2. Andy Goodwin
Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics (e.g. stage performance in
metal video, dance routine for boy/girl band).
There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals (either illustrative,
amplifying, contradicting).
There is a relationship between music and visuals (either illustrative,
amplifying, contradicting).
The demands of the record label will include the need for lots of close ups
of the artist and the artist may develop motifs which recur across their work
(a visual style).
There is frequently reference to notion of looking (screens within screens,
telescopes, etc) and particularly voyeuristic treatment of the female body.
There is often intertextual reference (to films, TV programmes, other music
videos etc).
3. Levi Strauss
Claude Levi-Strauss introduced the notion of binary oppositions as a useful
way to consider the production of meaning within narratives. He argued that
all construction of meaning was dependent, to some degree, on these
oppositions. Examples of binary oppositions found in some moving image
narratives might be:
Good vs. Evil
Male vs. Female
Humanity vs. Technology
Nature vs. Industrialization
East vs. West
Dark vs. Light
Dirt vs. cleanliness
Beyond its application to individual narratives, Levi-Strauss’s theory can and
should be used to assess groups of texts and genres. Westerns, for example,
went through a period in which binary oppositions included Homesteader vs
‘Red Indians’, Christian vs pagan and so on. We intend to apply this theory to
our opening sequence.
4. • In his work on narrative theories from the 1960s onwards, Todorov
suggested that stories begin with an equilibrium or status quo where
any potentially opposing forces are in balance.
• This is disrupted by some event, setting in chain a series of events.
Problems are solved so that order can be restored to the world of the
fiction.
Todorov suggested that conventional narratives are structured in
five stages:
1. a state of equilibrium (stability) at the start
2. a disruption of the equilibrium by some action
3. a recognition that there has been a disruption
4. an attempt to repair the disruption
5. a reinstatement of the equilibrium
• This type of narrative structure is very familiar to us and can be
applied to many ‘mainstream’ film narratives.
Todorov
5. Character theory
HERO
Traditionally the hero is a male protagonist whose role it is to restore normality or equilibrium.
He does this by defeating the villain(s) and winning the love of the heroine.
VILLIAN
The villain is the cause of the disruption and the enemy of the hero. The villain may also be a
threat to the safety and the well being of the heroine.
DISPATCHER
The dispatcher sends the hero on a journey to restore equilibrium. The dispatcher may also be
the father or a father figure of the heroine, sending the hero on a quest to see if he is worthy
of his daughter.
DONOR
The donor gives the hero something to help him along his journey. This gift may be a piece of
advice, a skill or an object such as a weapon.
HELPER
The helper assists the hero in restoring equilibrium. The helper may be a sidekick, with the hero
throughout, or someone he meets along the way.
HEROINE
The heroine is usually a passive and vulnerable character, threatened by the villain and
needing rescuing by the hero.
FALSE HERO
The false hero is a character who initially seems to be on the side of the hero but who turns
against him or deceives.
Propp
