The Witch- How it applies to one of the three narrative theories

Binary Opposition- Levi Strauss
I applied one of the theory that fits well is Levi Strauss' theory of opposites. For instance, the trailer opens with the use of day and night and the setting is mostly set outside to create a desolate feeling, in contrast to the family's sudden change for a prosper life. Also, we can already see the apparent opposition between human and nature (Man Vs. Nature) when we see the family looking over a tree line and they think that they can begin life as a family anew but they are short sighted of its ominous consequences as evil lurks within. The trailer uses one of the concepts as they use love and hate to show how the family's relationships develops and shifts- this is shown when the mother plays peekaboo to the baby and then the old woman bluntly tells the woman that she has "cursed this family". It is not just the family and the settings, it also shows the opposition against religious belief and the supernatural- the dialogue shows the girl chanting a religious prayer against an paranormal force which symbolises religion as a weapon against satanic being. With the boy there is the theme of innocence vs. evil as he becomes agitated with an ailment that is supposedly been concocted by witchcraft.
this is based on the idea of two linked concepts:

• Good and evil
• Night and day
• Love and Hate

Todorov's Narrative Theory
Secondly, 'The Witch' can also be applied to this theory that we have looked at as we can analyse the trailer as a story to which we follow its similar patterns or paths. The steps include:

• Equilibrium (state of balance)- From the trailer, the first impression we get is that the family seems to be living a normal life as they are trying to settle in a secluded forest in order to start a new life.
• Disequilibrium (state of imbalance or disruption)-  As part of the climax, the story will feature a problem that eventually disrupts the happiness. In the trailer, the peace is cut short as the disruption of their equilibrium happens right after their baby has been kidnapped This then pushes the story further as the family begins to experience strange supernatural events that continues to plague them throughout the trailer.
• Realisation- This is  the catalyst for the story's imbalance- (what the roots of their problem are) the mother seems to be adamnt to think that the roots of their woes are caused by their own daughter. (This could be used to link with the fact that young women were often accused of heresy and witchcraft in the period that this film is set in)
• The character finds the problem and tries to fix it- The father tries to find a way to rid the evil from their presence, but there are obstacles that hinders him doing so.
• Re-equilibrium is reinstated, though it's not as the same sort of balance that the audience expects to see. 

Even though the trailer we have looked at does not fully show the five stages and this is because they would not want to give the rest of the film itself away.

Propp's Narrative Theory

To find out more about the character, Vladimir Propp developed a character theory amongst the 100 tales he analysed. This can also apply to the film's characters to develop a first impression we get of them.  the trailer does not show all 7 characters in the theory.

• The Villain- in the trailer, the father is identified as the villain as he is first seen as sinister - in one of the scenes, we see him in a low level shot as he stands on a dug up grave with the old woman lying on it. It creates him as the superior character.
• The False Hero- The trailer seems to leave quite a clue to who the false hero is; the closeup view of the girl splattered in blood illustrates a sinister view of this character. It makes the audience feel uncertain of her as it foreshadows her descent into evil. 
• Princess- The girl seems to be the damsel in distress as she seems to be in trouble wherever she goes.
• The Hero- Although the father might be seen as a serious character,  he could be seen as a protective character with deep religious beliefs who wants to protect his family at all costs.
• The Dispatcher- the trailer seems to show the mother who dispatches the hero to his journey as she recognises the source of their problem- she assumes that her daughter is the one who has 'cursed' them.
• The (magical) Helper- the goat is shown to be motif for something evil, although the trailer only shows one scene with the little girl making a 'baa' sound to make it seem like there is something wrong.