Tuesday, 20 September 2016

Applying narrative theory to a music video

                                        Eminem - Stan


There are three types of narratives in music videos. These narratives are linear, circular and episodic. each of these narratives contain their own unique style and structure which can be seen when watching different music videos.

Linear Narrative



This is the structure of the linear Narrative








A linear Narrative is similar to a film as it has a clear beginning and end and shows the events leading up to the finale. This is a great narrative to tell a story as you can create a clear storyline that viewers get to make sense of due to its simplistic structure.

Circular Narrative

This is how a Circular Narrative is structured.











The circular narrative is a bit more complex than a linear narrative as its more abstract and fragmented. Although the circular narrative is least common of the three, it is mainly used to advertise the star/artist which is what a lot of record labels like to do. 

Episodic Narrative













The episodic narrative is the most fragmented and abstract narrative. This is because the narrative is broken up into different events that take place in different times. For example, it could show an event that took place in the past even if the event before hand was in the present. This type of narrative is also one of the most common as it can be used to create a brand image and advertise the star as well



Narrative theories 

Propp - Propps theory states that there are multiple different character types that are reflected in films and music videos. Some of these character types are The hero (who is on the quest), The villain (who opposes the hero) and the princess (who is the reward for the hero)

Levi-Straus - Levi's theory is about binary oppositions. An example of this would be night and day or/and good and bad. Levi states that binary opposites tended to structure stories in some shape or form.

Todorov - Todorov suggests that there are five stages to a narrative. These are equilibrium, a disruption of the equilibrium, a realisation that a disruption has happened, an attempt to repair the damage, and a restoration of the equilibrium. This can be seen at the start of the music video for stan where the equilibrium is broken, and Stan attempts to repair it by getting Eminem's attention.

Roland Barthes - barthes concept is negotiated meaning. This is when readers/viewers make up their own meanings to the text as they can relate to it in someway.



                                     Eminem - Stan music video analysis






Analysis

In eminems music video, the narrative structure is a mixture between linear and episodic. The narrative is linear at the start as it shows a clear beginning and the events that take place leading up to eminems concert scene where it becomes a bit more abstract therefore, episodic. We can see this as stan keeps on having flashbacks of when eminem rejected him at his own shows with his little brother. This is a vital part in the story as it shows key events that happened in the past which ultimately has a huge impact in the ending of the video. However, after this the structure returns to linear as it shows the events leading up to the end in chronological order, therefore creating a clear plot that viewers can understand. 

The linear narrative can be seen through the use of camera work as they use longer takes at the beginning. For example, when the camera enters the room (tracking shot) through the window and during the toilet scene, longer takes are used to show a slow progression in the storyline. Then when the episodic narrative starts, faster paced editing and shorter cuts are used to show the different events leading up to the end quicker. The episodic narrative has been used during this sequence of scenes as it allows us to see the hard hitting encounters with Eminem which gives context and makes the story understandable for the viewer. Fast paced editing is also used to show Stans irrational thoughts when driving to his death as the quick cuts creates intensity and tension which gives us an idea that Stan isn't "right in the head" which ultimately leads to his and his girlfriends death, as well as his unborn child. This also becomes evident when Eminem says the line "You got some issues Stan, I think you need some counselling" which confirms our believes that Stan needs help. These narratives are not conventional for the rap genre, however for Eminem, they are very conventional as he likes to tell a story in his lyrics and on video and by using this structure, Eminem can do exactly that.

Even though this is a video that follows a strong storyline, its hard to apply Propps character types which isn't conventional for this type of narrative as normally, they contain more character types than other narratives. However, you could say that Stan is the hero as he's on a "quest" to get Eminem's attention and become like him but he ends up killing the princess who is meant to be a reward for the hero so this character convention is broken. Propps theory is very limiting to understanding the types of characters that you get in music video's, especially one as unique and as contemporary as Eminem. This could be due to characters becoming more complex and not your generic typical character type that follows the conventions of a specific type.

Eminem's performance in this music video strongly shows how Richard Dyer's star theory is implemented into the music industry. Richard Dyer suggests that stars are constructed/manufactured to represent "real people" experiencing real emotions. We can see that Eminem is portrayed to be a "real person" as the use of medium shots as well as close ups clearly express his emotions about Stan well. At the end of the video, when Eminem realises what Stan has committed, close up shots enhance the emotions of guilt as we can understand what Eminem must feel like. This is because guilt is a very relatable emotion as almost everyone has experienced it allowing Eminem to be portrayed as a "real person". Richard Dyer then suggests that this is done to create sales and generate revenue for the institutions as people will buy more songs as they are relatable. This proves Richard Dyers theory as seen in this video, as institutions choose the linear narrative to construct a story as it is able to achieve this effect stated in Richard Dyers theory.


What I have learnt so far?
I have gained knowledge on the different types of narrative's and how they are used by the artists/institutions. For example, institutions will mainly use the circular narrative as it shows of the artist creating more revenue for the business. However, an artists like Eminem, wants to show his music as a type of art form therefore, going with a narrative that shows a clear story such as episodic, or linear narratives. This also helps my group decide on what narrative we should use for our music video.






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