How useful are ideas about narrative in analysing music videos? Refer to the close study products ‘ghost town’ and ‘letter to the free’ in your answer.

Narrative theory is useful in analysing music videos to gain an idea about the storyline, message and plot that the media is trying to portray. Todorov’s narrative theory consists of a three part structure, an equilibrium, disruption and new equilibrium (beginning, middle and end).

These can be used to analyse the letter to the free music video which focuses on the black community and the multi-media Netflix documentary about American prisons being filled by black lives. The letter to the free video shows a symbolic square box which common explains that it represents blackness not being defined in time or space. This box appears throughout the video structure as a satallite, which in Seymour Chatman’s theory means it is not essential to the narrative but are helpful and in this instance, it is helpful to provide the meaning behind the video. While the black box is shown at points throughout the video, it is shown before the song starts and then at the end of the video it is the last thing you see. This relates to Todrov’s theory as the video is structured in a way that leaves a significant beginning, middle and ending that highlights the main message of the video.

In the Ghost Town music video, the narrative shows the band travelling in a car through empty roads, highlighting a time in the uk where there were riots, deindustrialization and unemployment which caused the feel of a ‘ghost town’. Throughout the video, the band are together in the car which represents them being isolated. This relates to the narrative theory as the beginning shows shots of urban buildings which introduces a theme of industrialization, it than shows a point of view from the car driving and the view of the empty roads. These beginning shots are useful to identify the setting and the theme of the music video right at the beginning, which then sets the mood for the rest of it. The ending then shows a contrast to the disruption, which is chaos with the camera spinning. Whereas, the ending is just one still shot which shows the group throwing rocks into water. This contrast is useful as it shows a clear structure of narrative.  

How useful are ideas about narrative in analysing music videos? Refer to the Close Study Products ‘Ghost Town’ and ‘Letter to the free’ in your answer

In analysing music videos, ideas about narrative can be useful as music videos have a story and always have a beginning, middle and end but they don’t need to be linear, and the end can be at the start. There’s always a plot which shows how it’s organised and what’s put together in order to create something whole. There is always some sort of structure which allows for the video to come together and shows that thought has been put into the piece as a whole. Music videos can also be sequential which is the forming/following in a logical order or sequence.

In Common’s letter to the free, in the music video there is a clear black box which has significance to Common himself and represents the black community that isn’t being treated right in society. Chapman’s theory on how a video can be broken down into two different things which includes the main thing which are called Kernels and Satellites which are the less important things but still contribute to something. If a Kernel is taken out then the whole narrative could fall apart because it won’t make sense if it’s taken away. In this case, the black box is the Kernel and is significant because it represents something so important, and has an important message to portray throughout the video.

Furthermore, in the music video ‘Ghost Town’ it’s filmed in a car that’s moving through the city while everyone is inside the car. This creates a scene and narrative as it creates a story of the band moving through the city in a car; the video is also in black and white which could connote simplicity. The video also starts by showing different buildings and empty roads which will help to create imagery and a sense of loneliness/empty space and it’s setting the scene.

Letter to the free and Ghost Town could be considered binary oppositions as they both represent different things and want to portray a different image. This relates to Strauss’ theory on binary opposition. Although they aren’t the same video, they are radical to one another as they aren’t the same and do represent something different. Letter to the free represents how black people are being treated unfairly, and the fact it’s filmed in a prison connotes they feel trapped. However, in Ghost Town, there is a group of people driving around a city in a car, on empty streets. This could show isolation however the group of people are together which shows community.