Research & Planning - Music Video & Narrative; Vladimir Propp

Vladimir Propp suggested that story lines are motivated by various character roles and functions. These Character roles consist of; The hero who is the centre of the story and will try and seek something, this person can either be a likely person who will be either stereotypically muscular and handsome, or a slight outcast who becomes the hero to earn their place in society. The hero is usually a male role, although it is possible to challenge this and use a female. The "princess" character function is the motivation for the hero to complete his challenge, the princess is usually a female although once again it is possible to be a man. The villain in the story is someone or something which will obstruct the hero, this prolongs the story adding interest and suggesting there will be a climax. A helper is a character who aids the hero along their path. This person may be aiding in heroic actions but is usually not considered as heroic as the main character. Finally there is a sender, this is a character who will send the hero on a quest, or perhaps send the villain to prevent the hero. This double role is also applicable to other characters such as the helper, who may help the villain. All together these roles help create a deeper and more interesting story line.

In this video for "Gives You Hell" by The All American Rejects, there are two houses. One contains a very smart man and his wife, the other contains a rougher looking rocker man with his girlfriend. These two houses rival each-other and therefore each man is a hero, as well as each-others villain. This creates an interesting story, since it depends upon whos' side you view the story from. The helper in this story is also, ironically the opposite man's wife, as in both households the wife opposes their man's form of revenge and seems to side more with their neighbour. This poses them as both the helper and the princess for either man. This unusual twist concludes with each man swapping lives/wife's, therefore each man conquers his quest, and receives his "princess".