APPLYING THEORY: TRAILERS

TODOROV: EQUILIBRIUM

12 years a slave is full of examples of Todorovs equilibrium, the first equilibrium is the life of a successful black man Solomon Northup at the pinnacle of his music career as a violinist he is happy with a wife and a young child. He was a free man. Throughout the trailer there is a certain feel of uncertainty,this brings us onto the disequilibrium of the trailer he is tricked by his so called peers and sold into the slave trade in the fields he is continuously questioning the slave drivers and the reasons for having them as slaves. All of this leads up the new equilibrium of the slaves all standing up to the slave drivers and trying to change there mentality  and get them out of oppression.


  

PROPP: CHARACTERS

In the trailer, it applys propp theory by clearly showing the protagonist, Solomon Northup who attitude was completely against the stereotype of black people. The helper is one of the slave drivers worker, he is white this brings the effect of an unusual friendship. One heroine is the dream of freedom and leading a normal life this is unusual as the heroine is not a person or a thing but an abstract thought. These are the main characters established well in the trailer.