Relate a trailer to the four narrative theories

"The Mist" trailer related to the four narrative theories

Relating a trailer to the four narrative theories is relatively difficult due to the length of the clip, and because of this it also means that some theories may be more easily related than others. The Mist's trailer is fairly stereotypical for a horror trailer and follows various conventions, this may be to inform the audience what genre the film is and so it attracts the desired audience. 

Todorov

The trailer begins showing a family (father, mother and son) standing at a window, staring out to a supposedly violent storm. The next morning they inspect the destruction to the nearby buildings and area, this means that no true balance exists to begin with as the storm is not an average day occurrence. The disruption to the balance comes when the mist pours through, taking over the town, we see this spreading and the people of the town hiding in their homes and in anywhere they believe safe. The trailer itself shows no re-equilibrium, no return to balance, this is because if we are told how the problem is resolved, there would be no reason to see the film.

Propp

Due to the short lengths of trailers, it would be very difficult to define characters, but from what we see it is possible to apply the role of the hero to David Drayton. He appears to be quite protective in the trailer, especially over the young boy. The villain could be the monsters from the mist, but the religious woman who tries to take control could also fit this role and a simple trailer makes it hard to define character roles.

Strausse

Binary oppositions require little information for defining and so many can be found within the mist. The most important of course would be the normality of clear air and the abnormality of the mist in which the monsters are. Other binary oppositions that can be seen within The Mist are light/dark, safe/unsafe, fear/courage, silence/noise, sanity/insanity. These are not all binary oppositions that can be found within the trailer, but just some of the most important to the effectiveness. 

Bordwell and Thompson

The chain of effects in this clip have been condensed to form the trailer, in the full film obviously they would be much further apart and have events between, the reason for this is to leave the viewer with a reason to still see the film. If all of the most interesting parts of the film were given, including the ending then there would be no reason to see it. This theory is difficult to relate due to this, however it is evident that the storm may be linked with the spreading of the mist and the mist itself is definitely connected to the monsters that lurk within it.