The video I am looking at, again, is Survivor by Destiny's Child. This essay focuses on Narrative within Music Videos and looks at the 3 main theorists being Todorov, Propp, and Levi-Srauss. If you look at this specific music video in terms of Todorov’s theory of a classic narrative then I believe that this does kind of follow the narrative model that he created from beginning to end. At the beginning, the Equlibirum would be, if this was included in the music video, the band before they became shipwrecked.
The disequilibrium is when the girls find themselves randomly spread across a beach with their clothes all torn, etc. I think that the recognition would be that the girls steal clothes of a hanger that they find on the beach and show that they are becoming stronger rather than weaker even though they are on an island, which can be told by the lyrics of the song. I then believe that the reparation is when the girls see the helicopter and rush through the bushes to get to it and be saved with the new equilibrium, if this was shown, would be the girls returning to normality after being saved.
If you then look at Propp’s theory of recognisable characters then I believe there are some recognizable characters in this music video that fit with Propp’s theory. If you look for the Hero’s, these will certainly be Beyonce, Kelly and Michelle, the 3 band members. I believe the villain would be the island but also, if you look into the lyrics and the meaning of the song, then the villain is also the person that is holding you back in your life. If we go back to what I talked about in my previous essay, I mentioned how the song can be applied to anybody who has ‘Survived’ something, well the villain in this sense is the thing that is holding that person back and making them ‘Survive’.
I believe there is no princess in this music video which is not surprising due to the very feminist theme of the music video so it is almost as if they are saying that the Princess who is normally second best of the reward for the Hero could also be the Hero. I believe that the Father could be the people in the Helicopter that rescues them as they are rewarding them by saving them and letting them live. I believe there is no Doner which is also fitting for this video as it is s if they are saying that they are strong women and do not need somebody to help them, etc. as they are able to do it by themselves. The helper is obviously the people in the Helicopter that help them and there is also no Dispatcher as it is unclear of who had sent them on their quest.
I believe the false hero could be two things. The first being the actual island itself in which is looks so beautiful and calm but is also very dangerous as they being on an island with no food or drink could kill you. However if you look closer into the lyrics and meaning behind the song, the false Hero could also be the person that is hold you back in life and causing you to have to ‘Survive’. For example this could be somebody you know that is suppose to be a friend or a family member who care for you but for some reason are holding you back causing you to survive, therefore being a false hero.
It is very clear that the structure of the narrative is linear as the music video starts off with the girls being found on the beach, then them growing stronger and eventually being found by a helicopter and being rescued. This shows a clear beginning, middle and end which is what Todorov believed every story had, even though these theories were not actually created for films or music videos but actually for folk/fairy tales. It is also clear that this music video has a crescendo and a climax. The crescendo is clear as they are shown storming through trees and finally seeing the helicopter and trying to make it in time so that the helicopter can see them and rescue them with the climax being that the helicopter does eventually rescue them.
I believe that in this music video time is represented best through the use of Ellipsis editing due to the structure of the music video being quite linear, however parts of the music video are unrealistic to what would actually happen (i.e. randomly breaking out into a dance sequence) but Ellipsis editing best describes this music videos use of time. This is shown by having them all wake up on the beach and them grabbing those clothes off the hanger, then cutting to them wearing the clothes as they storm through the forest. It goes on to them breaking out into dance with lots of back up dancers then finally being rescued by the helicopter which is all shown within a few minutes. The enigma code in the video I think would be how did they arrive on the island and will they be able to escape. As it isn't revealed until the end that they escape, this enigma of escape certainly drives the video until the very end which keeps the audience interested into whether they will escape. Binary oppositions are used to express the themes in the music video as it's a much more condensed narrative than you would get in a hollywood film, for example imprisonment vs escape, or strength vs weakness which are clear themes in 'Survivor'.
By Harry Luke Mulvany
Well done Harry, this is detailed summary of the video in terms of narrative theory. You clearly understand the ideas and are able to apply them as well as show how the video challenges them. This is really important because of course music videos are usually 3 minutes texts as opposed to a 2 hour film, and so quite often it is difficult to apply classic theory to them. In the exam it will be really useful to show how your own video both follows and challenges theory, whether it's narrative, language, audience or genre. To improve, make sure that you identify any binary oppositions as these are particularly useful in music video when the narrative is more suggestive.
ReplyDeleteIn answer to your question I think this is a valid point. The enigma certainly seems to be both how did they arrive on the island and will they escape. The enigma of escape drives the narrative forward and keeps the audience interested.
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