Narrative music videos

  Narrative music videos are one of the three major types of videos made. The idea behind narrative videos is often to tell  story. This story features in the lyrics or is suggested in the lyrics.
the relation to the lyrics is normally divided between contradicting or, non-contredicting lyrics. However some videos play with this idea swapping between the two.
an example of this is the video to Beyonce - If i was a boy.

this video displays images contradicting lyrics towards the start, it depicts a woman acting along with the laddish sub-culture of the police force. However this is contradictory toward the lyrics which make a point in of how she would treat her lover right. While being a negative representation of women showing an emasculated role, this is reversed to show the reality of the scenario  at 3:58. Where Beyonce's character is shown to fit into the  female stereotypes.  

  a mini-film with a beginning middle and end,can also be used alongside as a music videos such as in Beastie Boys - Sabotage.
this video is set almost as a trailer for a 70's Tv Cop show, showing chases action an typically testosterone fueled police men facing off criminals. this video shows a complete contradiction to lyrics.

 Narratives can also be used to tell a story, an example of this is Lady Gaga's paparazzi which tells the story of a fall from success and a slow recovery and climb back to the top. This also has an element of performance such as at 4:25 where we see Lady Gaga dancing.This film also is trying to sell it's self as a film, by giving it a film basis such as a plot line, starting titles and even starting and ending credits. 

Narrative theorists 

Propp was a theorist who argued, whatever the surface difference between stories and fairy tales they share the same internal structure and can be grouped into 8 character roles 

• the villain 
• the hero/ heroin seeks something, motivated by an initial objective or a lack of something.
• The donor- provides an object with magical property
• the helper (heros aid)
• The princess
• Her father
• The dispatcher who sends off the hero
• The false hero

Although his ideas were mainly based on fairy tails, some initial character ideas can relate back to narrative music videos. Mainly on story or film based such as Lady GaGa's paparazzi. 

Levi Strauss studied how 'primitive' societies functioned. he also analyzed and theorized about Binary Oppositions.

• Good  - Evil
• Rich - Poor
• Strong - Weak
• Hate - Love
• Inside - Outside
• Death - Life
• The list can go on almost limitlessly, his theory make the point that everything has an Opposing side in a story.  His ideas can be applied to music videos as all narrative stories have a start and an end with initial end an ending equilibrium this leeds me to todorov.

Todorov came up with the equilibrium theory that all stories are laid out with:

• equilibrium 
• A disruption of order or event (disequilibrium)
• Recognition of that order/event 
• An attempt to repair the damage
• A return or restoration of a NEW equilibrium