Analysing Narrative in Music Videos Terms for describing Narrative Narrative/ story/ plot Syntax of the plot Protagonist

Antagonist Climax/ crescendo Equilibrium Disequilibrium New Equilibrium

How could you use these theoretical terms/ concepts to analyse the narrative of your music video?

Like the road along which she cycles, the repeated questioning of the lyrics, and the endless empty echoing sighs of the vocals, the Bat For Lashes Whats a Girl to Do? video uses a narrative structure that is relentlessly linear to illustrate the tone of desperation, isolation and personal anguish. The narrative of the video exists in a timeless and placeless space, devoid of anchorage to reality, and in this dream-like journey the video rejects narrative expectations such as equilibrium-disequilibrium-new equilibrium, emphasising instead a sense of purposelessness and disassociated, introspective emptiness.

Enigma Code Drives narrative by an unanswered question Proairetic/ Action code Drives narrative through anticipation of an actions resolution Linear Non-linear Circular Parallel narrative Convergent narrative Interweaving narrative Impressionist narrative _________________________________________________ Time and narrative flashbacks/ flashforwards real time reversal dream sequences repetition different characters' POV ellipsis pre-figuring of events that have not yet taken place

Coldplays The Scientist utilises a reversed narrative structure, playing events in reverse, and the video uses this unusually narrative structure to create an enigma which the audience are keen to see answered.

The video No Surprises by Radiohead utilises imagery of technology and contemporary life in order to create a sense of disconnection and alienation. The glittering, flickering lights near the start of the video look like stars, evoking a sense of magic and wonder. However, this quickly turns to a much more bleak and empty image of cold strip-lights which is emphasised by the blues and the desaturated flesh-tones. The drowning of the protagonist, as well as the bloated face that is created by the refraction of light against the water, creates a sense of dehumanisation, and this is emphasised further by the idea of the protagonist as trapped by (and finally escaping from) the water and the glass tank. In this way the video seems to be a metaphorical exploration of ideas of 21st Century alienation and pre-Millenial tension.

The video for Virtual Insanity by Jamiroquai utilises a loose narrative structure that draws out the tensions and darkness of the song. The dancing protagonist (the singer Jamiroquai) is shown trapped within a padded cell, dancing and performing in an elaborate and visually flamboyant manner during each verse, whilst the movement to the choruses are each accompanied by cutaways (to which the camera eerily tilts, rather than cutting) of cockroaches, ravens/ crows and, towards the very end, a puddle of blood emanating from the position of the camera/ viewer. These cutaways increase in intensity and metaphorical darkness, building on the songs refusal to give way to another chorus and instead using bridges and middle-eighths. This creates a narrative structure whereby the video becomes more intense and more symbolic of a fragile mental state, thus reflecting the title of the song. The video rejects entirely any sense of a final new equilibrium; instead it slides into an increasingly dark and dangerous state.

REMs video for Losing My Religion uses multiple narrative strands that interweave and share thematic values to create a final climax.

The video for Two Weeks by Grizzly Bear utilises an impressionistic narrative of disconnected images to create an abstract film that illustrates and amplifies some of the lyrics, ideas and emotions from the song. These images, however, are framed within two connected images at the very start and end, where a metal bar/ pole is shown snapping. The enigma caused here (What is the pole? Why is it snapping? What are the symbols on the pole?) are answered at the very end of the video

Marilyn Mansons vide Tainted Love (released as a single from Not Another Teen Movie) begins with a familiar scene of an all-American teen party, complete with cheerleaders and jocks. This initial equilibrium is immediately disrupted by the visually-contrasting goths who the antagonist Manson leads into the teen party. This disequilibrium continues throughout the video, being emphasised as the party slips into greater debauchery with the onset of each chorus, until towards the end most characters have moved to the dark side and a new equilibrium is established: that of the dominance of goth imagery. Towards the end of the video, Manson is no longer outsider, is instead king, and in this way the video utilises the narrative structure to establish a sense of the outsiders becoming dominant. The appeal to the audience is clear:

Nirvanas Heart Shaped Box video, directed by Anton Corbijn, utilises abstract and nonliteral narratives which are different for each verse and are disconnected from one another in order to create a sense of disconnection and moral emptiness. The iconography of crucifixions, black and white, hospitals and good/ evil evokes a sense of morality and also of death. With Kurt Cobain performing mani(a)cally in the foreground and the blurred images of the rest of the band in the background, the directors also creates metaphors for isolation and alienation.