Vladimir Propp's Theory

Definition:


The same 8 charters appear in every story tail. These are, The Hero, The Villain, the Dispatcher, The Helper, The Princess, The Princesses Father, The Donator and The False Hero.


Hero:
The character who's story we follow. Set out to achieve some task. Who we want as an audience to achieve their task.

Villain:
The antagonistic force of the story. They are opposite to the 'Hero'. They don't always need to be evil.


Dispatcher:
The character who makes the 'Villains' scheme known to the 'Hero' and sends them on their task.


The Helper:
They help the 'Hero' achieve their task.


The Princess:
Who the 'Hero' is looking to marry and or rescuer. They can either be a prize as well.


The Princess Father:
The person who need to be won over by the 'Hero'. The person who gives the 'Princess' or 'Prize' to the 'Hero'.


The Donator:
The one who prepares the 'Hero' in some way. Gives the 'Hero' an object or knowledge or skills that will help them on their task.


The False Hero:
They swoop in and taker the credit for the 'Hero's' work. They try to get the 'Princess' or 'Prize' first.


Drawback:


It only works with non-fiction story's, movies and or television.


Example:


The Hunger Games


In The Hunger Games Katniss acts as both the seeker hero and the victim hero.
President Snow acts as the villain in the Hunger Games trilogy however along with himself, there is the whole 'government' of characters in the films who also act as villains in the narrative.
Peter acts as the helper in the hunger games, joining Katniss throughout the games and aiding her to victory, he also adds a romantic sub-plot.
The princess, normally female, is normally the prime victim of the villain and has to be saved at the climax of the film. This creates damsel in distress situations seen in many narratives.
The hunger games slightly subverts this character role. The princess of the film could be seen to be Katniss' sister whom she saves by taking her place in the Hunger Games. This however, does not happen at the climax of the film, suggesting Katniss herself could be the princess as she has to save herself near the end of the film.
The dispatcher send the hero on their task/journey to restore the equilibrium. Therefore they tend to be the wise voice of reason in the narrative.
This is another character that The Hunger Games somewhat subverts. There can be many dispatchers in the film for example President Snow who works the hunger games, there can also be district 13, who started a rebellion, causing the hunger games to be started or Katniss' sister who Katniss saved therefore having to take part in the hunger games. Therefore there is not one clear dispatcher causing slight confusion in the audience.
The false hero is a character that appears to be good throughout the film however is revealed at the end of the film to be bad.
The Hunger Games
The Hunger Games also subverts this character. There are no real false heroes in the hunger games however there are many false villains. People living in the capitol who disagree with the games all act as false villains in particular Katniss' stylist, Cinna who demonstrates defiance against the Capitol throughout the film.