I believe that ideas about narrative in analysing music videos are useful. When we consider a narrative which is the story and when we theories we can consider applying according to “narrative” we should consider 4 main theorists: Tztevan Todorov and his 3-part structure theory where he says there’s a beginning, middle, end to a story and has three parts to which also applies, the equilibrium where everything is balanced and good nothing, in particular, affects the story yet which then shifts into disequilibrium/Disruption as there is conflict, change, an issue that is introduced and finally finishes into resolution/new equilibrium where the story gets balanced again after the issue or change is fixed or accepted. Claude Levi-Strauss on binary oppositions states that we do not know what truth or meaning is but we know what it isn’t for example we know Black isn’t White, Good isn’t Bad etc. Vladimir Propp’s theory on character Types and Functions where he believes a character type is a certain trait or role a character will have to progress the story, for example, the Hero(protagonist), Villain (antagonist), princess(the character who gets rescued in one way or form) etc. Chatman theory resolves on Satellites and kernels where main elements of the stories that if changed, affected the story greatly are referred to kernels, for example, the film is a sci-fi planet, whereas satellites are changeable elements of the stories that won’t affect the story too much Eg. he has a blue hat in part 1 but in part 2 changes to a black hat.

Using this knowledge as we look at “Letter to the Free” by Common lyrics and signs relates to historical and current oppression of African Americans as he talks bout how jail is modern slavery as it is a form of business where they have people to do cheap labour for them to which they sell and that why there must always be people in jail. Commons Music video starts off in the inside a prison and is presented throughout the video which is a direct representation to who he is singing, the black community as prisoners,  In the music video Commons, there is a black box that also is shown throughout the video to which “represents the infinite thing about blackness and blackness can’t be defined in time or space” and what common means by “defined” he is referring to the labelling of black people. When considering Commons video in a narrative theoretical sense it doesn’t have a clear narrative and doesn’t follow so trying to apply one of the theories Tztevan Todorov and his 3-part structure theory is hard, however, when we consider Tztevan Todorov and his 3-part structure theory to the video in the sense of the beginning when common is in the prison alone is short equilibrium but when were shown the flashes of the black box we can argue for this to be the disequilibrium to the point of the end where the black box is sort of “resting” in the filed at the end of the video and is the new equilibrium.

When we look at Ghost town written by Jerry Dammers by the Artists British two-tone band “The specials” which was released in 1981. It has a more clear narrative at the beginning of the music video where the shots are quite still and are of the car and the surroundings which is the equilibrium but then it transitions to the disequilibrium as the shot of the car gets shakier as the car swerves around but then once again returns back to normal to which is then transitions to the new equilibrium so this relates to Tztevan Todorov and his 3-part structure theory again. When looking at the video there could be the symbolism of was happening at the time of the 1980s in the UK where CND ws starting to happen what is the Campaign for the disarmament of nuclear weapons so at the beginning of the video could be the symbolism of how people have hidden away due to fear of nuclear weapons and in the middle when they are swerving is the fear getting to them but at the end, when they are skipping rocks, is the sort of acceptance that something bad could happen.

Overall I believe that ideas about narrative in analysing music videos are useful as with the correct theories we get a greater understanding for the story and what it portrays that you might not commonly notice at first glance achieve this though the theorists of Tztevan Todorov, Chapman, Vladimir Propp and Claude Levi-Strauss even though I focused on Tztevan Todorov.