Narrative - Todorov Theory




    Todorov's theory is about how the narration in a story is created. In this theory, there are 5 stages that a story will go through those are Equilibrium, Disruption, Recognition of the disruption, and a new equilibrium.

  •  Equilibrium
  • Disruption 
  • Recognition of disruption
  • Attempt to Repair
  • New Equilibrium 
Case Study - Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011)

The movie's equilibrium is of Po being the dragon warrior. Kung fu is still strong within the flow of the world. He's content with what he has, a great group of friends, a loving dad, and a village that adores him.

The disruption started with the main villain, Lord Shen, who needed supplies for a weapon. His minions raided the valley of peace for all the metal there, which causes the main cast to go and find Lord Shen. 

When they get to GongMen city they realize what the metal was used for. As the leader of the city, Master Rhino was killed by the weapon, and his allies were all imprisoned. The movie technically has two recognitions of disruption, as the meeting with Lord Shen in GongMen city also lead Po to discover he was the one who burned his childhood village to the ground.   

As Po learned to accept his past he began to try to destroy the weapon. By finding his inner peace he used Shen's weapon against him. In the end, Shen was killed by his own creation. This was the attempt to repair which eventually succeeded. 

The new equilibrium is Po returning home after saving China. Finally knowing who he is and being at peace with it. 

The movie has a lot of subplots. Mostly involves Po defeating the big bad but also him learning to accept who he is and what happened happened, and it's healthier to move on. While Shen never let go of his ego which lead to his own demise. 

Comments

Post a Comment