absentation
– One of the family members leaves the house (definition – the absentation)
An absentation can be different. Propp identifies three types of it in fairy tales. A temporary absentation, like parents leaving, their death or children absentation. In a fairy tale parents might go to a fair or to work, and children go to the forest for mushrooms.
It is important to notice, that family may be conditional. The main thing is that the group member, who provides safety and stability, leaves. Let’s say, in the Russian tale “The cat, the rooster and the fox”, the old man and the cat leave, and the rooster stays to guard the house.
As you understand there are many more options like this in movies.
One of the brightest examples of the temporary “absentation” is Home Alone, 1990. The whole family departs, leaving the character by himself. Also, the absentation in the form of “death” is pretty interesting. In Russian “Sivko-Burko” tale the father of three brothers, in dying, asks them to sleep on his grave alternatively.
In a movie it can serve as a starting point for the beginning of a story in a variety of genres, including thrillers and horrors. This method is used, for example, in Lemony Snicket’s a Series of Unfortunate Events, 2004 and Grave of the Fireflies, 1988.
Although, not only parents leave in movies. The point of the function is to trouble the balance and to give a push to the story, preparing the ground for some misfortune. That is, it is the person, who was keeping the balance, is to leave. Let’s say, in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, 2001, it is Bilbo Baggins, who was keeping the ring for a long time, but was forced to leave, having passed the valuable item on to Frodo.
That is, normally “absentation” in a movie is the most common and simple way for the character to start the journey and get into some adventures. After all, the only thing required for it is for one character to leave the house.
interdiction
– The character is addressed with an interdiction (definition – the interdiction)
There are simple interdictions, such as “not to open the door”, “not to go to the forest”, “not to take something”. The interdiction can be strengthened with some physical obstacle, as for example, locking up, or, on the contrary, it can exist in a softer form of a request not to do something or an advice not to go somewhere. There is also an addressing form of interdiction, in the form of the order, which the character must follow strictly.
For example, Vasilisa the Wise from the “The Sea King and Vasilisa the Wise” fairy tale forbids her husband to kiss his sister, since in this case he will forget his wife. And in “Firebird and Vasilisa the Princess” the hero’s horse advises its master not to show the magic feather to the king, suspecting that the king will desire to get the whole Firebird.
Propp notices that in fairy tales the “interdiction” function is the major turning point, after which the situation changes in the most serious way. That’s why a fairy tale gives a space for description of the situation before and after violation of the interdiction. It is done for the contrast to be more striking and the dramatic circumstances of characters to look more dangerous.
Authors do the same in movies. It is one of all gangster movies favorite functions. In those the mob boss gives his henchmen the order for some mission, which they fail to complete. Most frequently, it is a handover or a transportation of dirty money. These functions are in movies Le Transporteur, 2002, Pulp Fiction, 1994, Lola rennt, 1998.
But, of course, the interdiction exists not only in such a strict form. In The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, 2001, Frodo isn’t allowed to put the ring on, but he does it repeatedly. That is, in this case violation of the interdiction is not a turning point, but the situation development, namely, worsening of character condition.
violation of the interdiction
– The interdiction is being violated (definition – violation of the interdiction)
It’s clear, that if there is an interdiction, it will definitely be violated, otherwise there will be no story. Violation forms correspond to interdiction forms. If someone forbids the character to do something, that is exactly what the character will do. In Russian fairy tale “A Potter”, the demon promises to work for the character with one condition, that he will not control the process. But the potter cannot overcome his curiosity and spies, which certainly leads to troubles.
So, usually “interdiction” – “violation” are the pair functions. But sometimes the violation can exist separately.
One of the most common cases is being late (for a flight, a party, a meeting, etc.).
Propp notices, that usually at this stage the antagonist appears, the enemy (“a pest” according to Propp). He is the one who convinces the character to violate the interdiction, as the Serpent does to Eve. His role is to disrupt the balance, to cause a misfortune, to harm. As soon as Frodo puts the ring on, enemies find it out immediately and begin to hunt the character. Besides, right in this moment the item itself shows its hostile properties, trying to subdue the owner.
reconnaissance
– The Antagonist is trying to conduct reconnaissance (definition – the reconnaissance).
This is a very interesting and up-to-date function, since it temporary passes the plot initiative on to “bad guys”, which is specifically appreciated in screenplays, as it allows to reveal negative characters.
Here “the pest” has the widest field for actions. He can impersonate someone else, to use other characters for his own purposes, to make up some clever trick.
Propp highlights following types of a fairytale “reconnaissance”:
1.“The pest” finds out the location of children and values.
2.The addressing form, when the victim itself asks the pest.
For example, “Where is your death?”
3. Reconnaissance through the third party.
In the “Vasilisa The Priest’s Daughter” fairy tale, the king found out that the heroine is a girl disguised as a man. Further, the king makes up a clever plan how to expose her. In the “Ghoul” tale an evil creature in the form of a handsome young man comes to the celebration and romances the heroine. And for example, in the movie Die Hard 2, 1990, terrorists install their equipment in advance, which was noticed by the hero. In the mystical thriller Constantine, 2005, demons also prepare carefully before they take an action. In the Terminator 2: Judgment Day, 1991, T-1000 impersonates the policeman to find the character.
The reconnaissance function is one of the main ones in the fantastic action movie Total Recall, 1990. To spy on the hero, the whole false life is constructed there with several characters, including his wife.
delivery
– The Antagonist gets information about his victim (definition – the delivery)
At the first stage, the bad guys plan has to work. If they fail right away, what’s the point in the further story?
The delivery, surely, also corresponds to the reconnaissance form. The character gets a straight answer to the asked question. For example, the magic mirror answers directly to the Evil Queen, that Snow White is alive, and Red Riding Hood tells the wolf about her Grandma herself. Accordingly, it’s a pair function. There is also a pair for other cases.
However, the “reconnaissance” function can also exist independently, if it is just a careless act, which the enemy took advantage of. For example, it is the case with the wolf, who eavesdrops on how the mother-goat instructs her seven goatlings. And in the Russian fairy tale “What am I!”, the greedy priest spies on how his guest counts his money.
The character of the movie The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, 2001, by putting the ring on, involuntarily gives the enemy information about his location. Exactly the same trick is used in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of The Black Pearl, 2003, where pirates found out about a medallion as soon as it hit the water. And in the war drama Black Hawk Down, 2001, enemies learn about the beginning of operation through their scouts, located near the heroes’ base. In the thriller Life of the Others (Das Leben der Anderen, 2006), the secret agent gets necessary information about a hero thorough a wiretapping.
trickery
– The Antagonist is trying to fool his victim to harm it (definition – the trickery).
It can be a deception or manipulation as in “Cinderella” story, when the heroine is buried with meaningless work just not to let her go to the ball.
An enemy can also use some magic tool or to set some traps. He often takes on someone else’s appearance during these times. One of the most famous examples is Snow White poisoning by the Evil Queen, who pretended to be a harmless old lady. And in the Russian fairy tale “Bandits”, bandits pretend to be reach wooers to take a revenge on the heroine for foiling their previous plan. In “Ghoul” tale an evil creature in the form of a handsome young man convinces the heroine to take a walk with him after the feast.
It is important to remember, that before implementation of the trickery, an enemy had already got all necessary information, and he begins to act. In the drama Black Hawk Down, 2001, enemies know about the operation and ambush special forces. In the fantastic horror movie, The Thing, 1982, an alien monster at first studies creatures he met, and then he turns into a dog to trick and kill polar explorers.
complicity
– The victim succumbs to deception and with this involuntarily aids the enemy (definition – the complicity).
In fairy tales the character always succumbs to persuasions and trusts antagonist. The evil magic and traps also work flawlessly every time. Meaning, Snow White eats the poisoned apple, Cinderella gets to work. In the Russian tale “Trial of Cows”, a silly man trusts a priest and gives his only cow to the liar, believing that the whole herd will return to him.
In movie examples from above, special forces get ambushed and polar explorers bring the dog to their station.
Propp notices, that there always is a situation, when the hero kind of facilitates his enemy’s work: for example, he falls asleep in an inappropriate time or leaves his things unattended. In the Russian fairy tale “The Widow and the Demon”, an inconsolable widow summons a demon, who pretends to be her revived husband. And in the movie Lola rennt, 1998, the hero himself leaves the bag of money in the subway. In the black comedy Pulp Fiction, 1994, the main character’s girlfriend leaves hero’s watch in the apartment, making him to go back and get ambushed.
The special form of deception is a contract with a catch. Like, fairytale Aladdin agrees to come down in the dungeon, not suspecting that the evil sorcerer wants to abandon him there. And in the movie The Big Lebowski, 1998, the character is asked to hand over the ransom for the hostage, although there was no any kidnapping. Also, in the fantastic action movie Predator, 1987, the hero’s squad goes for a mission without knowing its real purpose. There is also the classic example of this kind of function in the thriller Devil’s Advocate, 1997. In this movie the main character gets a job without suspecting that his employer is the Devil himself.