Genre Research: Looking At Indie-Rock Videos (Narratives)

After looking over a variety of genres of music videos, we went into more depth into our chosen genre, indie-rock, choosing a number of music videos and applying narrative theories to them. We have chosen indie-rock as it is a perfect compromise in our group as our taste in music ranges from rock to indie, so we decided on the hybrid genre to appease everyone in our group. I like the idea of working with indie-rock because the videos we found amongst our group were very interesting, most of them having stories behind them in a structured narrative, while others were mainly performance-based. This gives more of a variety to what we can do when we make our video, as the videos we found of the indie-rock genre were quite different in their own ways so we won't have a strict guideline that we have to stick to when making a video for this genre of music.
Below are the videos I looked at:

Jake Bugg - Seen It All

Propp: The main character would be classed as the 'Hero' as he is the one who is on the 'quest'. There are other characters in the video but the majority of them are background characters and do not play a crucial role in the narrative of the video, except to present the fact that the main character is alone as no one interacts with him. However and one point in the video, the main character attempts to get the attention of a female character through a cafe window, implying that she is important to him. This gives the impression that she is the 'Princess' character as she is something he aims for.

Strauss: I would class the binary opposites in this video as life vs death as it is revealed at the end that the main character has in fact been dead throughout the entirety of the video, amplifying what he has lost through the lack of interaction with other characters and not being able to be with the girl he wants; therefore presenting life in a positive way and death in a negative way as it prevents him from having things he wanted.

Barthes: The enigma code is present in this video as the video goes on because the audience begins to ask questions as to why nobody is interacting with the main character. It is also obvious in the opening of the video as we wonder why he is covered in blood, and again in other moments of the video where police arrive and the main character walks away, acting suspiciously. At the start it seems as if he has beaten someone else up and it is their blood on his shirt, but in the end we are told that it was his own blood and he was a victim of violence. This links to the action code as the audience try to solve the problem of why he is avoiding the police, as they try to figure out why he would have something to hide, and what that thing is. I also think that the semantic code is present in this video as the audience is directed towards another meaning which is beyond the story of this man and his journey to realising that he is dead. This links to the binary opposites of life and death, with the video presenting a further meaning of the importance of living your life. The video works well with the lyrics "I've seen it all," reflecting death and that there is no more for him left to see now that he is no longer living. I think the semantic code to this video is that in the end, death in inevitable so we should see as much as we can while we are alive, but that may just be my personal interpretation. The symbolic code is used in the representation of the main character, as he acts suspiciously around the police, and starts in the video covered in blood, so the audience assumes that he has done something wrong and is possibly the person that the police are looking for. This links as well to the cultural code in the video as the main character is shown in street locations and public bathrooms and hangouts, suggesting that he is quite a common character and hangs out in these places a lot. These street-wise characters are often associated with street violence and aggression, which is highlighted through the blood on his shirt at the start of the video, and his suspicious behaviour around the police.

Todorov: 

EQUILIBRIUM - covered in blood, cleaning himself off, getting on as usual

DISRUPTION - people are ignoring him, police show up

RECOGNITION - gets away from them

ATTEMPT TO RESTORE - goes to a bathroom again, gets a drink, stays away from others

NEW EQUILIBRIUM - sees his face on the news, realises he was a victim of violence and is dead

I don't think this video sticks to Todorov's narrative theory exactly, but there are aspects of it in parts of the video. The narrative of the video is chronological, but the realisation of the problem comes at the very end of the video and acts as more of a twist in the story as opposed to restoring a new equilibrium.

Oasis - Wonderwall

Propp: The band members would be classed as the 'Heroes' due to the fact that they are the most present in the video and they act as the main characters in it. Other characters, much like the Jake Bugg video are background characters, a lot of them playing instruments or doing random things such as reading a newspaper or juggling.

Strauss: It is hard to identify any binary opposites in this video because it is very random and the clips are quite similar. The only contrast i can find is the coloured objects against the black and white visual to the video, but i do not think that represents anything, it just emphasizes the objects (e.g. guitars, hats)

Barthes: The enigma code in this video is used throughout as it does not necessarily have a structured order to is, and it is a compilation of random clips that fluctuate between the band performance and other characters. As it is unexplained, it leaves the audience wondering what is going to happen adn why these visuals are being used in the video. I do not really think there is an action, symbolic or cultural code embedded in this video but i would say that there is a semantic code present in that there is an additional meaning. I would say that the additional meaning to the video is one to say that everyone is the same and it doesn't matter if you are a little strange (the clown) or a normal, common person (man holding a newspaper). It kind of groups different kinds of people together as one.

Todorov:

I don't think Todorov applies to this video in a traditional 'story' sense but there is a structure to the performance of the band. They come in, perform the song as well as show clips of other things and then then leave after performing.

Arctic Monkeys - Black Treacle

Propp: The video follows separate characters so I would class all of them as 'Heroes' as they are all on a journey of some sort. I also think the convict could be classed as a false hero as he believes himself to be a hero but he is typically a bad character due to the fact that he was in prison and took another character's clothes - which gives the impression that he is on the run.

Strauss: I think there is an element of good vs bad in this video but it is not biased towards any side. It shows both sides, the runaway bride perhaps representing the 'good' as she is dressed in white and appears distressed, and the convict most likely representing the bad as he is dressed in a prisoner uniform and appears intimidating, holding a knife and looking down on other characters. However, I do not think there is a distinct contrast between the two as they seem to be showed side by side in this video. The main focus is just on the characters, especially the convict.

Barthes: The enigma and action code are present in this video as not everything is fully explained, causing the audience to want to solve a problem or know what resolution there is. For example, audiences may want to know what happens to the characters, especially the convict and if he successfully gets away or if he is caught and sent back to prison. The symbolic code is used when we see the convict, as we instantly assume that he is a villainous character due to his prison uniform, and when he picks up the knife. It could be argued that the cultural code is used as well due to the fact that we usually associate prisons with villains at first glance due to the way the world works before we question whether a prisoner is rightfully accused or not.

Todorov:

EQUILIBRIUM - convict in prison, bride running in the dessert? lost?

DISRUPTION - convict is released on parole? prison still keeps tabs on him (apparent through the wires they attach to him when he wears a suit)

RECOGNITION - he escapes parole and ends up outside the prison walls

ATTEMPT TO RESTORE - he takes another character's clothes in order to disguise and blend in

NEW EQUILIBRIUM - he has escaped for good, free?

The Vaccines - Post Break-Up Sex

Propp: I would class all of the different character in the video as 'Heroes' because they are all going through the same kind of journey (dealing with a break up). The band would also be classed as 'Heroes' because there is a lot of focus on them and they are key to the song. They could also be classed as 'Helpers' because they are nto going through the same thing as the heroes but are helping them through the song. 

Strauss: The video includes the binary opposites of love and hate, through the aftermath of a break up, showing many crying, sad characters after having been in relationships which they obviously cared so much about.

Barthes: The enigma and action codes are used as the audience would wish to resolve the characters' sadness and also want to know why they are in that situation. The cultural codes is used in the sense that we are all familiar with the trials and tribulations of relationships even if you have not been in one, especially through the media, and that is apparent in the way in which the characters' emotions were portrayed in the video - they all reacted in the same way; crying.

Todorov:

EQUILIBRIUM - characters in the aftermath of a break-up, solemn

DISRUPTION - band plays the song

RECOGNITION - characters begin to get very sad and cry

ATTEMPT TO RESTORE - ?

NEW EQUILIBRIUM - the characters are now all distraught and are crying

When we shared the videos we'd found in our individual research with our group, we accumulated notes on the similarities and differences in the several videos, as well as looking at what was conventional of the indie-rock genre. These were some of my favourite videos from this genre of music due to the story told and the visual elements of the video, as well as the uses of pace and narrative.

Kodaline - High Hopes

The 1975 - Robbers

We liked these videos from Kodaline and The 1975 especially as there was no performance, and both told two different stories very well. This appealed to us as it is the kind of thing we would like to do in our music video and it was helpful to see how it was done in other videos of the indie-rock genre. We also liked these videos because they followed a simple narrative structure that enabled us to easily understand what was happening and follow the story being told without dialogue.