Narrative Theory
Narrative, is it's most basic form, is defined as a chain of events which cause and effect relationships occurring in time. In other words, it's a story. In less basic terms, there is a plethora of different ideas and theories involved with narrative within media, some being much simpler than others. An example of a simpler theory would be Aristotle's Theory, who stated that a narrative must have a beginning, a middle and an end. This is expanded upon by Izetan Todorov, who split the narrative further into 5 stages. We will use a music video by my chosen artist The Hoosiers, Worried about Ray.
1. A state of Equilibrium. Where everything is at an undisturbed state.
This lasts for most of the video where the band are playing the song and are worrying about Ray.
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2. A disruption of that order.
In this case when Ray's monster comes to life and threatens to kill Ray and the Hoosiers.
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3. A recognition of the disturbance.
When The Hoosiers see the monster is attacking them.
4. An attempt to rectify the problem.
The band fighting against the monster.
5. Reinstate the same or a different equilibrium.
The monster is slain, and The Hoosier's no longer have to worry about Ray, as it is implied that he was killed by the monster.
Another theorist by the name of Vladimir Propp stated that there are always 8 types of character involved with a narrative.
The Hero: The protagonist of the story, aiming to reinstate the equilibrium.
Example: Harry Potter.
The Villain: The antagonist that either cause the disaster or is preventing the hero from succeeding.
Example: Voldemort.
The Princess: Also known as the “Prize” who the hero will be with after the equilibrium has been restored.
Example: Ginny Weasley.
The (Princesses) Father: Can be a fatherly figure to the hero or a force preventing the hero from being with the Princess until the end.
Example: Ron Weasley.
The Helper: Someone who aids the hero in their attempt to solve the problem.
Example: Ron Weasley.
The Donor: The character that presents the hero with what is necessary to defeat the villain.
Example: Albus Dumbledore.
The Dispatcher: The one that dispatches the hero on their journey to defeat the villain, often the same character as the donor.
Example: Albus Dumbledore.
The False Hero: Someone who tries to take credit for the hero’s actions, tries to out-do the hero and could either try to be with the Princess instead or prevents the hero from being with them.
Example: Gilderoy Lockhart.
Allen Cameron created a theory about four ways a narrative can play out. This is known as “Modular Narrative”. These include:
* Anachronistic, when the story is told in flashbacks or the narrator was a part of the events.
* Forking paths, where a decision could take the story in multiple directions. These alternate outcomes could be either mentioned or shown within the story.
* Episodic, which is a series of shorter stories that appear separately (Different episodes, different books, etc.) usually as direct sequels or prequels.
* And finally Split screen, where the story is told by alternating the perspective of different characters. An easy example of this can be found in Game of Thrones’ multiple main characters.
Our next theory was discovered by Levi Strauss, who stated that a narrative can be easily driven by the conflict of binary opposites. If two people meet who are polar opposites of each other (Race, ideals, religion, etc.), Stauss’ theory states that they shall conflict and therefore the narrative is driven by wanting to see them fight or compete against one another.
I will disagree with the theorist here. I believe that the narrative is more entertaining and driven if these opposites were to work in the end to resolve their differences, or find a kind of middle ground between their beliefs.
For music videos specifically there are 3 types of a narrative of a music video. Narrative, performance and conceptual. Narrative telling a story, performance involves the song being performed of course and conceptual takes a more interpretative, abstract approach. There is also combination videos, which like Worried about Ray involves a mixture of a narrative and a performance.
As Andrew Goodwin stated, music videos should correspond and illiterate the lyrics of the song, and to this end we can categorise Lyric narratives into 3 categories:
Illustrated: Directly showing exactly what the lyrics say, or showing the narrative that the lyrics are trying to tell. E.g. If the lyrics talk about some leaving someone else, the video will show a couple breaking up.
Amplified: A narrative inspired by the lyrics and implements themes from the song. Such as a fast paced song could show an intense scene, inspired by the directors interpretation of the song and it's lyrics.
Disjuncture: Has little relationship to the song, more commonly know as simply random and usually goes hand-in-hand with conceptual music videos.