Narrative in Music Videos

Terms for describing Narrative

Narrative/ story/ plot
Syntax of the plot
Protagonist
Antagonist
Climax/ crescendo
Equilibrium – Disequilibrium – New Equilibrium
Enigma Code – Drives narrative by an unanswered question
Proairetic/ Action code – Drives narrative through anticipation of an action’s resolution
Linear
Non-linear
Circular
Parallel narrative
Convergent narrative
Interweaving narrative
Impressionist narrative


The video for ‘Virtual Insanity’ by Jamiroquai utilises a loose narrative structure that draws out the tensions and darkness of the song. The dancing protagonist (the singer Jamiroquai) is shown trapped within a padded cell, dancing and performing in an elaborate and visually flamboyant manner during each verse, whilst the movement to the choruses are each accompanied by cutaways (to which the camera eerily tilts, rather than cutting) of cockroaches, ravens/ crows and, towards the very end, a puddle of blood emanating from the position of the camera/ viewer. These cutaways increase in intensity and metaphorical darkness, building on the song’s refusal to give way to another chorus and instead using bridges and middle-eighths. This creates a narrative structure whereby the video becomes more intense and more symbolic of a fragile mental state, thus reflecting the title of the song. The video rejects entirely any sense of a final ‘new equilibrium’; instead it slides into an increasingly dark and dangerous state.

Marilyn Manson’s vide Tainted Love (released as a single from Not Another Teen Movie) begins with a familiar scene of an all-American teen party, complete with cheerleaders and jocks. This initial equilibrium is immediately disrupted by the visually-contrasting ‘goths’ who the antagonist Manson leads into the teen party. This disequilibrium continues throughout the video, being emphasised as the party slips into greater ‘debauchery’ with the onset of each chorus, until towards the end most characters have moved to ‘the dark side’ and a new equilibrium is established: that of the dominance of goth imagery. Towards the end of the video, Manson is no longer outsider, is instead king, and in this way the video utilises the narrative structure to establish a sense of the outsiders becoming dominant. The appeal to the audience is clear: …

Nirvana’s ‘Heart Shaped Box’ video, directed by Anton Corbijn, utilises abstract and non-literal narratives which are different for each verse and are disconnected from one another in order to create a sense of disconnection and moral emptiness. The iconography of crucifixions, black and white, hospitals and good/ evil evokes a sense of morality and also of death. With Kurt Cobain performing mani(a)cally in the foreground and the blurred images of the rest of the band in the background, the directors also creates metaphors for isolation and alienation.