TODOROV'S NARRATIVE THEORYBy Molly Maddison

The 5 steps are:

• Equilibrium

• Disruption

• Realisation

• Restored order

• Equilibrium again

This theory applies to music videos, particularly those that are narrative based i.e. Last Friday Night by Katy Perry.

Todorov's narrative theory states that most stories or plot lines follow the same path and that there are 5 steps in this path.

Equilibriumis the first part, the beginning of the story will often be quite peaceful and seem normal.

In Katy Perry's "Last Friday Night" after the introduction equilibrium is established when we see her character sat in her room doing puzzles, as she is dressed like a stereotypical "geek" this seems quite normal, comical, to the audience.

DisturbanceThe second part of a story is a disturbance, this is where a problem will arise or something which disturbs the happiness.

The disturbance in Katy Perry's "Last Friday Night" is when the audience becomes aware of the party going at her neighbours house, which she clearly doesn't want and therefore this disturbs her

RealisationThe next part of the story is a realisation, this is where everybody realises what the cause of the disturbance is and chaos ensues.

The realisation in Katy Perry's "Last Friday Night" is where she is given a makeover by her neighbour as this is when she starts drinking and presumably the party moves over to her house.

Restored OrderThe fourth step is the part of the plot where some characters attempt to fix the problem caused by the disturbance and the realisation.

Personally I don't think there is a sense of this in the plot of Katy Perry's "Last Friday Night" as we don't see any characters attempt to clean her house or hide the mess from her parents etc.

Equilibrium AgainThis is the part of the plot where normality resumes, so in the video for "Last Friday Night" by Katy Perry this is when her parents return the next morning and the party is over.