Stranger Things Essay

Evaluate the relevance of Todorov's theory of narratology to long form television drama (10 marks) 

Todorov's theory of narratology can be argued to be relevant in long form television dramas, such as stranger things, as it is extremely useful for analysing the narrative of long form television dramas however, Todorov's theory was drawn from fairy tales and is not designed to explain serial narratives like long form dramas with complex narratives, several different narrative strands and the segmented storylines of long form dramas. 

On one hand, Todorov's theory is useful in stranger things as it is sufficiently simple to be widely applicable to all stories, from Bob the Builder to Shakespearian plays, this therefore includes Stranger Things. It is usually possible to identify his key elements of his narrative theory 

in long form tv drama, for example: The initial equilibrium is the happy suburban lifestyle, in this case Hawkins, Indiana; the disruption is Will's abduction where he is taken to the Upside Down by the Demogorgon. Todorov's theory is very useful in teasing out messages and values underlying in narrative, in pointing to the significance of the transformation between the initial equilibrium (displayed or implied) and the new equilibrium. An example of this is when Will is about to leave Mike's house and he says the line 'the Demogorgon, it got me', this cleverly foreshadowing line hints at the disruption which shortly follows, after the line is delivered and Will leaves the light flickers which again foreshadows the darkness which is about to indulge Will and that he is shortly going to end up in the Upside Down. It is also a link to the use of lights which is used later on in the series where Joyce (Will's Mother) communicates to Will through a collection of Christmas lights and is one of the main hints at Will being taken to the Upside Down. Therefore, Todorov's narrative theory is relevant here as it helps the audience to understand the foreshadowing of the dilemma in the episode.  

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On the other hand, it can be argued that Todorov's theory is not useful in Stranger Things as the simplicity of Todorov's theory might limit its effectiveness in understanding complex narratives. While it works perfectly for the typical Disney animation, Todorov's theory is not designed to explain serial narratives such as long form dramas where climax and resolution are necessarily delayed and sometimes, in programmes that are designed to last many series, are never reached. Todorov's theory does not help to understand television's tendency towards segmentation rather than linearity, e.g. the multiple segmented storylines of some long form dramas, such as in Stranger Things. Todorov's theory does not help to understand narrative strands that do not add to the narrative drive towards resolution but establish characterisation, spiral out from the main linear narrative or create cliffhangers, for example the Dungeons and Dragons sequence which introduces the main characters of the sequence, and while it does help to foreshadow Will's abduction it's main purpose is to introduce the audience to the four boys; Will, Mike, Dustin and Lucas. Also the character development of Nancy and Steve, such as when Steve climbs through Nancy's window and visits her in her room. Or even the unnecessary character of Barb and her relevance to the plot, which is minimal, as she dies fairly quickly later on in the series and doesn’t return yet is a fan loved character within the series.  Therefore, Todorov's does not apply here.  

Overall, while Todorov's theory is extremely useful in analysing the basic narrative structure of television drama, long form dramas have an added complex element for which Todorov's narratology theory is not designed.