Analysing Narrative in Music Videos

The Kooks-Naive


The music video 'Naive' by The Kooks contains a protagonist male and, an antagonist female within the narrative (she has obviously caused a problem for the protagonist).
   Time and narrative work alongside each other well within this video through, most evidently, various flashbacks. At the start, a slight enigma is created as to what he is in search for. This is then answered by the series of flash backs. Established through the soft bright lighting and soft frame, we as an audience understand that these are personal memories (almost dream like from the soft 'haze') to of the protagonist, in contrast to the dark, unclear reality of the night club. The flash backs show narrative progression in the sense that the audience are now aware that the protagonist is in search for a girl, hinted at through the lookalike at 1.13.
   The girl within flashbacks is then introduced into the 'dark' reality, therefore creating another narrative, only this time, of the girls night; this is otherwise known as a convergent narrative because, as we see at 3.08, the two characters meet, bringing the two stories together. These converging narratives create a sense of isolation, as they highlight the evident separation between the untied flashbacks and the now, lonely narratives. Emphasis upon isolation is further created through the use of focus pulls, blurring the 'outside world' from around the two main characters.
This music video also follows a linear narrative (supported by the structures verse-chorus-verse) as we follow the protagonist and antagonist until the end, in a rather straight forward order (excluding the flash backs). This linear narrative and conclusion of both characters suggests a possible sense of new equilibrium; they are definitely not getting back together (?)