Narrative Paragraph

Tim O'Sullivan (1998) suggests that media texts offer a way of telling stories about our culture. My music video for 'Mirrors' by Justin Timberlake aims to comment on the insecurities many people face in modern day society. The linear, parallel narrative structure follows the story of four separate characters, each of which represent a different but very common insecurity. The use of parallel narrative aims to highlight the idea that everyone experiences some form of insecurity. Furthermore, the omniscient narrative displays to the audeince the similarities between them and this is furhter reinforced by following Todorov's theory of equilibrium-disruption-new equilibrium through each of the four plotlines. Also, using Levi-Strauss' theory of binary opposites as all characters are struggling with the binary opposite of security vs. insecurity.

Genre Paragraph

Roland Barthes distinction between the two types of pleasure links to the intended effect of my video. I challenged convention and expectation by ending the video in a worse state than it began. Therefore, I intended to create jouissance in parts of my video. This means my video doesn't conform to a particular stage in Schatz' cycle, containing elements from both the classical and deconstruction phases. My video raises important social questions to do with ideas of acceptance and belonging, and doing so is a stereotypical convention of genre.

Narrative Breakdown: Mirrors - Justin Timberlake Music Video

Lyric Analysis: Mirrors - Justin Timberlake

 

Narrative Analysis

The linear structure of my music video for 'Mirrors' by Justin Timberlake suggests that it is strongly narrative driven. It uses a parallel narrative structure to follow the lives of four characters. This intends to highlight the idea presented in the video that everyone experiences some form of insecurity. Furthermore, the omniscient narrative style displays to the audience the similarities between the characters and each of their narratives. Repetitious cuts to the performer gives the audience a sense that the artist is telling them this message, therefore they are more likely to pay attention to what the music video is trying to portray to them.