Todorov’s Tripartite Narrative Structure:

The Scientist by Coldplay

• Beginning Equilibrium = protagonist is laying down on a mattress in a rural part of the UK (London and Surrey). It is apparent it is in the rural areas, as identified by the multiple spray painted/graffiti art on the walls. The protagonist next flips off the mattress and begins walking in a town. The protagonist walks backwards and the background characters are also reversed. (Fun fact – Chris Martin had to learnt to sing backwards so while he’s walking backwards, he isn’t singing the song backwards!)
• Disruption = the protagonist walks past people living their everyday lives (shopping in the town centre, playing basketball. The protagonist then walks to an abandoned train track and then walks backwards through loads of woodlands. He sees a child asleep in the woods and the camera focuses on the child
• New equilibrium = from being in the woods, the protagonist puts on his jacket and flies through back into the car, he is then driving on the roads and is with what I presume to be either his girlfriend or his wife.

Because this music video is backwards, it is basically back to front, so isn’t in chronological order, instead it is in a reverse-chronological order!

Just the Way You Are by Bruno Mars

• Beginning Equilibrium = the female character begins by listening to music, wearing a pair of headphones. The singer (Bruno Mars) then takes the tape out of the MP3 player. The female looks confused, however the singer pulls the tape and the music starts. He opens up with his name and the name of the song, which has been spelt out using a cassette tape.
• Disruption: the music video is now focused on the cassette tape and Bruno Mars draws out what he’s singing about with the cassette tape. For example, when he says “her eyes, her eyes, make the stars look like they’re not shining”, the cassette tape wire transforms into an animation of the female with her eyes blinking. Occasionally, throughout the music video, the camera focuses on Bruno Mars singing and then the female blushing, making it apparent that Bruno Mars is trying to flirt with her. When Bruno Mars makes the cassette animation of the female smile, the female changes it to be a neutral mouth, however, Bruno Mars changes it so the cassette animation is of the female smiling.
• New equilibrium = the female moves over and sits next to Bruno Mars. The animation continues to play and occasionally we see an over the shoulder shot of Bruno Mars and the female looking at the table. The song ends with a point of view shot of the female sat on the sofa, while Bruno mars is sat at the piano, playing the song for her on his piano. During Bruno Mars playing the piano, there are occasional close-ups of him and the female being flirtatious and Bruno Mars stroking her face, thus indicating they have fallen in love.

Sunflower by Post Malone and Swae Lee

• Beginning equilibrium = a record player is turned on and what looks like a drone shot is done over an animated city, with an introduction to the song, by the title and the artists appearing on the drone shot of the city. The music video is possibly animated since the song was used in the film “Spiderman: Into the Spider-verse” and it is stereotypical that superhero films are animated. The protagonist (a young teenage boy) is living his day-to-day life, with shots of him going on the subway station, in school, at home in his bedroom, etc. At 0:46, the parents go off to work and the protagonist goes off to school, which is followed by a close up of the mother kissing her son goodbye before they go off to work/school.
• Disruption = The protagonist next is sat in his bedroom and falls out of his window, however, he is saved by standing on the side of the wall (reference to how Spiderman can attach himself to walls). The protagonist tells his parents about his ability and runs away. He takes off his mask and puts it back on when he sees someone walk toward him. The protagonist is then snatched by an enemy with what looks like their powers and the protagonist and the enemy fight on the streets.
• New Equilibrium = At 2.09 the protagonist has become and adult there is a close up of a photo of a the female all grown up and next a female superhero jumps onto the ground out of nowhere. The superhero female takes off her mask and it happens to be the female the protagonist was friends with at school. They team up and defeat the enemy and the ending shot is of the protagonist realising his powers and then attaching to buildings and he places a sticker on a statue which says “Spiderman”.