"The Birds" by Alfred Hitchcock conforms to the theories of Todorov and Propp on a very extreme scale in my opinion. Todorov's theory claims that the narrative of a story usually starts off with an equilibrium where everything is as it should be. Then an event occurs which disrupts this normality creating a disequilibrium in the narrative causing things to get out of control, but this disequilibrium is sorted out and the damage is repaired to create a new equilibrium. In nearly every scene of "The Birds" this type of narrative happens; for example, when the blonde female character is waiting for Annie outside the school all is well and at harmonious peace, then the birds start to gather around the area that the character is in (the playground at this point), this disruption is spotted by the female causing a disruption which causes the female to tell Annie the kids should try and get away as fast as possible, as the kids run out the school the disequilibrium is created because the birds start attacking the children, eventually this disruption is removed when the birds stop attacking the characters ad leave the scene thus creating a new equilibrium.
This theory also links into Propp's theory which states every character has a narrative function. In most cases this theory only relates to fairy tales but "The Birds" does relate to this theory to some extent. The male character is seen as the hero due to the fact that he is the one trying to get rid of the disruption made by the birds; seeking a new equilibrium. The birds could be seen as the villain(s) by the audience because they are directly opposing what the hero is aiming to do. Then there is the princess who most likely is the young blonde female in "The Birds" because every time the male character does find a new equilibrium she is almost like a reward to him for protecting her from harm.
To me it seems like Alfred Hitchcock was aiming to create a very extreme representation of both theories and in all fairness the film does represent and showcase both theories very well. But as a film on the whole, the narrative is a little too obvious for my liking, only due to the fact that Todorov's theory is literally repeated over and over again in almost every single scene.
