Storytelling for Media. Joachim Friedmann
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nine different types, which in turn are grouped into three groups, depending on whether the character is emotionally, rationally, or instinctively controlled: those who react with their heart, brain, or “gut.” These personality types provide information about the underlying value system and the resulting behaviour patterns, which according to Hutzler, can be clearly differentiated between the different types.
This differentiation is particularly noticeable in ensembles, such as the TV series The Big Bang Theory, which portrays the lives of the four friends Sheldon, Leonard, Raj, and Howard. All four are highly intelligent men who work as physicists at the Caltech Institute in Pasadena. Leonard is a figure who, in dramaturgical terminology, is called a viewpoint character: the character from whose perspective the story is usually told. The viewpoint character is often the least differentiated figure and is ideally the most “normal” character in the ensemble so that the recipients can potentially build the highest level of identification with it. His three friends, on the other hand, are designed according to the basic types of the enneagram. With his IQ of 187, Sheldon represents the intellectual type; he is rarely in a position to show or recognize feelings. Engineer Howard is ridiculed by his friends for lacking a doctorate but he is an amorous daredevil; he is assertive and instinctual. Raj seeks great love, but due to his sensitivity and shyness is hardly able to communicate with women. As an emotional type, he lives out his need for love in a tender relationship with his Yorkshire Terrier, Cinnamon.
A similar pattern can be seen in the TV series Sex and the City; the focus is on the four friends Carrie, Samantha, Cynthia, and Miranda, who live in New York at the turn of the millennium. All four are successful, affluent, educated, attractive women – and in their mid to late thirties, in search of both a partner for life and sexual adventures. Again, it is the viewpoint character Carrie who shows the least psychological extremes. Samantha, on the other hand, a successful marketing businesswoman, is bold, and lives out her sexuality uninhibitedly. She uses men self-confidently and egoistically without opening up emotionally. For romantic Charlotte, on the other hand, sex is secondary and only a means to finally find long-term stability. As an emotional type, she firmly believes in love. The cynical, rational Cynthia is an academic and a lawyer who laughs at Charlotte’s romantic ideas. She is the typical representative of the intellectually-driven realist.
Narratology takes a critical view of these psychologically-oriented approaches to figure design. The functional-psychological archetype model is regarded as scientifically outdated, and psychologists deny the enneagram any scientific basis. In practice, however, these concepts have proved their worth many times over. Hutzler advises, amongst many others, Oscar-winning screenwriter and director Paul Haggis. Vogler’s archetypes are the blueprint for the ensembles of several successful Disney films such as The Lion King. Even if these approaches are scientifically controversial, they have proven their worth in practice and are interculturally applicable.
2.3 Thematic Figures
Beyond the functional and mimetic design, there is another dimension of figure design, which the narrative scientist BRIAN RICHARDSON calls the thematic, and which can be identified, above all, in a type of narrative that is called gnoseological. The aim of the protagonist in this type of story is not necessarily to obtain an object. Instead, here – as the term gnoseologically suggests – the narrative is centered around the main character gaining knowledge. In the Grail legend, Percival must indeed search for the grail, but above all, he must transform from an innocent fool to a noble, knowledgeable knight. Mowgli, brought up by wolves, must discover his humanity in the Disney film The Jungle Book, and Hans Castorp must mature into a man in The Magic Mountain. In the course of the narrative, these protagonists repeatedly encounter characters who impart the necessary knowledge for this maturation process: the knight Gurnemanz teaches Percival courtly virtues and the hermit Trevrizent embodies humility and godliness. Mowgli is admonished by the panther Bagheera to reason and caution, Baloo the Bear encourages him to experience the joy of life; Colonel Hathi and his elephants stand for the value of discipline. Hans Castorp meets Settembrini, who teaches him humanism and artistic virtues, furthermore he learns from the cold rationalist Naphta and the disciplined Joachim, while Clawdia Chauchat embodies Eros and her lover Mynheer Pepperkorn stands for, and imparts, an exuberant cult of vitality. This principle is also applied in games. Revan, the protagonist of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, has lost his memory at the beginning of the game and now must decide whether he wants to join the dark side or the light side of the Force. He repeatedly encounters characters who thematically embody one side or the other, such as the battle droid HK-47, who embodies the dark side, or the Jedi Knight Bastila Shan, who stands for the light side of the Force.
In a mimetic dimension, these figures often seem less lifelike, rather larger-than-life and idealized. On a functional level, they don’t necessarily have to contribute to the progress of the action. Their function is most comparable to that of a mentor, as they often accompany and advise the main character on their archetypal heroic journey, which they usually undertake in a state of paradisical innocence, before completing their maturation process with the support of the thematic figures. But this role is not mandatory. With this type of figure, the focus is less on a functional assignment or mimetic dimension than on the representation of a particular world model or ideology that serves the main character as an example of how to shape his or her own life.
Protagonists of the film adaptation of The Magic Mountain (1982) by Hans W. Geißendörfer: Ludovico Settembrini (Flavio Bucci), Hans Castorp (Christoph Eichhorn), Joachim Ziemßen (Alexander Radszun), and Leo Naphta (Charles Aznavour). © Beta Film GmbH
These thematic figures are often organized in opposition pairs (see Chapter 4 Binary Narrative Oppositions) in order to emphasize their characteristics. Thus, the rational nature of Bagheera is emphasized in contrast to the fun-loving Baloo, as is the immoderate nature of Mynheer Pepperkorn and Clawdia Chauchat in contrast to the disciplined Joachim and the self-denying Naphtha. These thematic figures can stand not only in opposition to other figures but also in opposition to a setting, a narrative space (see Chapter 3 Setting – The Narrated and the Narrative Space). This constellation is known in Hollywood narrative cinema as the “fish-out-of-water” principle. Here, the main character must act assertively in an environment constructed in semantic opposition to the thematic aspects of their personality in order to generate a multitude of conflicts that force the character to act. Thus Elle Woods, initially described as naive, has to prove herself in Legally Blonde at the elite Harvard University. The romantic, naïve, Princess Giselle is moved from her fairyland to the modern, cold Manhattan in the film Enchanted. And Nemo’s father is literally a fish out of water saving his son in Finding Nemo.
Since the gnoseological narratives focus on the cognitive process, it makes sense to use this type of narrative with the corresponding characters in so-called “edutainment” formats, which combine narrative and didactic elements in order to convey certain insights to the recipients. For example, the German Soccer Association (DFB) mascot, PAULE, and his friends represent the values that the DFB stands for: fairness, respect, responsibility, and team spirit. PAULE, a role model, exemplifies these traits, while his friend Franziska embodies creativity, confidence, and commitment to women’s soccer. Emil and Katy stand for academic qualities and analytical intelligence by being experts in football rules, tactics, and analysis. Henri represents a fun spirit and the need for exercise, while Benni shows us that nutrition and sports go hand in hand. Even Winnie, who serves as an antagonistic force in the group with his sometimes misguided behaviour, wins the audience over with his passion for the game of soccer.
PAULE and his friends – from left to right: Winnie, Henri, PAULE, Franziska, Benni, Emil and Katy© 2021, DFB
Marketing and advertising campaigns also make use of this principle when basic characteristics or certain values that are to be linked with a product are embodied in a narrative figure – be it in the male, nature-loving cowboys of Marlboro cigarettes or Mr. Clean, who promises to power through tough stains.
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