Narrative Theories

What is a Narrative?

A narrative is a chain of events in a cause - affect relationship occurring in time.

The Aristotle Theory

This is a theory that involves a narrative having a;

Beginning
Middle
End

Below you will see the video to Cold play 'The Scientist'. In this video i can see a clear start, middle and end. This means that the Aristotle Theory applies to it.

Coldplay - The Scientist

Narrative and Song

Illustrative - Echos Lyrics
Amplification - Adding to Themes
Disjunctive - Little relationship to the song

Narrative and Performance

This is where the artist will be performing in the music video. This is usually set in a strange or eccentric locations to try and liven the video. However, sometimes it could just be the artists performing on stage. We see this theory used in Mumford & Sons video for ' I Will Wait'.

The Vladimir Propp Theory

This is a 20th century theory that suggests that there are 8 types of different characters in film.

Hero
Villain
Donor
Dispatcher (Messenger)
False Hero
Helper
Princess
Her Father

As this is such an old theory, it is relatively hard to compare it to today's music videos. However, in Shawn Mendes' new song 'Treat you better', it is clear to see that there is a hero and villain situation as one boy is trying to get a girl to leave someone who he feels is the villain. The girl in this video could also be seen to be the princess of the vide.

Shawn Mendes - Treat You Better

Levi Strauss Theory

This is a theory that refers to binary opposites in film. It occurs when two characters in a film are involved with a dispute or conflict with each other. These binary opposites allow the narrative to continue.

We see this theory in use in Beyonce's music song 'Single Ladies'. The key idea in this music video is the Black costumes and the light background.

Beyonce - Single Ladies

The Allan Cameron Theory

This is a theory that has four parts to it. It discusses how in music videos you are likely to see a;

Achronic - Flashback
Forking Paths - Contradictory Narrative
Episodic - Shorter stories that are discconected
Split Screen - Split into two or more screens to show different events.

Below is an example of Allan Cameron's theory.