain discovers the required information.

The villain attempts to deceive the victim to gain an advantage (trickery; villain disguised, tries to win confidence of victim)

The victim is deceived by the villain and unwittingly helps him/her (or the enemy)

The Complication

A state of disorder. Villain harms a member of the family/community.

One of the family/community desires something.

Misfortune or lack is made known, (hero is dispatched to find what is desired).

The hero plans action against the villain.

The Transference

Hero leaves home.

Hero is tested, interrogated, attacked etc; he meets the challenger and receives a magical agent or a helper.

Hero reacts to actions of future donor (withstands/fails the test, frees captive, reconciles disputants, performs service, uses adversary's powers against them).

Hero arrives at or is transferred to the place where he will fulfil his quest.

The Struggle

There is a struggle in a specific setting between hero and villain.

Hero is branded (wounded/marked, receives ring or scarf).

Villain is defeated (killed in combat, defeated in contest, banished).

The state of disorder is resolved (object of search distributed, spell broken, slain person revived, captive freed)

The Return

Hero returns.

Hero is pursued (pursuer tries to kill, eat, undermine the hero).

Hero escapes or is rescued from pursuit (obstacles delay pursuer, hero hides or is hidden, hero saved from attempt on his/her life).

Hero arrives at home or at some other place and is not recognised.

False hero presents unfounded claims.

Difficult task proposed to the hero (trial by ordeal, riddles, test of strength/endurance, other tasks)

The task is accomplished.

The Recognition

Hero is recognised (by mark, brand, or thing given to him/her).

False hero or villain is exposed.

Hero is given a new appearance (is made whole, handsome, new garments etc)

Villain is punished.

Hero marries and ascends the throne (is rewarded/promoted).

Propp's Character Types

Hero: Reacts to the donor and saves the princess, often resulting in them falling in love with the princess. 

The villain: Locked in a constant struggle with the hero, often trying to harm princess. 

False hero: May appear good but has an ulterior motive, or attempts to take credit for the hero's actions. 

The helper: Assists the hero with their quest, often referred to as their 'sidekick'.

The princess: Needs assistance from the hero, usually because they are in some form of danger, typically the princess is the victim within the narrative. 

The donor: Gives the hero an object that usually has magical property or a piece of information that helps them prepare for what is to come. 

The dispatcher: Is the character who sends that hero on their mission or quest.

The father: Acts to reward the hero for his efforts. 

The Lion King Examples

- The Villain - Scar

- The Donor - Rafiki

- The Helper - Timon+Pumbaa

- The Princess - Nala

- Her Father (in this case mother) - Sarafina*

- The Dispatcher - Nala**

- The Hero - Simba

- The False Hero - Scar***

Guardians of the Galaxy
The Hero - Star-lord
Star-Lord is the main Hero. He ventures on a quest in search for an Orb which then sends him on a quest to play a hero role to save the Galaxy.
The Villain - Ronan the Accuser
The False Hero -
The False Villain - Drax
Drax is a False Villain as he has many traits that many people would relate to a villain. for example, he is filled with rage and is searching for revenge. This is an obvious trait for a classic villain. We find out however that he is actually a part of the Guardians and is also fighting to save the galaxy.
The Helper - Gamora, Drax, Groot and Rocket
All of these characters have traits that act as helper roles towards Star-Lord. However they also play hero roles within the film as they are all fighting to save the galaxy, like Star-Lord.
The Princess - Honor and Respect / Friends
As star-lord is classed as a villain to other characters within the film, at the end of the film he earns honor and respect by saving the galaxy. His Friends are also the "princess'" and acts as a reward for Star-Lord as previously he was alone.
The Donor - Collector
The Dispatcher - The Orb
The Father - Corpsman Dey

Levi Strauss (1958)
He argued that all meaning-making, not just narratives, depend on binary oppositions – a conflict between two sides/qualities which are opposites. For example; There are many Binary Opposites within the Western Genre, Mythology and also Advertisements. 

Western:
Cowboys  -  Indians 
Settlers  -  Natives 
Christian  -  Pagan 
Domestic  -  Savage 
Weak  -  Strong 
Garden  -  Wilderness 
The law  -  Outlaws 
Helpless  -  Dangerous 
Clothed  -  Naked 
Whites  -  Redskins 
Telegraph  -  Smoke Signals 

Adverts:
Spots  -  Clearasil
Dirty  -  Persil
Young  -  Old
Dandruff  -  Head & Shoulders

Mythology:
God - Devil
Good  -  Evil.

Batman and The Joker
Both Batman and The Joker are binary opposites for many reasons. The two obvious reasons are that simply Batman is the good guy and that The Joker is the Villain. Despite this, there are more reasons. For example: The joker kills people and Batman doesn't, he believes in justice but The Joker does not.


Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader

Luke and Darth Vader are a classic example of Binary Opposites. Darth Vader is the Villain and Luke is the Hero. Vader puts the princess in danger where Luke saves princess from Vader. Another thing that makes them binary opposites are that Luke fights for the rebels, a team who are trying to save the galaxy. Whereas Vader is a part of the empire, a group who are trying to take over the galaxy and destroy it.


Jack Skellington and Oogie Boogie
Jack and Oogie are another example of Binary Opposites. Jack is the leader of Halloween Town, and tries his best to make sure everyone is happy. He has a lover known as Sally. Oogie envies Jack and wants to take over Halloween town. He captures Sally and Jack has to rescue her. This proves that Jack Skellington and Oogie Boogie are Binary Opposites.

Representation of Age

Representation of Age

Levi Strauss
The contrast between two mutually exclusive concepts or things that creates conflict and drives a narrative e.g. good/evil, day/night, male/female, presence/absence, old/young.

Stereotypes of the Elderly
- Grumpy - Conservative, Stubborn and are resistant to change. ("Good Ol' Days")

- Cheeky - Seen as having a second childhood, living life to the fullest because of their age.

- Helpless - The elderly are seen as a burden to society. Older people are also represented as pitied, dependent or an economic burden – helpless and dependent on other younger members of society or family.

Positives and Negatives of Age

Waterloo Road - Essay Plan https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aX1a_hfwhCo

Sound

- Hectic audio

- Sounds of screaming from the teenagers, relates to a stereotype of immaturity. Also shouts for help from other teenagers which counteracts the immature stereotype as they're acting in an adult manor.

Editing

- Fast Paced

Mise-En-Scene

- Majority of Characters are teenagers. When faced with a serious situation they all behaved with an authoritative attitude. Sensible behaviour. 

- Certain teenagers act selfish to protect themselves.

- Props such as wet paper towels, metal bars etc.

Cinematography

- Large amount of close-up shots to show the emotions of the characters. 

- A few establishing shots of the fire and the school during explosions. 

Waterloo Road Essay

Within the TV Programme of Waterloo Road, there is a range of ages represented both stereotypically and counter-stereotypically from teenagers to adults. They are represented in a certain way through Mise-En-Scene, Sound, Editing and Cinematography.

There were many aspects to the Mise-En-Scene that added to the verisimilitude of the scene and also represented stereotypes of all ages. The majority of the characters were secondary school teenagers and there were both stereotypes and counter-stereotypes within the scene. For example: There was a clear stereotype of an immature and irresponsible teenager with the majority of the young females represented. This is evident with the teenage pregnancy from one teenager and also from the actions of others during the fire. Despite this, there was also a clear counter-stereotype to this with the female who was trapped in the toilet. Instead of acting immature, like the other teenagers, she acted calm and made sure she called for help in a calm fashion that shows the counter-stereotype of the other teenagers who panicked. This shows a binary opposite in the stereotypes and counter-stereotypes of the female teenagers - This links to Levi Strauss’ theory of Binary Opposites. The male teenagers also show a clear stereotype and counter-stereotype. An example of this would be the teenager who called for help when his friend was having an asthma attack. Furthermore, one male teenager played a hero role in the scene when he went to save the young girl who was trapped. Another male teenager saved a teachers live by dragging her out of the burning building alone. This counteracts Ann Gould’s categorisation of the Nihilistic teenager as both males teens saved the lives of two females. This shows responsible attitude and is a counter-stereotype of a young, irresponsible teenager. Also, the other teenager who helped the trapped teenagers escape and also helped save a teacher’s life through his responsible attitude. The use of certain props from certain teenagers also counteracts the stereotypes of teenagers as dumb and immature. When a teenaged girl was alone in the toilets, she used props of wet paper towels to block the fire coming into the room that she was trapped in. This shows a level of intelligence that many people of an older age may think certain teenagers don’t have. All of these aspects of the scene counteract the stereotypical representation of youth in the media, as the majority of the teenagers are acting responsible. There are however a few odd teenagers who prove the stereotypes of youth with the teenage pregnancy presented in the scene.

Waterloo Road Essay

Within the TV Programme of Waterloo Road, there is a range of ages represented both stereotypically and counter-stereotypically from teenagers to adults. They are represented in a certain way through Mise-En-Scene, Sound, Editing and Cinematography.

There were many aspects to the Mise-En-Scene that added to the verisimilitude of the scene and also represented stereotypes of all ages. The majority of the characters were secondary school teenagers and there were both stereotypes and counter-stereotypes within the scene. For example: There was a clear stereotype of an immature and irresponsible teenager with the majority of the young females represented. This is evident with the teenage pregnancy from one teenager and also from the actions of others during the fire. Despite this, there was also a clear counter-stereotype to this with the female who was trapped in the toilet. Instead of acting immature, like the other teenagers, she acted calm and made sure she called for help in a calm fashion that shows the counter-stereotype of the other teenagers who panicked. This shows a binary opposite in the stereotypes and counter-stereotypes of the female teenagers - This links to Levi Strauss’ theory of Binary Opposites. The male teenagers also show a clear stereotype and counter-stereotype. An example of this would be the teenager who called for help when his friend was having an asthma attack. Furthermore, one male teenager played a hero role in the scene when he went to save the young girl who was trapped. Another male teenager saved a teachers live by dragging her out of the burning building alone. This counteracts Ann Gould’s categorisation of the Nihilistic teenager as both males teens saved the lives of two females. This shows responsible attitude and is a counter-stereotype of a young, irresponsible teenager. Also, the other teenager who helped the trapped teenagers escape and also helped save a teacher’s life through his responsible attitude. The use of certain props from certain teenagers also counteracts the stereotypes of teenagers as dumb and immature. When a teenaged girl was alone in the toilets, she used props of wet paper towels to block the fire coming into the room that she was trapped in. This shows a level of intelligence that many people of an older age may think certain teenagers don’t have. All of these aspects of the scene counteract the stereotypical representation of youth in the media, as the majority of the teenagers are acting responsible. There are however a few odd teenagers who prove the stereotypes of youth with the teenage pregnancy presented in the scene.

The sound within the fire scene is very hectic as there was a lot going on in terms of diegetic and non-diegetic sounds. For example: The diegetic sounds of screaming from the majority of teenagers added to the verisimilitude of the scene. The dialogue of the adults conversing also added to the verisimilitude and emotion behind the scene. Both of these things add to stereotypes of both ages of adults and teenagers. The sounds of screaming from the teenagers prove some theories about the immature stereotypical teenager. The way the adults were reacting also showed a stereotypical adult as they were acting in a clam manor and acting responsibly. A lot of the dialogue revealed a lot about the characters and also linked them to the stereotypical representation of age and both gender combined.