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Narrative Theory

Narrative theory is the theory of how narrative structure can be formed, with many different theorists attached to it as a result. The main theorists are Todorov, Propp and Goodwin, but there will also be mentions on this page of Strauss and Barthes.

Todorov

Tzvetan Todorov (1939 - 2017) was a Bulgarian-French sociologist, who wrote several essays and books about literary theory, as well as being a visiting professor at universities like Harvard. His work on narrative theory from the 1960s onwards brought about the suggestion of stories beginning with an equilibrium where any opposing forces that exist are in balance, before being disrupted and bringing about the main plot of the story itself, with the ending usually leading to this problem being solved unless the author/director decides to leave the narrative unsolved. 

The idea of the conventional narrative is structured in 5 stages according to Todorov:

  1. A state of equilibrium at the beginning

  2. A disruption of the equilibrium by some action

  3. A recognition of the disruption

  4. An attempt to repair the disruption

  5. A reinstatement of the equilibrium, or a new equilibrium that has been created as a result of the previous events 

This narrative structure style is a familiar thing to us all in terms of film, and many music videos also use this structure in terms of their composition.

A music video that goes against this theory is Lana Del Rey's "National Anthem". When the video actually begins we see a flash-forward where the equilibrium has been broken, as it depicts Del Rey and A$AP Rocky (a popular hip-hop artist) in the roles of John F. Kennedy and his wife Jacqueline Kennedy-Onassis, during the assassination of JFK that took place on the 22nd November 1963. The video then reverts back to a state of equilibrium, with flickers of the assassination scene throughout. At the end, we return back to the assassination, and it is clear that the disruption has taken place, along with the recognition almost instantaneously, but there is no true attempt to repair this disruption, neither is there a reinstatement of the equilibrium, because of the nature of the event that happened on that day.

A video that conforms to Todorov's theory is Halsey's "Colors". The equilibrium begins through the idea of Halsey with the love interest of actor Tyler Posey, but after the dinner scene, we recognize the disruption and the fact that she appears to like his father, with it truly being acknowledged through Posey's anger towards her at school. The end of the music video moves back towards a form of equilibrium with Halsey admiring the Polaroids she has of the father, and taking another Polaroid of him.

Propp

Vladimir Propp (1895 - 1970) was a Soviet scholar who came up with the main 8 tropes of narrative structure in terms of characterization, mainly used when it comes to fairy tales, although this can be applied to normal narratives as well. According to Propp, these 8 tropes are:

  1. The villain - the character who fights against the hero in some way

  2. The dispatcher - the character who makes the villain's evil known to the hero, and sends them off on their quest

  3. The (magical) helper - helps the hero in their quest

  4. The princess or prize - the ultimate goal for the hero to be working towards, which starts off as unattainable due to the villain but leads to the conclusion of the hero gaining the prize/marrying the princess

  5. The father - gives the task to the hero, identifying the false hero and marrying the hero off to the princess

  6. The donor - prepares the hero or gives them a magical object

  7. The hero or victim/seeker hero - reacts to the donor and weds the princess (usually the main protagonist of the story)

  8. The false hero - tries to take credit for the hero's actions or marry the princess

A music video example where we see almost all of these tropes is Taylor Swift's "Bad Blood" ft. Kendrick Lamar. In the video, we see Taylor (or Catastrophe) as the main heroine of the story, and Selena Gomez (Arsyn) who appears at first to be some sort of helper, but is quickly uncovered as being the villain. Lamar (Welvin Da Great) then appears as the donor/dispatcher, joined by Lena Dunham (Lucky Fiori) who appears to be the "father". Swift then moves on to train with several helpers before the conclusion of the music video which sees Catastrophe and Arsyn pitted against each other. 

Goodwin

Andrew Goodwin is another theorist who has theories about the narrative structure of media products, although his theory is mainly aimed towards music videos. Goodwin believes that there are three different types of music video: illustration, amplification and disjuncture.

Videos classed as illustration act out the literal meaning of the lyrics in the song; for example, Vance Joy's music video for Riptide shows images that relate to the lyrics in the song.

Amplification videos combine performance and narrative, with the connotations of the video itself informed by the lyrics or the meaning of the song itself. Personally, I have found two representations of this, although they are both the same song: "Wake Me Up When September Ends" by Green Day and Wootton Bassett Rocks both create various connotations. The original version by Green Day shows the idea of a young man being conscripted to fight in the US Army, and this background also links to the video by Wootton Bassett Rocks, created as a charity single, due to the military background and the premise of the repatriations that were taking place at the time in the town.

Finally, disjuncture videos create a new meaning from the lyrics, often including abstract imagery. An example of this is Lana Del Rey's "White Mustang", depicting Del Rey as seemingly lovelorn as her paramour does not appear to return her sentiments, which does not match with the lyrics of the song.

Strauss

Claude Lévi-Strauss (1908 - 2009) was a French anthropologist, who was also one of the founding fathers of anthropology. He came up with the theory that humans make sense of the world through seeing and using binary oppositions, and found that narratives are often arranged around this conflict of binary oppositions (e.g. good versus evil). Binary oppositions often form the basis of a simple narrative, allowing the equilibrium to be found and the conflict to be based around these binary opposites, and are used in music videos as part of the narrative in order to reinforce the lyrics of the song. This theory links with our ideological values of how we should perceive the world in our opinion. An example of these binary opposites in a music video is Panic! At The Disco's "LA Devotee". In it, it is clear to see good (Noah Schnapp of Stranger Things fame, dressed in white) and evil (the various characters in red, as well as Urie in black, and the young girl in white who has been corrupted by the cult).

Barthes

Roland Barthes is someone who was previously mentioned in the semiotics post (which can be found here), but who also had theories to do with narrative structure. Firstly, a little background behind him: Roland Gérard Barthes (1915 - 1980) was a French literary theorist who came up with a structural analysis of narratives, as well as creating the notion of semiotics and bringing that to the forefront of thinking. Barthes created his own theory of 5 codes to do with narrative structure: Enigma, Semantics, Symbolic, Cultural and Action, and also stated that texts can either be "open" (with meanings slightly more unravelled) or "closed" (meanings are more hidden).

Enigma or hermeneutic code means that there is mystery within the text, causing the audience to want to know more. If left with a cliffhanger state, the audience tends to become more frustrated. A music video example of this is Shawn Mendes' "Aftertaste", where the video ends on a cliffhanger as Mendes receives a mysterious letter.

Action, or proairetic, code contains sequential elements of action, as well as adding suspense to the text. A music video example is the "Young Blood Chronicles" by Fall Out Boy, with each video telling the story of a dystopian period for the band, filled with possession and cults, culminating in the equilibrium of heaven with Sir Elton John.

Semantic code refers to parts within the text that suggests additional meanings. A music video example is twenty one pilots' "Holding Onto You", with a key reasoning behind this link being as singer Tyler Joseph sings "You are surrounding / All my surroundings", the shot cuts to him being surrounded by a large group of people.

Symbolic code exercises opposites in the text in order to show contrast and create a greater meaning, as well as creating tension, drama and character development. A music video example is Halsey's "Now Or Never", with the clear divide between the House of Aureum and the House of Angelus being the main focus point of the video.

Finally, cultural code refers to anything founded on a kind of canonical work that is unable to be challenged, and is assumed to be a foundation for truth.

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