Propp's Character Theory

Propp's Character Theory

Vladimir Propp

Vladimir Propp was a Russian film critic who was particularly interested in films based on folk tales. He was active mainly during the 20s and 30s, and eventually divised a book called 'Morphology of a Folk Tale' to showcase his theory.

Propp's Theory 

Propp came up with a theory that consisted of seven different character types that are required to fill a story. These are:

• the villain - an antagonist who creates grief for the hero
• the hero - the character who resolves any wronghoods
• the Princess - the woman desired by the hero
• the false hero - the person who takes credit for the hero's actions
• the donor - the character who gives the hero some kind of precious object
• the dispatcher 
• the helper - a magical entity that assists the hero

According to his theory, the story should always feature conflict between the hero and the villain, and the villain is typically overcome (whether it be by physical or emotion means).

How could we use/challenge this theory in our own piece?

Instead of a plot driven by narrative, our plot will be more driven by character. Rather than focussing on conflict between a protagonist and antagonist, we could subvert this ideal by focussing on the conflict between inner and outer self, as influenced by masculine ideals.

We could use camera angles to illustrate this - for example by using POV shots to contrast shots from an external viewpoint. We could edit the sound to be either louder or quieter during the POV shots to emphasise a sense of either feeling overwhelmed or isolated.