EQUILIBRIUM -> DISEQUILIBRIUM -> NEW EQUILIBRIUM
He suggested that the majority of narratives would start with a state of equilibrium, this means it would be balanced and harmonious, life would be normal and the protagonist is happy. Todorov then stated that after this state of equilibrium and normality there would be an unbalance, called 'disequilibrium'. The normality would be disrupted for some reason for example due to discovering a secret, new information or because a villain was unhappy with a certain situation. This disequilibrium then has to be fought in order to restore peace where a new equilibrium is reached.
This model can easily be applied to many films, however I have found that it isn't always the protagonist that is happy in the first equilibrium, it can be the majority of characters that are happy but isn't necessarily the main character. I have also found that some films may continue this cycle twice, going through disequilibrium and a new equilibrium twice. I have written a few examples below.
'Frozen' (2013) - The equilibrium here is Elsa living with this power that no one is aware of, everyone is happy with the exception of her because she is having to conceal who she is and what she is capable of due to the fear that she might hurt someone. This is normal for Elsa and its a balance. The disequilibrium begins when elsa accidentally reveals to everyone that she has powers, people begin to think she is a villain and so she runs away, builds her own castle and a new equilibrium is found when she decides to stay there as its the only place she can be free to be herself. There is then a new disequilibrium as Ana, her sister, decides to go on a mission to save her sister and to bring back summer to their kingdom. The final new equilibrium is reached when Ana manages to save her sister and her sister realises how to control her powers, everyone is happy and the story ends on a positive note. Here you see Todorov's theory becomes a cycle repeating twice
'Mean Girls' (2004) - In this film Todorov's model fits perfectly. The equilibrium is the girl, Cady, moving to america, going to school and settling down with some friends. The disequilibrium arrives when Cady becomes one of the 'Plastics', joining the wrong group of girls at school getting her into a lot of trouble. The new equilibrium appears when Cady finally gets her head down into work, makes up with the girls she fell out with and realises that theres more to life than being 'pretty' and 'plastic'. The film ends showing the group of girls split up now talking to new people and doing good things rather than the way it was back at the beginning of the film when they acted as a clique and caused hassle.
'The Parent Trap' (1998) - Yet again, this film fits very well with Todorov's model. There is an equilibrium at the start of the film where two girls are in a camp and are fairly happy in their lives, however unlike Todorov suggests, they are not completely happy. Both of the girls are missing one parent and the disequilibrium starts when they realise they are actually long lost sisters and decide to swap lives after the summer camp. A new temporary (the fact its temporary is also known to them as they know they will have to go back to their normal lives eventually) equilibrium comes around when the 'other twin' settles in with the 'other parent' and yet again another disequilibrium is arrived at when parents realised what has happened and when the father has a potential new spouse and the twins decide to try and get their distant parents back together. After a lot of drama, a final new equilibrium is reached, where the family are all joined together once more, the twins are no longer separated, and the parents are back in love.
The three examples above show that it is very common for films to show changes in equilibrium as this is what makes a storyline, however there are some films that end in a state between disequilibrium and a new equilibrium, such as 'the vow' where the wife hasn't yet recalled her memory however is starting to fall back in love with someone who was once her husband.
All of this shows that, especially as time has gone on, Todorov's theory is the backbone concept of most films, however this can be adjusted in many ways, such as ending the cycle in between stages (a cliff-hanger) or repeating the cycle twice. This just depends on the storyline and the affect producers want the film to achieve.
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