Theorists

Theorists:

•Vladimir Propp - The villain, the donor, the helper, the princess and her father, the dispatcher, the hero and the false hero.

•Claude Levi Strauss – Binary oppositions.

•Tvzetan Todorov – Equilibrium, disequilibrium, new equilibrium.

Vladimir Propp

His theory of the villain, the donor, the princess etc, conforms in ‘Hancock’ as it is based around a theory like this. However ‘Hancock’ is not the typical representation of a superhero, as he is a drunk as well reckless; this takes the edge out of him conforming to Propp’s theory of a “fairy tale” type film.

Claude Levi Strauss

The theory of binary oppositions runs throughout the whole film, such as good vs. bad, reckless vs. responsible, drunk vs. sober etc. This theory brings in to mind the challenges ‘Hancock’ is facing as he is trying to change after saving Ray Embreys life.

Tvzetan Todorov

This theory applies to almost all superhero films, as they all usually run in a smooth chronological order, with a beginning, a middle (usually where the disruption/incident occurs) and an end where the disruption is solved. ‘Hancock’ is not an exception as it reforms to this theory of order.