How useful are ideas about narrative in analysing music videos? Refer to CSP “Ghost Town” and “Letter to the Free” in your answer.

Within the Narrative theory, there are many theorists we can apply. An example is Todorov’s Tripartite which explores how all narratives should follow a structure of beginning equilibrium, disruption and ends with a new equilibrium. Another narrative theorist that can be explored is Levi-Strauss and his theory of binary opposites and Vladamir Propp, with his theory of media have 7 different character types, the hero, helper, princess, victim, dispatcher, father and false hero.

Each of the CSPs (both “Letter to the Free” and “Ghost Town” clearly follow Todorov’s Triparite Narrative Theory, and therefore have a clear beginning equilibrium, disruption and new equilibrium. For example, this is shown in Ghost Town with the opening being the initial equilibrium of driving through the streets of the East End of London, showing how London has become a “ghost town”. The disruption is when the car that is being driven swerves out of control, which could be a message how the unemployment rates in the UK were rising upwards out of control and thus emphasising how the whole economy of the UK was out of control. However, the new equilibrium is found and that is when the band return to the car and are seen at the end skimming rocks on a beach, which could be a symbol of things returning back to normal, since previously the car was out of control, whereas now everything has been returned to normal.

Similarly, “Letter to the Free” also follows a tripartite narrative theory. The music video begins with a shot of the setting and then the focus on the black box, which could be interpreted as an infinite symbol of black lives and a constant reminder of the symbol behind the message that “black lives matter”. The disruption can be determined by Common being seen in a prison, playing music, demanding form “freedom”. It can be argued that the disruption of this music video can be the imprisonment of black lives. This also applies Levi-Stauss’ theory of binary oppositions because Common is singing about freedom, however in the music video, he appears to have no freedom because he is trapped in a prison. Finally, the new equilibrium of the music video is the empty shots of the prison and a zooming out close-up of a house, possibly Common’s house, with the outdoor shot symbolising freedom and the freedom he has finally got. Once again, the black box appears to once again remind us of the message of the song that black lives are infinite and are equal to any other skin colour.

Overall, it is very useful for music videos to follow Todorov’s tripartite narrative theory. Not only does following a narrative theory make the music video and context of the song more easier to follow, applying a narrative theory also means that you are able to capture perceptions and messages which can’t be expressed by people personally. For example, Ghost Town is talking about the economic crisis of London during the 80s, however, without the narrative theory of the music video, people could misinterpret the song and see Ghost Town as a place where nobody lives, which is the complete opposite (linking to Levi-Strauss’ theory of binary opposites) since people were living in London, it wasn’t a ghost town with no people, it was a ghost town because everyone was in their homes and not going out to work. Finally, narrative is important due to the old saying of “pictures paint a thousand words”. It can be very hard to convey a message by speaking it, however, using a music video can be a visual way to help convey a message, which is why applying narrative to music videos is an important thing to do