Narrative Theory
The narrative fits in well with the idea of a "normal narrative" as there is a beginning, middle and an end, which allows the audience to feel safe and secure, knowing that there has been an outcome. As the mass audience to prefer to have a very clear villian/hero, problem, closure etc, this music clearly does that, linking in very well with audience expectations.
Linking Claude Levi-Strauss' theory to Taylor's music video, values and beliefs have been expressed through the use of the binary oppositions, as there is a clear protagonist (evil girlfriend) and antagonist (Taylor). Taylor also meets the needs of Claude's theory in her video with Ed Sheeran, Everything Has Changed. There are extremely clear binary oppositions shown, as the two children play together and then the rest of their class is shown to be of completely different beliefs/interests.
Not only can Claude's theory be applied, but Todorov's theory can also be applied to this video. Todorov believes that there are 3 stages to any story/narrative: Equilibrium (everything is normal), Disequilibrium (something happens to disrupt normal life) and New Equilibrium (everything returns to normal). That is set out in a very basic format, however that is how Todorov beliefs that narratives work. This links to Taylor's video because at the start, both Taylor and the boy are living perfectly normal lives and they begin to chat, however his girfriend gets in the way and gets jealous etc, but in the end Taylor turns up at the ball and they kiss and live happily ever after. So Todorov's theory links extremely well to this video I think, because it fits into his beliefs perfectly.
Vladimir Propp's narrative theory suggests that there are about 8 different characters within every story and sometimes narratives can subvert expectations, however Prop's point was that these archetypes mainly exist because they link into the real world and they're always there. To link this to Taylor's music video, there is a clear distinction of characters and the hero could be classed as Taylor or her lover as he wants to get the princess (Taylor), however as the evil girlfriend would be classed as the villain, she struggles against the hero, so that why Taylor could be classed as the hero. She does kind of 'save' the boy from a horrible relationship. I understand now how Propp's theory can be linked to everyday life and how the characters that he defines will always be apparent. Taylor could also be classed as the donor, as she 'gives' the hero (boy) a sense of hope and happiness by writing to him through the window.
Genre Theory
This song would mainly be defined as a 'love song' and a very romantic gesture if it was to be played to a couple. In terms of generic appeal, I think that the target audience for this song would be teenage girls or younger girls as they have a dream to fall in love like they do in the movies and it'll all be perfect and they'll live happily ever after, linking explicitly to the stereotype of love. This video links to the generic codes of a pop/rock genre, as the songs that are normally categorised into that genre are about love and happiness. This doesn't subvert expectations.
In terms of narrative, I think that the video is the way it is because the target audience of this sort of music and artist are young children/teenager, so therefore needs to have a beggining/middle/end, allowing the target audience to understand the storyline in a simple way. I also think this is why Claude's theory links in well because there are three stages within the video, which include Equilibrium, Disequilibrium and New Equilibrium. This is because it links in with the simpliciy of a beginning, middle and end. Considering this, the genre works extremely well because this is a love story which needs a clear story, allowing the audience to follow the story. This does effect the interpretation of the song because already, I have targetted it as a simple video and a long song, so this is how the target audience will label it. The implications for representation of the artist are apparent because due to Taylor's type of songs and videos, she is classed as an artist who's music mainly targets younger audiences, which mainly classes very young. As she is growing older now and she is in her early 20's, it's hard for her to get out of the loop, much like Miley Cyrus, meaning that a bold statement and change needs to be made to if she wants to change that perception that people have of her.
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