Todorov’s Theory of Equilibrium

You Belong With Me- Taylor Swift

The Theory…Todorov suggested that:- Stories begin with an equilibrium of status

quo where any potentially opposing forces are in balance.

This is disrupted by some event, setting in chain a series of events.

Problems are solved so that order can be restored to the world of the fiction.

1. A state of equilibrium (stability) at the start.

2. A disruption of the equilibrium by some action.

3. A recognition that there has been a disruption.

4. An attempt to repair the disruption.

5. A reinstatement of the equilibrium.

There is stability at the beginning of the video because the audience can see that this is a romantic story about two college students who are flirting

across two houses

The stability continues until it is disrupted by another character who goes off with the male character.

The equilibrium is disrupted again when we see that the male character has broken up with the other girl.

There is an attempt to repair the disruption when the first two characters meet again and confess their love for each other, referencing the beginning

of the video.

The equilibrium is reinstated as the two characters kiss as the song finishes. This reinstates that equilibrium that was stable at the beginning about the

two characters being in love.