Equilibrium, Disequilibrium, Equilibrium

The equilibrium, disequilibrium, equilibrium theory by Tzvetan Todorov is a conventional narrative structure use in many mainstream film narratives. This structure appears in five stages:

1. A state of equilibrium (stability) at the start

2. A disruption of the equilibrium by some action (disequilibrium)

3. A recognition that there has been a disruption

4. An attempt to repair the disruption 

5. A reinstatement of the equilibrium (stabilised at the end)

For example, if I was to use this narrative structure on a short film called ReMoved, which was initially what influenced me to make my short film. 

Firstly, at the beginning we see stage 1 where the narrative is stable and we see the mother smiling and the young girl tidying the house. Suddenly we see stage 2 where the mother walks into the kitchen to see what appears to be her husband or boyfriend, who sharply looks at the little girl to then begin a fight or row with the mother. We then see the young girl dress what appears to be her baby brother which suggests that she has big responsibility as her parents may not be the best. We the have stage 3 which is clearly shown when we se another shot of the girls mother and father fighting again to then see the girl struggle multi task, as she tries to feed the baby, do the washing and her homework, as though she is taking the mother role within the household, at this point there is a definite recognition that there has been a disruption. This is a significant stage within this short film as it then continues when we see the little girl ask her mother why she doesn't want her, which is heartbreaking to see and hear from a young girl, it then continues again to see her and her little brother being put into a foster home, yet the two are both split up from each other. Moving on to stage 4 in attempt to repair the disruption we see the young girl trying to settle in a foster home where her foster parent tried to cheer her up by surprising her with new clothes. Although this is an attempt to stabilise the situation, things are still not the same as it is clear that the young girl misses her little brother, she gets moved into yet another foster home due to not settling in. Finally in stage 5 the situation is stabilised as we see the little girl looking out of the window to then see a car pull up, to then see her little brother get out of the car for them to be reunited again which is very heartwarming to see.

However, in my short film I wanted to experiment so I have decided to end mine on a disequilibrium where we don't see the situation resolved. So, in my short film stage 1 will be where we see the girl walking in to the counsellors office to get help which is the situation stabilised. Stage 2 will be when the girl doesn't reply to what the counsellor is asking her so we know something is wrong. Stage 3 is when we know something is definitely wrong as we see a flashback of the girl when she was younger as we hear a voiceover of he talking about how she feels. This then continues when we see a further flashback of her being bullied by her friends and being left out. Stage 4 will be when we see her back to present time with her in the counsellors office as we hope the situation will be fixed and repaired. Stage 5 will be slightly different and instead of the problem being resolved, the problem gets worse as it is payback on the other character (counsellor) as it turns out that the counsellor was the bully when they were younger.