Tuesday, 16 June 2020

Rethinking narrative analysis

Rethinking narrative analysis

Andrew Godwin believed that the structures people thought fit with music videos, such as linear, were far from that actual narrative structure of a music video. Because unlike a film or novel, there are parts in songs that are repeated, like the chorus and verses, which you wouldn't see in many other forms of media. Therefore the structure has to be different.
There are three types of structure that he introduces: Illustration, amplification and disjuncture.

Illustration is where the lyrics are telling the story through the music video, and what's happening in the words is literally happening, or perhaps through dance. 

Amplification is where the video adds onto the original meaning, making it clearer and therefore amplifying the expression of the lyrics.
And finally, Disjuncture is when there doesn't seem to be a clear connection between the lyrics and the video, and it is more contrapuntal, with no obvious meanings.

Analysing a music video and finding the structure:
"Formation from Lemonade 2016" By Beyonce 

I chose this video by Beyonce because of the very powerful political message behind it. The lyrics are about black power and fighting against police brutality, as well as referencing hurricane Katrina. Beyonce is the main 'character' in the video and she is also narrating by singing the lyrics, therefore she is creating a lot of the meaning. She often breaks the fourth wall and looks directly at the camera, addressing the audience personally, but many of the other characters look into the camera during different scenes which creates a powerful connection between them and us.

The structure of the song goes like this: Intro, refrain, interlude, refrain, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, outro. It is very unusual, and there doesn't seem to be a particular pattern in the music video. There are lots of different scenes, dances, and characters that interchange throughout the video and in-between and during the sections of the song, so it does not really reflect the repetition in the song.

Throughout the video, the lyrics are explained and amplified, by the visuals. The first time we see Beyonce, she is sitting on a sinking police car as she sings, showing her attitude towards police and a revolt. She sings about black self-love: “I like my baby hair, with baby hair and afros. I like my negro nose with Jackson Five nostrils” as there is a closeup of her daughter in the scene. There is also a breif moment when a man is holding up a newspaper with Martin Luther King on the front page of a paper called "The Truth" showing how she is connecting the meanings of this video to anti-racism and the black leaders of the past.  







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