Propp's Theory!

Vladimir Propp's Character Theory

Vladimir Propp was a russian and formalist scholar. Propp was originally interested in the narrative of folk tales and this led him to identify a theory about characters and actions as narrative functions. There were only eight character types. The emphasis was on looking at characters not as representing real people but as functions whose role was to move the narrative forward. These ideas on character roles still apply to film and media today and an example of the theory in use is below which I applied to the film "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre."

I think Propp's theory does play an important role in film and media today as many films feature characters that have specific roles to Propp's character theory. By researching the eight different character types, I can apply this knowledge when it comes to making my horror trailer and feature some of the characters in the trailer itself.