Narratives in music videos

Narrative theory 

Todorov's theory of equilibrium 

1. The narrative begins with a state of equilibrium

2. The equilibrium is disrupted, often by the actions of a character

3. An attempt to restore the equilibrium begins 

4. The narrative continues to a climax 

5. Equilibrium is restored

Propp's character theory:  

Propp suggests each narrative includes 7 character types. Weather they be literal or metaphorical, each narrative will contain them. Characters can be more than one character type. 

the character types:

1. The hero

2. The villain

3. The enabler- Prepares the hero

4. The helper

5. The princess- The sought after object/woman 

6. The false hero- Thought to be a good character but actually is evil 

7. The dispatcher- Character who send the hero off

Example in music videos

Born to Die- Lana Del Rey

The basic narrative of this video is as follows

• Lana and her boyfriend are together
• The couple argue
• They end up in a car crash
• Lana dies

The narrative of this doesn't exactly follow the equilibrium theory because even though an equilibrium is restored, it turns out to be a negative ending rather than positive. however, the other features do appear.
The song also features sections of lip syncing so that the video is solely a narrative.

However, Propp's characters do feature in the video in some ways.

• The boyfriend is the hero because he tries to save Lana
• The villain is the boyfriend when the pair argue
• The enabler is the drugs they take
• The helper is the drugs they take
• The princess Is Lana when she's killed
• The false hero is the boyfriend because he's responsible for her death
• Both characters are dispatchers for one another

Irreplaceable- Beyoncé

The basic narrative for this music video is Beyoncé kicking out her cheating boyfriend. In some ways it follows the equilibrium theory because even though the video begins with disruption, it becomes resolved when Beyoncé's boyfriend has left and equilibrium is restored in her life.

The song also features sections of lip syncing so that the video is solely a narrative.

Again, in some ways Propp's character theory can be seen in the video:

• Beyoncé is the hero because she's ditched the cheating boyfriend
• The villain is the boyfriend because he cheated
• Beyoncé is hero own enabler and helper because she's proving she's an independent woman that doesn't need anybody
• Beyoncé is the hero because the boyfriend wants her
• The false hero is the boyfriend because to begin with its unclear why Beyoncé is kicking him out
• Beyoncé is also her own dispatcher

Panic! At The Disco- Don't threaten me with a good time

The video follows a narrative of a man and woman getting together for the night. Surprisingly the woman turns out to be an alien like creature. This revelation clearly disrupts the equilibrium of the narrative. The whole Music video is filmed as a point of view shot.

Again evidence of Propp's character theory can be seen in this video:

• The hero is the singer
• The villain is the woman he gets with because she's secretly an alien trying to kill him
• The enabler and helper is the alcohol because its what helps the pair get together
• The false hero is the alien because to begin with we don't realise she's evil or in any way harmful
• The princess is the singer because the alien desires him
• The alien is the dispatcher

Last Friday Night- Katy Perry

Within this video, an uncool Katy Perry gets the house to herself and throws a party where everyone comes and suddenly she becomes cool. At the end of the video her parents come home and tell her off. This video doesn't really follow the equilibrium theory. The video begins when people wake up from the party which isn't really the equilibrium. Flashbacks to the night before begin and then the narratives cycle round so it ends and the beginning.

In some ways there is an equilibrium because the video ends as it begins, but this isn't exactly the moment everything is calm.

Propp's character theory fits well with this video:

• The singer is the hero because she hosts a good party
• The villain is muscly man she gets with because he's encouraging rule breaking
• The enabler Rebecca Black because she encourages the party
• The false hero is all the people at the party pretending to be friends s they can come to the party
• The princess is Katy Perry because two men are after her affection
• Rebecca Black is also the dispatcher because she gets the singer ready for the party
• Rebecca Black is the helper because she helps with the party