Narrative Theories - Force Awakens

When I focused on these four narrative theories, I chose to relate them to Star Wars: The Force Awakens:

• Propp's Character Roles 
• Levi-Strauss' Binary Oppositions 
• Todorov's Equilibrium Theory
• Uses and gratification theory

When I analysed Propp's character roles in Force Awakens (2015), I found that the heroes were Finn, Rey, Han Solo and Chewbacca because they all chose to help the Resistance battle against the First Order for the map to find Luke Skywalker. I found that the villains were Kylo Ren and Supreme Leader Snoke because they caused bloodshed to innocent villagers in their attempt to get their hands on the map to Skywalker. Furthermore, Kylo Ren tried to persuade Rey to turn to the dark side when he captured her. In addition to that, the First Order used a superweapon to destroy planets that were part of the Republic. The donor in this film would be Maz Kanata because she gave Luke Skywalker's lightsaber to Finn. I also found that the dispatcher was BB-8 because he had part of the map to Luke Skywalker which sent both the Resistance and the First Order to find the rest of it. The false hero was Finn because he used to be a Stormtrooper in the First Order but he chose to help the Resistance fight the First Order. Rey would also be the Princess because she ends up being captured by the First Order meaning Finn, Han Solo and Chewbacca had to try to save her. Maz Kanata was also the helper because she aided Finn by giving him Luke Skywalker's lightsaber which allowed him to protect himself from the First Order. Finally, Han Solo was portrayed as the father figure in the film because he allowed Finn and Rey to stay on his Millennium Falcon; he also tried to turn his son Kylo Ren back to the light side as he knew that Kylo Ren was mislead by Snoke and wanted the best for his own son.

Levi Strauss' Binary Oppositions states that there need to be 2 clear and complete opposites in a film. This normally means that there is a good character and a evil character in a film that lead to being the protagonist and antagonist in the film. In Force Awakens, binary opposites are prevalent in the form of good and evil (good being the resistance and evil being the First Order). One of the many clashes between the opposites in Force Awakens is when TIE fighters from the First Order chase and attack the Millenium Falcon containing Rey and Finn after they take the ship back from a scrapyard on a desert planet while being attacked by First Order troops. The final and most significant clash is when Resistance pilots manage to attack and destroy Starkiller Base, killing any First Order militia that are still on the planet and in the base.

Todorov's Equilibrium Theory is evident throughout the entirety of Force Awakens. It is represented through the constant battle between the light side and the dark side. The equilibrium is first broken when Kylo Ren's stormtroopers attack the village on Jakku in search of the map to Luke Skywalker. It is further broken when Kylo Ren kills Lor San Tekka after he refuses to reveal the location of the map to Luke Skywalker. After that, Kylo Ren kills his father Han Solo which further emphasises the disequilibrium created by the Dark Side in their search to find Luke Skywalker. The equilibrium is restored once the Resistance destroy Starkiller base, R2-D2 connects the rest of the map to the piece of it found by the Resistance and Rey travels to the oceanic planet Ahch-To where Luke Skywalker resides in order to give him his lightsaber back.

The uses and gratification theory can be applied to Force Awakens in multiple and different ways. First of all, Force Awakens fulfils the UGT aspect of identification through the representation of Rey throughout the film. This is because Rey is represented as a physically and mentally capable and independent female. These are qualities that females watching the film could relate to as they probably feel that they share the same qualities that Rey possesses within the film. Another way UTG is applied to Force Awakens is through the aspect of interaction. This is because Force Awakens is a massive blockbuster, which means a high budget will be spent on the production and marketing of the film.