Vladimir Propp’s Character Theory

Propp’s Character Theory

Vladimir Propp studied classic folk tales and noticed that no matter what the story was about, the characters often played similar roles. It wasn’t about who they were as individuals but what part they played in the story—like whether they caused problems, helped the hero, or were the hero themselves.

He identified 8 common roles that tend to show up in most stories:

How We Used It 

When we first wrote the film opening, we didn’t sit down with Propp’s theory in mind—we just focused on what felt natural for the story. But after learning about his character roles, we realized… we actually followed his structure without meaning to!

Here’s how our characters match his theory:

  • Jay is clearly the hero—he gets the dare and enters the creepy room.

  • Sabari, the friend who dares him, acts as the dispatcher—starting the chain of events.

  • But later in scene 3, that same friend reappears in a mysterious, eerie way—which makes him feel more like a false hero or maybe even the villain.

  • The rest of the group acts like minor helpers, just by being there and building up the atmosphere and tension.


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