Narrative and Feminist Theory

Our aesthetic vision for our music video allowed us to explore many areas of narrative and feminist theory after it's production. During the process of making the video, it was clear to us (and part of our original plan) to focus on women's suffering and their vulnerability. Our actresses conformed to many media stereotypes of women in a modern society of being reflective and vulnerable, but they also subvert many preconceptions of passive women, as this blog post will explain.

PROPP's Narrative Theory

Vladmir Propp identified 'spheres of action' whereby he identified characters in media and literature based on folk tales. For example, women are categorised as 'the princess' who is a 'reward' for the man who rescues her, giving her a passive and objective role.

Whereas, our video goes against his patriarchal theory, and both Anne and Emily are presented as individuals who actively resolve their loss of love in their lives by dealing with it together. After losing her husband, Anne is left alone reflecting on their memories, and Emily does the same after losing her boyfriend. The two narratives come together towards the bridge of the song to show their collective response to grief.

CLAUDE LEVI-STRAUSS's Theory

Levi-Strauss created a theory of 'binary oppositions' where narratives and characters within it could be paralleled in opposites. Our use of an elderly and young couple's love creates a clear contrast, but subverts the stereotypes held in society as they are shown to be similar. Many people would assume that in old age, the love grows old with the couple, and the affection diminishes. But in our music video, both couples act in a similar manner; holding hands and showing physical affection. 

ROLANDE BARTHES's Narrative Theory

Rolande Barthe's own vision in terms of narrative included the idea of 'negotiated meaning'. He argued that the reader produces new meanings when reading or viewing a text, making  use of previous experience as well as the text itself. 

In this sense, our audience can relate to the loss represented the video. They are positioned as being able to identify with the break up and providing empathy with Anne being alone. 

TODEROV's Theory

Tzvetan Toderov developed a theory of there being five stages to a narrative:

- an equilibrium

- a disruption of this by an event

- a realisation of the disruption

- an attempt to repair the damage of the disruption 

- a restoration 

Our narrative subverts this theory of equilibrium because the disruptive force which occurs (the death) happens outside of the narrative of the music video. The equilibrium in the video is clearly the memories represented by flashbacks, and the restoration is provided by Anne and Emily dealing with their loss together. Our narrative does not follow the clear structure of five stages set out by Toderov due to the amount of prolepsis and analepsis which occurs between the flashbacks and the reality. 

(The flashbacks in our video stand to represent a sort of equilibrium for the narrative)

(The method of dealing with the pain of loss through companionship is an ethos reflected through our narrative, one which provides a restoration in the narrative.)

Molly Masters