Feminist / Post-feminist Analysis: I Wanna Go

Britney spears from jamiedear

Postmodern Analysis: Telephone

Telephone from jamiedear

Music Video Forms: Hybrid

Jason Derulo – What If (Hybrid: Narrative, Performance and Conceptual)

 

This music video is a hybrid because it has both a narrative and a performance and it is also conceptual in the way that the narrative is reversed and is told from end to beginning and then from beginning to end. The video begins with a couple setting up their new home and talking about who’s going to get the last box from the van. The woman then goes to get a box from the removal van but on her way back, she ends up getting hit by a speeding car. He tries to save her and the sound of a clock ticking begins. The clock then starts to go backwards and so do the images / the video. Their relationship is then shown to us from end to beginning and as the video progresses, she starts to disappear from each event and in this way, he is saving her from her death in the car crash. This is the narrative because he narrates their relationship. This also shows us why this video is also conceptual because it is going backwards and she is disappearing in each frame thus it is a very visual and artistic piece. This is also why it is a performance because not only are there sections where he is singing to the camera and performing, but it is extremely edited and is created in a variety of shots. This is why this music video can be seen as a narrative as well as a performance and in some ways, a conceptual video.

 

Music Video Forms: Hybrid

Beyoncé – Irreplaceable (Hybrid: Narrative and Performance)

 

This music video is a hybrid because it has both a narrative and a performance. The performance appears mainly at the end where she is on stage singing to an audience however elements of performance feature throughout due to editing. There is also a narrative running throughout. This narrative follows the story of a man getting kicked out of a woman’s apartment because she finds out that he’s been having an affair. He loses everything that she bought him and the video ends with her realising that she can do better and finding another man – hence the performance on stage at the end because she’s telling people that she doesn’t need a man and that she can move on.

Music Video Forms: Conceptual

Sia – Chandelier (Conceptual)

 

This music video is a very physical and visual piece. The artist doesn’t feature at all throughout the video and the video only features a young girl wearing a nude leotard and a wig dancing around an apartment. She is not singing but is almost acting out the lyrics through dance. The video somewhat juxtaposes the lyrics and the song because it’s all about a chandelier which we can imagine to be quite a royal and expensive aspect to a home. Therefore the fact that it is set in a plain and dirty looking apartment shows that the artist wanted to emphasise the message within her song; this could be that whether you’re from a rich or poor background, we can all achieve success. It is also quite a creative and different music video because it is all choreographed and there is no editing whatsoever; it is all filmed within one shot / take. This is why this music video is conceptual.

Music Video Forms: Performance

Lady Marmalade - Christina Aguilera, Lil' Kim, Mya, Pink (Performance)

 

This music video is a performance because it is not only set on a stage and in dressing rooms but the four girls are singing and dancing to the camera. It’s all about the Moulin Rouge and so they are all made up and in quite extravagant costumes. There is a strong relationship between the video and the lyrics because it’s all about burlesque and the fact that they are performing in burlesque costumes strengthens this idea that women are sexualising themselves for their audience. This therefore creates entertainment value for the audience because they are performing a song in quite a sexual and appealing way. Throughout the song there is also a switch between different scenes / areas. This is obvious because as each girl sings, they each sing a verse or so, the room changes hence showing that they are all in different positions. On the chorus however this changes and they all come together and they all perform as one. This is choreographed hence also showing this performance element.

 

Music Video Forms: Narrative

Sam Smith – I’m Not The Only One (Narrative)

 

The message behind this video is that her husband is cheating on her with another woman; he’s having an affair. The video shows the lies and deceit and shows the heartbreak that the wife goes through as she finds out and knows what he’s doing. The video starts off with the wife offering breakfast and the husband leaving quickly hence even from the beginning we get the sense that the video is about the downfall of their relationship. As well as this, it starts off quite normal with the birds singing etc. and this allows us as an audience to see that something is going to go wrong because it seems too good to be true. Throughout the video we get a variety of different scenes. It switches from the wife to the husband and what is happening in both their lives; we see two sides of the story and of their relationship. We see the wife crying and burning his clothes whereas we see the husband drinking and having sex with another woman, all whilst the wife is drinking alone and crying. The fact it switches ensures that the audience are aware of the fact that the wife knows about what he’s doing. This therefore leads the audience to sympathise with the wife because we know that she is heartbroken and distraught about what he’s doing with someone else. These all relate back to the song and lyrics because it is about someone knowing that their other half is cheating on them. This is why all the emotions within the song and lyrics are evoked through the music video because we see this anger, hate yet disappointment and sadness that we may not necessarily get from just listening to the song – it visualises the lyrics. At the end of the song however, it essentially goes back to the beginning so she walks out of the house seemingly happy and ends where she started; hiding her true emotions so she doesn’t ruin this ‘perfect’ life she has with him. This cyclical structure is significant because it shows that she can’t / doesn’t want to get out of their relationship.