Levi Strauss Narrative Theory

Levi Strauss was a French anthropologist who argued all narratives can be reduced to binary opposittes. He believed the way we understand words depends on our understanding of the difference between the word and its opposite.

For example, our understanding of the word 'weak' depends on the difference between that and 'strong'. Within the media, binary opposites can be used to signify two extremes as they emphasise eachothers difference, its particularly used in fantasy genres as we see the difference between 'good' and 'evil', or in horror films when we see the difference between 'sanity' and 'insanity'.

HOW DOES THIS THEORY FIT INTO MUSIC VIDEOS?

This theory fits very well into music videos, however we don't always see the binary opposites at the same point... for example, we could see one character who is angelic, and another who is evil OR we could see the evil character then transform into an angelic one.

A good example of this is 'Black Magic' by Little Mix's music video. At the beginning LM are incredibly nerdy and unpopular, and by the end they are the most popular. Also at the beginning of this video, we see a friendship group the exact opposite of Little Mix's nerdy one, which is another way of using binary opposites to create meaning and emphasise the conflicting characteristics in each group.

I think using binary opposites is a perfect way to emphasise and create meaning for an audience, however I personally believe the theory is more suited to the fantasy genre, which is why I most likely won't include binary opposites, or use this theory, in my final product.

Barthes Narrative Theory

I made a slideshare presentation rather than a blogpost to talk about this, the link is below!

http://www.slideshare.net/aaldrismedia/barthes-narrative-theory-and-music-videos

Todorov's Narrative Theory

Todorov was a Literary theorist from Bulgaria. The model below displays his theory.

EQUILIBRIUM -> DISEQUILIBRIUM -> NEW EQUILIBRIUM

He suggested that the majority of narratives would start with a state of equilibrium, this means it would be balanced and harmonious, life would be normal and the protagonist is happy. Todorov then stated that after this state of equilibrium and normality there would be an unbalance, called 'disequilibrium'. The normality would be disrupted for some reason for example due to discovering a secret, new information or because a villain was unhappy with a certain situation. This disequilibrium then has to be fought in order to restore peace where a new equilibrium is reached.

This model can easily be applied to many films, however I have found that it isn't always the protagonist that is happy in the first equilibrium, it can be the majority of characters that are happy but isn't necessarily the main character.  I have also found that some films may continue this cycle twice. I have written a few examples below.

'Frozen' (2013) -  The equilibrium here is Elsa living with this power that no one is aware of, everyone is happy with the exception of her because she is having to conceal who she is and what she is capable of due to the fear that she might hurt someone. This is normal for Elsa and its a balance. The disequilibrium begins when elsa accidentally reveals to everyone that she has powers, people begin to think she is a villain and so she runs away, builds her own castle and a new equilibrium is found when she decides to stay there as its the only place she can be free to be herself. There is then a new disequilibrium as Ana, her sister, decides to go on a mission to save her sister and to bring back summer to their kingdom. The final new equilibrium is reached when Ana manages to save her sister and her sister realises how to control her powers, everyone is happy and the story ends on a positive note. Here you see Todorov's theory becomes a cycle repeating twice

'Mean Girls' (2004) - In this film Todorov's model fits perfectly. The equilibrium is the girl, Cady, moving to america, going to school and settling down with some friends. The disequilibrium arrives when Cady becomes one of the 'Plastics', joining the wrong group of girls at school getting her into a lot of trouble. The new equilibrium appears when Cady finally gets her head down into work, makes up with the girls she fell out with and realises that theres more to life than being 'pretty' and 'plastic'. The film ends by showing the group of girls split up, talking to new people and doing good things rather than the way it was back at the beginning of the film when they acted as a clique and caused hassle.

'The Parent Trap' (1998) - Yet again, this film fits very well with Todorov's model. There is an equilibrium at the start of the film where two girls are in a camp and are fairly happy in their lives, however unlike Todorov suggests, they are not completely happy. Both of the girls are missing one parent and the disequilibrium starts when they realise they are actually long lost sisters and decide to swap lives after the summer camp. A new temporary (the fact its temporary is also known to them as they know they will have to go back to their normal lives eventually) equilibrium comes around when the 'other twin' settles in with the 'other parent' and yet again another disequilibrium is arrived at when parents realised what has happened and the father has a potential new spouse and so the twins decide to try and get their distant parents back together. After a lot of drama, a final new equilibrium is reached, where the family are all joined together once more, the twins are no longer separated, and the parents are back in love.

The three examples above show that it is very common for films to show changes in equilibrium as this is what makes a storyline, however there are some films that end in a state between disequilibrium and a new equilibrium, such as 'the vow' where the wife hasn't yet recalled her memory however is starting to fall back in love with someone who was once her husband.

All of this shows that, especially as time has gone on, Todorov's theory is the backbone concept of most films, however this can be adjusted in many ways, such as ending the cycle in between stages (a cliff-hanger) or repeating the cycle twice. This just depends on the storyline and the effect the producers of a film want to go for.

HOW DOES THIS THEORY FIT INTO A MUSIC VIDEO?

Because most music videos come from inspiration of love or a problem, and the narrative relates almost exactly to the lyrics, there isn't usually 3 stages of equilibrium, there is usually a beginning where there is an unbalance or a problem, and the end is usually more uplifting towards the bridge of the song, creating a new equilibrium. (more two stages than three).

It is more difficult to fit this theory in with a music video than it is with a short film due to the fact narratives usually closely follow the lyrics of a song.  However this only applies to music videos that like to create meaning - some don't. For example Ed Sheerans - Photograph doesn't contain a strong narrative although the lyrics have the potential to, it just contains a lot of home videos of Ed growing up.

Overall, I think this theory can fit into music videos depending on the lyrics, but when it fits, it can create very good results.

Propp's Narrative Theory

I have made a slideshare rather than a blogpost to talk about this, you can find the link below!!!

http://www.slideshare.net/aaldrismedia/propps-narrative-theory-and-music-videos

Narrative conventions

This is a post about the conventions of narratives in different genres

Comedy

In a comedy genre music video there is no direct set narrative, the narrative is set around whatever it is that is funny (such as in gangnam style it is set around the dance). Conventions of it include being funny, light hearted, uplifting and not to be taken too seriously. The lighting should be bright and the characters should wear casual clothing or comedic costume whilst being happy. The narrative will usually be about whatever it is that is funny for the whole music video.

Horror

In a horror music video there will usually be a villain/false hero,  a heroine and sometimes a hero. This applies in MJ's Thriller video. The villain will be after the heroine and hero but the hero will protect the heroine OR the villain in fact is the hero (so its a false hero) and therefore the heroine has no hope. The narrative will build a lot of tension as there should be different stages to the story (unlike the comedy genre where there will be a contant balance throughout the video rather than a disequilibrium) and cause the viewers to ask a lot of questions. The lighting will be dark and dingy and should also be enticing scary.

Drama

A dramatic narrative usually entails a traumatic event occurring, showing how the characters deal with the event to try and overcome it and restore normality. Dramatic narratives are usually quite intense and emotional, completely opposite to light hearted films. Lighting and the mise-en-scene will vary as dramatic films take you on an emotional rollercoaster, they are often quite moving therefore lighting + sound will change at different high and low points of the story.

Romance

A romantic narrative will most often tell the story of how the couple met, the process of them becoming a couple, them as a couple and any hardships they face. It also may include milestones a couple can reach together for example marriage and children. The narratives aren't incredibly light hearted or intense, however they can be moving and heart warming due to the romantic side of it. They are quite easy to watch however can become emotional at times as its a very popular genre because of the amount of people that can relate to it.

Family

A family genre's narrative is usually light hearted, although it will almost always include a moral for children or the audience to learn from after watching the media product e.g. family is important, or treat people as you like to be treated. Family music videos/films are often moving but enjoyable and easy to watch, their storylines/narratives are easy to follow and you don't have to think to much in order to understand it.

Documentary

The narrative in a documentary takes you on a journey, it will most often start from the beginning to end of a story and take you and show you what the characters are going through at each point. It can be both light hearted and heavy, for example it could be a documentary of a teenager organising a party and then show you them having it, or it could be a documentary showing you the story of an emotional break up. It is usually used for real life scenarios and ties in well with genres such as romance and drama however ties in less well with genres such as comedy and horror.

Kids

A kids genre narrative is extremely light hearted as it would be inappropriate to expose a child to an intense storyline that could upset them. The narratives would usually deliver a simple and basic moral or try and teach the child something intellectually, so that watching the final product would benefit the child in some way, so that they were learning. Usually there will always be a disequilibrium within the narrative however wont be too intense, and the characters almost always fit that of Propp's character types. This genre's narrative is well suited to the fantasy narrative, they are well paired together.

Existing Narratives

A narrative is "A spoken or written account of connected events; a story", a narrative of a music video is its storyline.

From this definition you can immediately see narrative is extremely important in any media product whether it be a film, TV programme or a music video, as without a storyline there is ultimately no purpose for the product.

A narrative needs to be gripping, enticing and interesting to the audience, otherwise they will certainly not watch it never mind enjoy it. I personally think creativity and originality is key when deciding on a narrative, people like to see something new, not another version of something they have seen many times before

In relation to a music video, narrative most often works to portray a message to the audience, this can either be directly, or metaphorically through hidden meanings. This can be done by using the actors body language, performance and dialogue, it can even be done using words popping up on the screen or being written by characters. The way this is done is incredibly important as that in itself can be a part of the hidden meaning...

...For example, in Emile Sande's music video for 'Clown', words flash up on the screen to show the dialogue, this is to emphasise the fact in this video Emeli does not have a voice, no one is listening to her - therefore no noise is coming out of her mouth, just words on the screen of what she really thinks and wants to say, showing her lack of importance in this video.

Below are different music videos from different genres with their narratives written next to them, in another blog post I shall write the conventions of narratives in each genre.

a) Comedy -> Gangham Style, Psy ---> This music video doesn't really have much of a narrative, Psy appears to be taking this famous dance to different places teaching people it and following different people around with it before performing it right at the end with a very big crowd. The narrative is centred around the dance as in almost every scene he is doing it. There is also a theme of him being attracted to girls who are doing it and that the girls are attracted to him doing it, perhaps portraying the message that this dance is attractive to the opposite sex and even the same no matter who you are. Unfortunately the words are not in english meaning the mass audience will not understand it which is why its important the narrative is simple and enticing, which it is, hence why it is viral at over 2 and a half BILLION views.

b) Horror -> Thriller, Michael Jackson ---> The narrative here appears to have multiple dimensions. It begins with a scene where MJ + his girlfriend are actually characters in a film they are watching where he turns into a werewolf, MJ is enjoying the film, however the girl is not. He begins to tease her as they walk through the graveyard, however they soon become surrounded by zombies, when MJ then becomes one. The girl is terrified and as she falls to the floor screaming, she wakes up from her dream where MJ is laughing. He calms her down, but when he turns around he has the eyes he had as the werewolf. I like the dimensions in this narrative as it keeps the 13 minute long music video interesting and enticing.

c) Drama -> Irreplaceable, Beyonce ---> The narrative in this video shows a girl breaking up with her boyfriend as he moves out, it is a female empowerment anthem as you begin to get to the end of the music video and see that beyonce is singing the song with many other single women of whom seem to strongly agree with the lyrics. The narrative is ultimately a girl breaking up with her cheating boyfriend and her putting her foot down showing him he can't have her back and she will find someone much better than him.

d) Romance -> You belong with me, Taylor Swift ---> The narrative here is apparently directed to the teenage audience. It's about the popular 'soccer' boy being stuck in a relationship he isn't happy in, the girl desperately wants him to notice her and see her in a light other than being 'just friends'. Eventually him and his girlfriend break up and Taylor turns up to prom, transformed from nerdy to pretty, and the two of them end up together.

e) Family -> Bad Blood, Taylor Swift ---> This narrative is playful and to be taken light heartedly but had an underlying message of someone who had broken ones trust creating 'bad blood'. Catastrophe and Arsyn are fighting the bad, then Arsyn ends up fighting Catastrophe. This leads to bad blood between the two former friends and Catastrophe building an army to fight Arsyn's. Its a simple but effective narrative conforming to the conventions of a family genre music video and is also enjoyable to watch with its all star cast.

f) Documentary -> A Moment Like This, Leona Lewis ---> This music video fits the documentary genre perfectly. The narrative is about Leona Lewis' journey from auditioning for the x factor to winning it. It shows her audition and other flashbacks in black and white and occasionally cuts to present day with Leona as the winner singing into a microphone in a grand venue. I really enjoy the simple narrative behind this as it is emotional and reflective of an incredible story to success.

Treatments for Shorts - Basic Ideas

I have researched a variety of different genres of music video's and below you will see very basic ideas I have begun to construct for each genre in preparation for developing my idea for my own music video.

Horror

Song to use: Madhouse - Little Mix

Lyrics from the song: "Everywhere I look I'm shook I got bloodshot eyes, I'm like a fugitive tryna climb the walls but my hands are tied, in just one touch and I'm infected by the sound crawling all over my skin and the sky is falling down, I don't know what's happening, beats so sick"

Idea for Narrative: The girl has just got out of a relationship that has drove her mad, she see's and hears things and is trying to get revenge on her ex. As she wakes up she realises it was just a dream, but then her boyfriend breaks up with her...

Documentary

Song to use: The Climb - Miley Cyrus

Lyrics from the song: "I can almost see it, that dream I'm dreaming, but there's a voice inside my head saying, you'll never reach it. Every step I'm taking, every move I make feels lost with no direction"

Idea for Narrative: a girl has achieved her dream and is now looking back on the struggles and worries she had about it when she was younger, the moral of the story being, go for your dreams.

Mockumentary

Song to use: Alessia Cara

Lyrics from the song: "I'm sorry if I seem uninterested or I'm not listenin' or I'm indifferent. Truly, I ain't got no business here, but since my friends are here I just came to kick it"

Idea for Narrative: This would be mocking the typical character types at parties, the uncontrollable drunk, the gossiper, the ones doing drugs, the girl getting with every guy, the guy who loves himself etc and the main character will be at the centre of it not enjoying herself at all.

Romance

Song to use: Say Love - Jojo

Lyrics from the song: "you just say I'm perfect, say I'm pretty, say I'm worth it, but if you really care for me, say love, I want you to say love, when I say love you, you just say me too, but I want you to say love"

Idea for Narrative: Typical teenage romance story, includes flashbacks of the couple getting together, the girl worries that the boy is a player and we can see that he is but all she wants is for him to love her the way she loves him

Comedy

Song to use: I'm Yours - Jason Mraz

Lyrics from the song: "I tried to be chill, but you're so hot that I melted I fell right through the cracks now I'm trying to get back"

Idea for Narrative: An unpopular nerd at high school has a crush on one of the girls who would never look at him, everyone laughs at him for pushing too far out of his league but he keeps trying and being persistent. The video would contain funny scenes of the nerd trying to get the girls attention and at the end they get together.

Drama

Song to use: Young and Beautiful - Lana Del Ray

Lyrics from the song: "I've seen the world, lit it up as my stage now. Channeling angels in the new age now. Will you still love me when I'm no longer young and beautiful? Will you still love me when I got nothing but my aching soul?"

Idea for Narrative: A woman is in her prime, she's achieving all her dreams but realises the fame and popularity means nothing. She see's how many people love and admire her but wonders if she wasn't famous would it be the same? she leaves it all behind in hope to find TRUE love.