Todorov's Narrative Structure

Tsvetan Todorov thinks that all narratives, whether they are in films, TV programmes, or otherwise, contain the same narrative structure. The structure consists of the following:

• Equilibrium - where everything is happy and normal.
• Disruption - something happens to disrupt the normality.
• Battle for Resolution - someone tries to restore equilibrium by solving the disruption.
• New Equilibrium - where everything becomes happy and normal again.

Over two lessons we watched Steven Spielberg's Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) to analyse it for Todorov's theory. Here is what I found (contains spoilers):

The film Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade follows Todoroc's narrative structure theory. His theory suggests that all narratives have the same narrative structure: equilibrium, disruption, battle for resolution, and new equilibrium. It can be applied to both the small plot in the introduction and the main film plot. For instance, in the small plot, it begins as a standard scouting trip (the equilibrium). Then young Indy (River Phoenix) finds the miners digging for the cross (the disruption). Indiana proceeds to take the cross from them and try to escape with it on horseback and then a train with the miners in pursuit (battle for resolution). Young Indy manages to get away with the cross and calls the police, hoping to have it put in a museum, only for the miners to have the police on their side. The cross is returned to the miners (the new equilibrium).

In the main plot, it begins with Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) teaching at his university as normal (the equilibrium). When he is overwhelmed by students asking for help outside his office, he climbs out of his office window to escape. Indiana is walking down the road when a car stops and some men step out to take him to Walter Donovan (Julian Glover). Donovan sends him on a quest for the Holy Grail (the disruption). The film continues with a search far and wide for clues about the grail's location with many problems along the way (the battle for resolution). Eventually, Indiana makes it to the grail room. He chooses the correct grail whereas Donovan does not, meaning he can save his father freely (he was shot by Donovan previously). Elsa Schneider (Alison Doody) tries to take the grail out of the temple but this causes the temple to collapse with the grail inside. The heroes ride of into the sunset (the new equilibrium).