Todorov's Theory Of Narrative

Todorov suggested that conventional narratives are structured in 5 stages.

1 - A state of equilibrium at the outset - everything is OK and balanced.

2 - A disruption of the equilibrium by some action - something happens to create disorder.

3 - A recognition that there has been a disruption - characters realise that something needs to be changed.

4 - An attempt to repair the disruption - characters try to make everything OK.

5 - A reinstatement of the equilibrium - there is a happy ending.

This applies to the conventions of the pop genre because the songs are usually about a relationship. There is normally a couple at the start and then they break up and in the end they sort everything out and get back together or move on with other people and are happy. This fits in with Todorov's theory as there is disruption then a happy ending.

Todorov's theory also fits in with our narrative. Our narrative starts with a girl walking around school content and then people start talking about her and she ends up being bullied. The girl then stands up to the bullies and they realise that they need to be nice to her and then in the end she stops being bullied and everything is fine again.

Stuart Hall

Stuart Hall

Stuart Hall is a media theorist who specifically focuses on audiences and how they interact with what they watch and their reactions to the story lines and each character. He explains it through the 

encoding and decoding theory.

Encoding and Decoding theory

Dominant reading – the reader fully shares the text’s code and accepts and reproduces the preferred reading in such a stance that the code seems natural.

Negotiated reading – the reader partly shares the texts and accepts the preferred reading, but sometimes 

resists and modifies it in a way that reflects their own position.

Oppositional reading – when someone watches a film or program and feels the opposite about a certain character than the director intended them to. 

"Music videos are simply an extension of the lyrics" Andrew Goodwin