Narrative and Genre: X Factor seen as Fictional

When we did our Story of Narrative lecture we talked about X Factor in a fictional way which helped me to understand what narrative plot line the show follows.

Here are the notes on X Factor:

To understand the nature of narrative and plot, lets look at a classic old example and see if you can name the story:

™  It’s story is about a quest to find a mythical person that will bring hope and riches to all those involved.

™  It has a cast of thousands but only five main characters: The protaganist (young, bright but is an ugly duckling waiting to turn into a swan)™  The main character (Young, beautiful, fragile, but with a fierce determination to succeed).

™  The Antagonist (Likes to pretend they are good, but is actually bad, willing to sacrifice anyone who gets in their way)

™  The secondary character (Dependable, supports everyone and everything.)

™  The side-kick (merely there for comic relief and to undermine or support the various characters)

 ™  The setting: contemporary, covering a whole kingdom but with a main single castle.

™  Genre: Fairytale with elements of drama, suspense and fantasy.

™  Tone: Colourfull and lush, with broad epic camera moves and lighting.

™  The classic story known as....?

Though presented as a reality talent show, the X-Factor has all the ingredients of a classic fairytale, using the plot device of “The Quest”

™  The Characters: Protagonist (The Contestants).

™  The Main character (Cheryl Cole)

™  The Antagonist (Simon Cowell)

™  The secondary character (Dannii Minogue)

™  The sidekick/comic relief (Louis Walsh)