Narrative theory - Music video - Pool - State of mind

Propp

The hero of the narrative is clearly the girl, even if it can be argued she is anti hero due to her almost villanous job. By the end however she is most definitely the hero, as shown through low angle heroic shots. The young male character is actually an countertype to the 'princess' role, as is the female being the hero actually, as the role of the princess is typically a woman. This represents the band as being different and willing to make a statement about sexism and how everyone should actually be equal, a very positive image for the band. There is of course a villain, who is quite stereotypical due to his grim setting and costume along with his motives. It could be argued that the villain is also the dispatcher as he sends the hero on her journey that changes her to become a true hero. 

Strauss

There are two opposites presented in the video, first of all there is the heroic woman and princess like man, not only opposite because of gender but also because of their power levels. The other opposite is of course the classic hero and villain dynamic, shown through cross cutting between them and the conflict also. 

Todorov

Todorovs circular narrative theory fits nicely to this video. The equillibrium can be one of two things; either the woman going about her job as usual, or the man sitting peacefully at home. The disequillibrium is then either when the man is kidnapped or when the woman sees what the villain does to the man, both events that are negative and set in place the next steps. Realisation comes when the woman stops her car and realizes that what she is doing is wrong, which leads to her to the attempt to repair stage in which she kills the villain and saves the princess. For the new equillibrium, the shot at the end of the video showing the woman and the man at an equal level signifies that they are partners now, and will work together. 

Barthes

The enigma code can be applied to this video as halfway through the video it seems as if the hero is just going to walk away, so the audience has no idea what will happen next. The cultural code can also be applied as the video presents a countertype to typical gender roles, so it is testing the audiences morality on if they accept it or not.