Character Theory

Character Theory

Vladimir Propp was a Russian critic and literacy theorist. He analysed over 100 fairy tales in 1920 and came up with the theory that it was possible to classify the characters of film's into clearly defined roles with clearly defined functions in the narrative. He developed a character theory for media texts indicating 7 main archetypal  character types.

• The Villain- Opposes the hero, creates the narrative disruption
• The Donor- Gives Knowledge or something to help the hero sometimes information or a object
• The Helper- Supports the hero in there journey
• The Princess- Fought after usually by the Hero, usually some sort of prize or reward for the Hero
• The Dispatcher- Send's the hero on its way
• The False Hero- Appears to be good when the equilibrium is first disrupted but soon is found to be bad
• The Hero- Stereo typically male but does not always have to be, seek's something a quest and goes on a journey. Restore's the equilbrium and is the protagainst of the story.
• The Victim Hero- This specifies the hero. The victim hero is the center target of the villian
• The Seeker Hero- A hero that is helping and protecting other characters that are the villian's victim's

Although his theory can be easily applied to characters in many films, Propp's theory is criticized by many. Some argue his theory is very male orientated similarly to early fairtayles and is to restrictive of characters. Some narrative's have characters that for fill many of these roles and other's have characters that do not fit any one of these archetypes.