Applying Theorists

Vladimir ProppCharacter Type Who is this in the music video?

1. The villain (struggles against the hero) The villain in the music video of Taylor Swifts is the girlfriend of the boy who Taylor Swift’s character is in love with.

2. The donor (prepares the hero or gives the hero some magical object)

The donor in this music video would be at the part when Taylor’s character decides to go to the dance, and walks in a nice dress, which attracts attention towards her, which then results in the boy turning his attention to her, and they both tell each other that they love each other by holding up a sign.

3. The (magical) helper (helps the hero in the quest)

The helper would be the character who the girlfriend of the boy Taylor Swift is in love with, as the boy catches his girlfriend (the villain) talking, which causes him to break up with her and find someone else, who is Taylor.

4. The princess (person the hero marries, often sought for during the narrative)

Taylor Swift’s character is the princess, as she sings about her wanting the boy it focuses on.

5. The false hero (perceived as good character in beginning but emerges as evil)

The girlfriend is the one who is the false hero, as we see her looking friendly as she drives up to pick up her boyfriend, but then gives Taylor’s character an evil look, leaving us with the idea that she is a false hero.

6. The dispatcher (character who makes the lack known and sends the hero off)

The people in the dance room make a path for Taylor’s character to walk down, which is where the boy turns around and knows he has fallen in love with Taylor’s character.

7. The hero [AKA victim/seeker/paladin/winner, reacts to the donor, weds the princess

Taylor Swift’s character would be the hero, as she is the one looking for happiness and to tell the boy that she is in love with her.

2. Shortly after the happy relationship we find out that Taylor’s character likes the next door neighbour. We know this because she is holding up a sign which reads ‘I Love You’. Taylor holds this up when the boy from next door shuts his curtains, therefore doesn’t see the message. At this point in the narrative it is reflecting on the stage of the disequilibrium, because something has gone wrong. 3. The disequilibrium is resolved and the equilibrium is reinstated, as Taylor gets over what has happened and moves on, and to do this she dances in her bedroom to music, trying on different outfits. 4. The equilibrium is disrupted by another character who is the boys girlfriend. This starts when Taylor and the boy are talking on the bench, and then the girl drives up to the boy to collect him. 5. The disequilibrium continues, as the boy breaks up with the girl, as he see’s her talking to another boy 6. The disequilibrium is repaired when Taylor goes

Tzvetan Todorov

At the start of ‘You Belong With Me 'by Taylor Swift we see the theory of Todorov’s which is based on the Equilibrium theory.

1. At the very start of the music video we see the stability of the relationship between the boy and the girl, showing that they are happy with their relationship and what it is at that moment. The use of over the shoulder shots, close ups and mid shots show us that the boy and girl must be friends and already know each other quite well. From the POV angles it makes us see where their relationship stands, which is as just friends at this point.

Claude Levi-Strauss Claude Levi-Strauss is a social anthropologist, which involves him studying people. He looked at tribal cultures and their stories and myths. The stories reflected on culture and morals, which are expressed through binary oppositions for example; lucky – unlucky.

Some of the binary oppositions expressed through the narrative of Taylor Swift’s ‘You Belong With Me’ are:

Happy – Sad

Love – Hate

Good – Bad

Fun – Serious

Reality – Fantasy

Slow – Fast pace music

Diegetic – Non-Diegetic sound

Friendship – Relationship

Love – Cheating in the relationship

Victory – Loss

Disappointed – Happy

Impressed – Unimpressed