1. Narrative in a music video

2. Taylor Swift – You Belong With Me
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Summary of video: In this video Taylor Swift plays the main character, along side a boy
that lives next door to her. Both characters are introduced and straight away you can
see that there may be a possible love story going on. As they commutate through their
windows using paper and pen, the two have an instant connection. As Taylor writes the
words ‘I love you’ the audience now knows of her true feeling, however the boy has
gone so she never gets to share her feelings.
The next day outside both their houses, the two sit and talk, it looks as if they could be
flirting, when the boys girlfriend turns up, she acts completely differently from Taylor,
she seems stuck up and mean. The boy and his girlfriend drive off, leaving Taylor alone.
At the football match, you see that Taylor is on the band team and the girlfriend is a
typical cheerleader, this shows how opposite they are. Later on in the game the
girlfriend is flirting with somebody else and the boy comes over and they both end up
shouting, it seems that they break up at this point.
It is shown that there is a dance going on as the boy asks Taylor using the pen and paper
through the window, she says she's not going as she has homework.
Taylor then turns up at the dance looking completely different, glasses off, pretty dress,
and hair and make up done. She walks up to the boy and shows him to piece of paper
that says I love you and he shows her a piece of paper that he had wrote saying I love
you.
The two kiss as the song ends.

3. Todorov
• He said that stories begin at equilibrium where
opposing forces are in balance. This is then disputed.
• Todorov suggested there were 5 stages to a narrative:
1. Equilibrium – A happy start
2. A disruption of this equilibrium by an event – A
problem occurs
3. A realisation that a disruption has happened
4. An attempt to repair the damage of the disruption –
the problem is solved
5. A restoration of the equilibrium – A happy ending

4. Structure of a music video
Equilibrium
• At the start the audience is introduced to the
main characters that live next door to each
other, it seems as if the boy and girl have
some romantic chemistry.

5. Structure of a music video
Disruption
• While the boy and girl sit together, the boy
goes off with another girl, that looks to be his
girlfriend. This creating a love triangle
between the three.

6. Structure of a music video
Recognition of disruption
• The recognition of disruption when the boy
and his girl friend break up at the football
game.

7. Structure of a music video
Attempt to repair disruption
• A repair of this disruption is when the two
main characters confess their love for each
other, showing the pieces of papers that say ‘I
love you’ on them.

8. Structure of a music video
Re-equilibrium
• As the song finished the two characters kiss,
so the re-equilibrium takes place and all is
good again.

9. Binary Opposition
• Levi – Strauss believed that the way we
understand the meaning of words is not the
actual meaning but the difference between
that and its polar opposite
• For example GOOD vs. BAD
HERO vs. VILLIAN
• When looking at a narrative, we know if a
character is good because there is somebody
bad, to show the contrast.

10. Binary Opposition: example
• In this video there is a Binary opposition, with
Taylor and the girlfriend. Taylor seems like the
nice, sweet girl next door. While the girlfriend
seems mean and bitchy.
• Having these two opposites allows the
audience to route for somebody, this makes
the video more interesting as you are
watching to see who the boy will end up with
out of the two.

11. How does the narrative link to this
song?
• The narration links to this song, because the song
is a about Taylor saying that a boy belongs with
her and not the other person he is with. So the
narration of this video is using the lyrics to guide
the audience through the video, the lyrics make
the video easier to understand as you can tell
that the main character is singing this song to the
boy she likes. Like most love stories, the girl gets
the boy at the end, this is fitting with the song as
it is a love song.