narrative theory

1. Becca Fry
Narrative Theory – Applying theorists to a music video
Taylor Swift – We are nevergettingback together
Propp: Thismusicvideofollowsthe breakupfortwocharacters,so there are few character typesin
the text.The herois Taylorherself whoistryingtoget overherex,the villainisherboyfriendwho
treatsher badly,the dispatcheris herfriendswhohelp hertoovercome herex,andthe false herois
herex as isan unsuitable matchforher.
Todorov: The initial equilibriumisthe badrelationshipbutTaylorhasgot backwithhima numberof
timesandis dealingwithit,the disruptionof the equilibriumis whenTaylorandherex breakup, the
recognitionof the disruption iswhen Taylorisupsetaboutthe breakup,the attemptto repairthe
damage iswhenTaylorand her ex have one lastconversationsalone abouthow theyaren’tgetting
back togetherandthe newequilibriumiswhenTaylorishappywithbeingsingle.
Bathes: Actioncode – the fightingandarguingbetweenTaylorandherex,the referentialcode isthe
argumentwhichshowsthe audience theyare breakingup,andthe enigmacode iswhentheyhave
the last conversation asitteasesthe audience suggestingtheyare gettingbacktogether.
Levi-Strauss:Thisis the binaryoppositionswithinthe text,forexample good(Taylor) vsbad(herex)
and strong(Taylor) vsweak(ex).