Riptide narrative

RIPTIDE &
NARRATIVE
Todorov, Propp, Levi-Strauss & Barthes

Objectives for RipTide
■ To understand the processes through which meanings are
established through intertextuality
■ To analyse how audiences respond to this aspect of media language
■ To analyse the way meaning is created through micro elements
■ To know the codes and conventions of music video and how genre develops over time
■ To explore the significance of challenging or subverting genre conventions
MEDIA LANGUAGE:
REPRESENTATION:
■ To analyse the way media constructs versions of reality
■ To explore how and why stereotypes can be used positively and negatively
■ To analyse how media representations convey values, attitudes, and beliefs
about the world
■ How the audience are positioned by the music video
Van Zoonen: Feminist theory
Roland Barthes: Semiotics
David Gauntlett: Identity theory
Claude Levi-Strauss: Structuralism
TzvetanTodorov: Narratology
Andrew Goodwin: Genre theory
Steve Neale: Genre theory

Today’s Objectives
■ To know and understand traditional narrative theories including
Todorov, Propp, and Levi-Strauss
■ To attempt to apply theory to a range of music video texts
■ To analyse micro elements to explain how they link to narrative
theory
■ To decide the extent to which we can we apply traditional
narrative theory to our set texts

Starter
● In your pairs, you have been given a stack of
images.
● Your task is to create a narrative from these
images.
● You have 3 minutes!

What is Narrative?
● It is not the story…
● It is how the story is organised, or told
● Let’s see what each group came up with.

Todorov’s Classic Narrative
He suggests most narratives
follow a linear structure, i.e. a
beginning, middle and end.
A sequence of events told in the
order of when it occurred.
And within that structure, it
begins with a stage of...
Where
everything is
balanced, a
calm normal
start.
1.
Equilibrium
A restoration/ of the
problem i.e A happy
ending.
5.New
Equilibrium
A realisation that a
disruption/problem
has happened
3.Recognition
An attempt to
repair and fix
the problem
4.Reparation
Something disrupts
the equilibrium, a
problem occurs
2.Disruption

Now go back to your images and create
a more exciting or interesting narrative
structure.

What different
ways can a story
be told? Let us
find out…

Let’s think about characters
in films
What types of characters can you identify in a superhero film?

Propp’s Theory
Propp suggested that every narrative has eight
different character types.
Hero: Seeks
something
Villain:
Obstructs the
hero
Princess:
Hero’s
reward
Father: Gives rewards
Helper: Helps the heroDispatcher: Sends
the hero on a quest
Donor: Gives hero
something special
False Hero: Acts
heroically, mistaken
for real hero

Now have a go yourself , use
the table to help you.
The Lion King or Shrek

Women should
not earn as
much money
as men.
DEBATE!

Levi- Strauss- Binary Oppositions
He suggests narratives in media such as books and films contain opposing main
characters, often played against each other.
Examples,

Roland Barthes
● Barthes was a structuralist, the same as Levi-Strauss
● semiotics theory – semiotics is the study of signs
○ Hermeneutic code (enigma)
○ Proairetic code (action)
○ Semantic code (connotations)
○ Symbolic code (myths)
○ Cultural code (intertextuality)
Hermeneutic codes in music videos:
• what questions are there as you
view?
• are all questions answered?
• how does this hook the audience?
• does it support repeatability?
• how does it help to promote the
artist?

Narrative in music videos
■ How far can you apply these traditional narrative theories to a
mainstream music video?
■ From these videos what might be considered conventional in
terms of narrative in music videos?

Narrative in music videos
■ To what extent can we apply traditional theories to RipTide and
Formation?

Riptide narrative

In this document