
Narrative theories
Vladimir Propp
Narrative
"A Chain of events in a cause effect relationship occurring in time"
Vladimir propp was a Russian theorist who come with a narrative theory which involves 8 types of characters which he has broken down from a typical 'fairy tale' including :
Hero,
Villain,
Donor,
Dispatcher (messenger),
False Hero,
Helper,
Princess
the princesses father.
However not all of them 8 characters are expected to be individuals as often in a lot of media context like films or anything with this narrative match can have shared acts between them for example a classic would be the hero marrying the princess in some that would not happen because they could be related to one another. There are several ways how narratives end and not all story line are based on the same thing although he says they all do contain the same characters and the same roles just shown in different ways suiting the context. There are many different films and videos this rule applies to such as star wars that's one of the most simplest examples but because i am studying music videos i have found an example.
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Izetan Todorov







this shows the equilibrium of the video, and their affection for one another
stage 3 is her recognition of his frequent exit from the house realising he's cheating
Stage 4 is her way of resolving the issue by taking all his clothes and burning them, as if she is erasing it from her mind.
Stage 5 shows him returning and her showing no signs of remorce towards him as if nothing happened and they are as they were at the start
Stage 2 shows the disruption of him having an affair with another woman
Tzeton's theory is about having 5 main stages throughout the narrative and basing your ideas upon them.
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State of equilibrium
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Disruption of equilibrium
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recognition of disruption
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Attempt to repair disruption
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Reinstatement or equilibrium
Looking at music videos i am going to use 'Sam smiths - I'm not the only' one single which matches Todorov's theory. At the beginning of the video it states the equilibrium being the marriage. The disruption is the man's alcohol and him having an affair which his wife then realises but still tries to resolve the marriage by acting as if everything is fine how they were at the beginning, showing affection for one another.
'Equilibrium' is the scenario the narrative's based upon.
Levi strauss
Strauss's theory is all about Binary opposition.
Binary opposites are where there are two completely different words but used for similar context. Example's of a few would be:
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"Hot & Cold"
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"Evil & Good"
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"Old & Young"
The narrative behind this theory is that it is all based around opposition and conflicts like the narrative behind "Romeo and Juliet" because they are both from different families who have always had conflict and not accepted one an others peace this then meant they could not be together resulting in consequences.
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Below shows the binary opposites at the top there are the gang of men trowing money around enjoying luxurious items and goods in contrast to the people locked away behind the bars in dark conditions with nothing other than their clothes.
Imagine Dragons - Radioactive


In the picture to the right you can see the 'poorer' people getting held prisoners beneath the surface where the 'rich' men are throwing money around whilst betting on the 'champions' as shown in the image above.


