1. Narrative video analysis
Propp:
In thismusicvideothe little boy,inwhichthe musicvideocentres,isthe hero/the characterwho
seekssomething.Asthere are veryfewothercharactersinthe videoitishard to applyprops
theory/analysis. Howeverwhenthe boysdigsupthe ‘’warriors’’theybecome the helpers,tohelp
the boy getback at hisneighbourhood.Thereisadistinguishabledifference betweenthe heroand
the helpersandtheirrolesare clearto the audience.
Todorov:
The equilibriuminthisvideoiswhenthe boyisleavinghishome,onhisbike,searchingfora
solution.Itgoesoff balance whenhe findsthe grave of the warriors. He digsit up,and the
emotion/facial expressionisthe recognitionof the disruption.The attemptto repairthe disruptionis
whenhe screamsto scare them. Andthe new equilibriumisthe scene withthe warriorsonthe
bikes,muchlike the original,where the get‘revenge’.
Levi-strauss:
Thismusicvideodoesnotconformto the binaryopposite’stheoryof levi-straussasthere are very
fewactors/characters.Butinitiallyinthe videoyouhave the ‘good’ andinnocentboy,whothen
turns inthe bad personhe is;a criminal if youlike whenhe vandalisesthe neighbourhood.Buthis
binaryoppositesare the warriorswhoare devious,the oppositetoinnocent. Theyare the onesthat
turn the little innocentboy intoavillainous/deviousperson.
Barthes:
- Action code – The vandalisingof the neighbourhood,withthe warriors.
- Referential code the final scene where he looksupathishouse,andpoints,suggestingthat
he has a problemwithsomethingathome.
- Semantic code the characters are similarinthe factthat theyare afterrevenge.
- Enigma code I don’tbelieve there isanenigmacode inthis,itisa verystraightforward
narrative andvideo.
- Symboliccode the warriorssymbolise hisaggression,astheyare a figure of hisimagination.
