Narrative theory

 I will be analysing one music video in detail, covering how it follows the narrative theory of Goodwin’s music video rules.

I have chosen to do a macro analysis on the music video to the song 'HUMBLE.' by the artist Kendrick Lamar:

 Kendrick Lamar - HUMBLE.

The genre of this song is rap. There are elements of this music video which follow the typical portrayal of music videos in the rap genre; however it has been modified to dominantly illustrate the vision of the artist, Kendrick Lamar, and his lyrics. Aspects that can be shown to contribute to the genre characteristics include the denotation of attire. The mise-en-scene used in this music video in terms of costumes connote that this is a rap video. One of the costumes denotes Kendrick Lamar wearing a white hoodie. This is a piece of clothing that is usually associated with the streets and casual-wear, which is what rap tends to be paralleled with. Along with this the artist is seen to be giving fast hand gestures which correspond to the beat of the music and the lyrics. This is a very common characteristic in music videos of the rap genre. 

These are the most distinct features that demonstrate the genre characteristics due to the fact that this music video is one that really differs from the stereotypical visuals of rap music videos. The white hoodie that was denoted was one of two hoodies as the artist is presented to be wearing more elegant clothing such as a white suit. The hand gestures used whilst Kendrick Lamar is rapping is done very minimally. This music video mainly concentrates on the visual relations to the lyrics rather than how it defies and conforms to the typical genre characteristics. However the examples above show that there are some hints to the genre characteristics which connotes that this music video does follow Goodwin’s rule of demonstrating genre characteristics to a certain extent.

Another on of Goodwin’s music video criteria that ‘HUMBLE’ meets is the relation between the visuals and the lyrics. For instance, the very distinct moments in which this is accomplished are when intertextuality is present in the music video. Denoted at 2:09, Kendrick Lamar is rapping about Grey Poupon which is also denoted in the composition as he is spreading it on bread and giving it to the man in the car next to his car. Here, the lyrics denote a brand called Grey Poupon as well as the visuals of him using it. This is a very common way of relating the visuals to the lyrics of a song and this is one of a few examples in which Kendrick Lamar executes this. There are other, more subtle connections between the lyrics and the visulas, however the very distinct relations come from the intertextual references. The other, more subtle, relationship between the lyrics and the visuals come from lyrics such as the moment in which he raps “if I kill a nigga, it won’t be the alcohol”. This is denoted in a shot of red laser points on Kendrick Lamar which connote that police guns are pointing at him and the artist is moving in an unfashionable manner which connotes that he is crazy or drunk which further connotes that he has killed someone but he is not blaming the alcohol. This is an example of how the lyrics of his rap connect to the visuals.

There are moments in which the music stops or slows down in tempo, to which there are shots that denote the artist Kendrick Lamar and the men around a table stopping and looking at the camera. This conveys a relationship between the music and the visuals as the characters stop when the tempo changes. The characters looking at the camera connote that they are looking to the fourth wall, which may possibly play the role of a DJ, because the music has changed and they noticed. This is a clever effect that I can possibly implement in my music video and I feel that it gives off a sort of humorous tone and this could potentially create a positive vibe from the tension that may occur in my visuals.