Narrative Analysis

I have chosen to analysis the song ‘Blank Space’ by Taylor Swift as part of my Narrative Analysis. This video is a convention pop music video as it features the main conventions of music videos, narrative and performance. This allows the audience to feel more connected with the song and the artist, it also allows the audience to represent themselves in a certain way, which Taylor Swift has done.

Tim O’Sullivan (1998) – argues that all media texts tell us some kind of story about us a culture/set of cultures. This is apparent in Taylor Swift’s ‘Blank Space’ music video, as the narrative of the music video depicts Swift as a ‘serial-dater’, a woman who is obsessed with love though she is never able to hold a man down. The video shows Swift and her love interest doing several activities such as horse riding but she soon suspects that because he is texting another woman he is cheating on her, which leads her to crazy and begins to vandalize his car and destroy a heart shaped cake. This leads to the love interest leaving Swift, but as he leaves another man arrives. Love and breakup is a common theme used in music videos, thus relating to us as a culture and audiences may be able emphasize with the plot. Swift has purposely presented herself as boy-crazy and a ‘serial-dater’ as it is the way the media have represented her to be, Swift uses this to her advantage as a joke on anyone who takes her image seriously. Swift has made this joke by over emphasizing the sexist caricatures attached to ‘crazy’ woman as they are acted out for the audience’s amusement. This music video shows that Swift has full creative control over her image and isn't afraid to use it to mock efforts to stereotype her.

Kate Domaille (2001) – argues that each narrative can be held in 1 of 8 narrative types. Taylor Swift’s ‘Blank Space’ music video fits into the Romeo & Juliet narrative even though it is a dysfunction relationship, as the video is about her ability to find another man once she’s done with you. But due to the emotions shown by the characters and the values that are reflected in the narrative are very typical of a love story narrative. The video also fits into Candide, the indomitable hero who cannot be put down, but this is only apparent if you know that Swift it poking fun at the media’s representation of her.