Propp's Narrative Theory and Music Videos

1. Propp’s Narrative
Theory

2. Vladimir Propp was a Russian critic and in the 1920's analyzed
over 100 Russian fairy-tales. He believed it was possible to
classify every character into a certain 'type' and their actions
throughout the film into defined roles. His theory is useful as it
is able to show similarities and connect completely different
films together, however sometimes it doesn't work or isn't as
easy as it seems to put any character from a film into one of his
character types; it mostly works for fairy-tales.
In the next slides you will see his 8 character types and their
roles which he describes as functions that are needed in order
to make a storyline. With changing values in society (especially
when it comes to fairytales) I believe Propp's character types
are still relevant, however can be changed in ways such as one
character taking on two roles or just one of the character types
not existing - as they may not be relevant.

3. The Hero
-Leads narrative, usually seeks something such as a
quest or tries to solve a mystery.
In ‘Frozen’ Ana is the hero. Propp implied that the hero
would usually be male but this goes against some modern
contemporary media texts. Ana is the hero in 'Frozen' as
she sets off on a quest to find her sister, help her and
bring back summer to Arendale.

4. The Villain
-Gets in the hero’s way or try’s to disrupt the hero and
sabotage the hero’s end goal.

5. The False hero
-A character that falsely assumes the role of a hero
In ‘Frozen’ Prince Hans takes on two roles, both the false
hero and the villain. This is because he falsely assumes
the role of a hero whilst he deceives the people of
Arendale that his intentions are good, when in fact he is a
villain that is trying to sabotage Ana's quest of helping and
finding her sister, by trying to kill her (Elsa/the sister).

6. The Heroine
This is a prize or reward for the hero, usually in the form of a
prince or princess. The heroine can possess, or just be,
something the hero and villain are after.
In ‘Frozen’ Elsa acts as the Heroine. This is because should
Ana succeed in her quest to find her, Elsa will be her reward.
The hero has been fighting to try and save her sister and the
villain is also after Elsa to try and kill her. Ana earns her reward
as she sacrifices her own life for her sister's when Elsa
unfreezes due to their love for each other. This is also a
different take on Propp's typical character roles because it is
one of the few films that teaches children that love can be
strong in many ways; not only through a romantic relationship
(which frozen reveals, can be deceiving), but through the love
for a sister.

7. The Father
-Doesn't necessarily have to be a father however is an
authority figure usually of the heroine or hero.
In the beginning Elsa also acts as a father in terms of
authority having authority over Ana as she asks for her
blessing to marry Prince Hans due to the fact her parents
are deceased. Elsa shows she is definitely not in favour of
this marriage due to how unrealistic it is, therefore taking
on the role of a parent/father too.

8. The Helper
-The helper helps the hero by offering support, they would
often act as a sidekick
In ‘Frozen’, Christoph is the helper as he helps Ana (the
hero) on her quest to find Elsa, caring for her along the
way.

9. The Donor
-The donor can help the hero by providing them with
something whether that may be an object, advice,
information or a special power that would help them
complete their quest

10. The Mentor
-The mentor teaches and guides the hero and would send
them on their way
In ‘Frozen’ I believe Olaf is the Donor and Mentor as he
donates his advice to Ana as she is about to give up and
die by telling her that 'some people are worth melting for'
reminding her that love is strong and she must fight for
her sister. He also encourages and helps her get out of
the locked room and realize Christoph is her real true love
whom she must kiss in order to heal (which leads onto her
sacrificing the kiss and her life, for her sister).

11. As you can see, some characters take on two roles and
two different characters can have the same role, therefore
even though I do for the majority agree with Propp's
theory I believe it needs to be updated to fit in with
modern contemporary media texts or could just have
some flexibility in saying that some of the rules can be
changed depending on the story and it's characters.

12. How does this theory fit into
music videos???
I don't think Propps theory fits into music videos as well as some other theories, his
theory is more suited to short films due to the designated character types, however his
theory could subtly fit into certain music videos. In most music videos there is a set
narrative with at least some of Propp’s character types.
Take 'Black Magic' by Little Mix, Little Mix are the hero's as they solve the quest of
trying to become more confident/pretty in order to turn heads because they have the
recipe for the 'black magic' that is needed to do this. The villain is the blonde girl that
tries to flirt with the boy Little Mix are after, as she is sabotaging their goal, and the
heroine is the male. So as you can see, some of the character types are used, however
not all - also the 'donor' character role comes in an inanimate form of the potion - which
also challenges the usual conventions of Propp’s theory.
There is almost always a hero, a villain and a heroine in every narrative therefore in
that sense it fits well into a music video however I believe his theory would be more
suited to a media product where the characters could properly express themselves
through genuine speech over lyrics - so a short film.