production log

our group has finished our filming and re-shooting before the deadline. We are happy to have done this as it puts us in a good position going into editing which we have only just begun, we have uploaded all our footage onto the computers and have decided to cut down the footage as we feel it is too much footage too work with. We believe this will save us time, our group has delegated the editing between us. There are 2 groups of 2 doing the editing our group.

Feedback

Mase, I am happy to see that you are up to date with all researcg and planning work. You have also made an excellent contribution to the video production. Well done.
Targets: 1) delegate the editing between your group to ensure that all have hands on experience of this and that you all agree key decisions about the editing
2) use peer and self assessment to make any improvements to the video.

production log

Since last updating the production log our group has done even more filming. Our filming includes green screen footage, covering some lines that we have not done footage for. we are know to the point where we have to film for 10 lines of our music video. We are going to do some filming today if all goes right this will put us in a good position for meeting our dilming deadline. If we manage to film today, we would be able to get the reat of the filming done by thursday amd friday.

production log

Since last updating the production log, our group has done more filming for the opening verses of our music video and more scenes in central London. So far our group has done half the filming for our music video. we are hoping to meet our deadline by working extra hard this week. We have a schedule which will allow us to finish before the deadline if we follow the schedule.

Production log

During these couple of days we have been doing filming with our new artist. We have done filming in central london and an urban estate. We are planning to do some filming today with our main artist again, if we manage to do this we will be back on track in terms of doing footage we have done with our other artists. We are also planning to go to central london on saturday with our main performer and the main girl in the video.

Feedback

Mase, your blog is completely up to date as per the checklist - very well done! This blog is nicely organised and the use of slide shows is an effective way of presenting some of the key aspects of your research and planning.

Revolution of Pop music

The revolution of pop properly began after the thriller music video made by Michael Jackson. His was the first video to present music in almost like a film style. This led the way for how music videos, would then be constructed. Other artists like Madonna and Prince also continued to follow this trend leading to a new way of presenting music videos. These big name artists have even influenced modern time music artists like lady gaga, Britney spears and Justin Timberlake. Making music videos in to small films has been successful because it has given audiences another form of entertainment as opposed to just listen to the song. Another reason as to why pop music videos have continued to be successful is that they give audiences a deeper meaning of the lyrics and understand the song better.

Production log

So far, we have complted and uploaded our storyboard, shooting schedule, photos of performers we are considering to use in our muic video. Our group has even complted a presenatation on vidula codes that we want to construct in our music video. In addition, we have completed a 1 st draft of our cd front cover, which we have decided to call wretchorespective. We feel as though this isa good title for wrewtch 32's debut album. Our group now still has to complete the editing of our vox pop which will be helpful as it will allow us to devolp our editing skills. Our group must also take pictures of our main performer for the ancillary texts and begin some filming in the following weeks.

questions actually used for vox pops

What do you expect to see in a music video of this genre?
Which music TV channels would you expect to see this music video on?
Why do you watch a music video?
what themes or narratives do you expect to see in a music video of this genre?
How do you think a male performer in this music video should be represented?
How do you think we can make an RnB/ Grime music video original?

images of other performers we may use

This a actor we may use for our music video, if we can arrange suitable times to do dome shooting. we feel as though she has a look that is suitable for our music video, we need a actor to be wretch 32's girlfriend in the music video.

other pieces of equipment we may use

generic codes

.
Generic conventions
- Items of Mise en scene such as rings, bangles and necklaces/ expensive jewellery are all generic for an R&B/Hip-Hop video
- Clothing will range from stereotypical attire for the main grime artist, his spouse and other minute characters in the video in order to fit into the conventions of the genre appropriately and aim at our main target audience well. However the costumes will also have a sense of casualness to them, that can illustrate a less intimidating and more sophisticated/ laid back feeling to the performers and the video on a whole, which will be useful to subverting the conventions because of the romantic tone that the video will possess.
- Dark colours are often used to portray negative feelings of the artist (through the grime genre and somewhat stereotypical portrayal of artist from a Marxist perspective)
- Bright and vibrant colours however will also be used to show the artists positive feelings, which will connote well towards the song as it is meant to be positive and uplifting, and therefore also subversive to the genre.
- R&B video's tend to be performance and narrative based
Generic codes of R&B/ Hip-Hop
Technical codes
- Many two shots can be used to show the two people (Boy and Girl) together (highlights romanticism that couple share).
- Tracking shots and performance shots of the artist towards their "lover" in the video is also generic and will convey their relationship to higher gravity, virtue and significance.
Symbolic codes
- Interactions with the other model who is playing the part of the lover such as; touching, holding, deep stares into their eyes and a common generic symbolic code is when a male/female holds their partners chin and gazes into their eyes as an example

video plan

Wretch 32 and Haydon actors will perform in front of the green screen doing the performance scene, this is going to be done by us because we have seen performance scenes in a lot of Grime music videos. So for us not to include a performance scene would have meant that our music video does not look properly like a grime music video which is essential in attracting your target audience.

The next part to our video would be wretch 32 properly introducing himself and talking about him and his girl, In this part of the video we want to include some narrative scenes. These narrative scenes would be of wretch 32 and his girl going through minor difficulties, we may even include a love triangle as we feel there are parts in the song where he says there maybe a another invlved in the situation.

The third part to our music video is a performance of Haydon, performing his part of the song. The character Haydon is not going to be included in the narrative scenes because we feel as though this will blur the storyline between wretch 32 and his girrlfriend, we dont want to confuse audiences so we opted out this idea. In the performance scenes we will try to shoot Haydon from a range of angles and use some close ups to engage the audience and withhold their interest. There may also be performance parts where both Haydon and wretch 32 will be together, so that there is some variety to our music video.

The next part of the music will focus back on wretch 32 and his girlfriend we will show them together having a good time in a range of places which we are thinking maybe their neighbourhood, central london, out to dinner, at a funfair and other places where they can enjoy themselves. we will want to show how they have progressed by changung location to more sophisticated places as the scenes move on.

In between the different scenes where wretch32 and his girlfriend are going out we will show Haydon performing the chorus, we will try to make this subtle as we do not want the audience to be put of from the jumps in scenarios. there where also be a combination of performance and narrative towards the end closing the video. Our group wants to also include stop motion or some other technique within our video which we may possibly do in the end if we are able to because we have not thought of how we will do this so far.

shooting schedule

Shooting schedule

First week shooting:

Date: Monday 11^th October – Sunday 17^th October

We will hope to get the performance shots done within these dates.

Date: Monday 18^th October – Sunday 24^th October 2010

Within these dates we hope to get some footage for the narrative scenes.

Date: Monday 25^th October – Friday 29^th October

Within these dates we are attempting to get more footage from the narrative scenes but at another location.

Date: Monday 1^st November- Sunday 7^th November 2010

Within these dates we are hoping to get more footage for the narrative scenes within the video.

Date: Monday 8^th November – 22^nd November 2010-10-03

Within these date we hope to go over and reshoot any parts of the music video we feel need to be improved.

Date: Monday 23^rd November – 30th November we hope to get the final pieces of footage done within these dates.

Date: 1st December -19^th December- get all filming and refilming of both performance and narrative scenes done, so we can move on to editing after holidays.

locations

initial ideas

possible main performers

the reason why we want to choose kyle for our music video is because of the image he has, which we feel can fit into our music video. He has also had past experiences of making music videos and is a firm admirer of grime music video, so he can give us some input and ideas when shooting. his past experiences may also help him pose and perform right so that we capture good footage.

The reason why we want tara as an actor is because she studies drama and is very keen in gaining as much experience as possible in acting. we want her to be wretch 32's girlfriend in the narrative scenes in the music video. Our group feels as though tara's previous experience in drama plays and musicals will help her do well for us. Another reason as to why we may possibly chose kyle and Tara is there availability to us they live near us so travel should not be a issue.

Skills we will need to develop to do well in cousework

The skills we will need to develop are:

• time management
• meeting deadlines
• editing skills
• camera work and shots
• communication and teamwork
• hard work
• encouragement
• delegate work according to skills
• photo-shop skills for cd front cover, back cover, 2 inlay cards and magazine ad.

storyboard

vox pop in construction photos

Evaluation of vox pop

The answers we recieved from our target audience when recording the vox pop gave us some ideas as to what to include in our music video. One good answer recieved from the audience as to how we can make our music video more original is that we should not make our performers very stereotypical, we feel as though the song gives us enough freedom to make our performers less stereotypical in the narrative within the music video. Grime artists are represented as tough, womanising and flash people so in our video we may take the advice we have recieved and subvert some of these representations of grime artists. Another idea we had become inspired by in our vox pop interview was that we should include a love triangle, as this is a theme very commonly seen in Grime/RnB music videos.
A way that we are going to keep our music video original is by representing the main artist as caring and mature in some scenes as this will subvert the stereotypical representation of Grime artists. one of the biggest challenges our group will face is attempting to prevent our music video from being to generic. We want to include some conventional scenes in our music video such as choreographed dancing, representation of artist as tough and down to earth in some scenes. This is because we still want to appeal to a target audience who are appreciative of grime music videos. By making our music very unconventional we feel as though our target audience would not be able to identify our music video as belonging to the grime genre.

production log

In this week I have completed most of the tasks on research and planning, I only need to complete a presentation on visual codes, shooting schedule and the editing of vox pop. The things I have done this week along qith my group are copying of lyrics, lyrics anlysis, themes that should be constructed in video, props and equipment list, recruiting of actors and research. The work we have done has given us ideas as to what to include in our music video and helped us a lot. Our group feels as though we will complete all our research and planning tasks before the deadline.

Themes in music video

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Props_for_music_video_(media)[1]

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Equipment list

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our song: Me and you (wretch 32 ft haydon)

aboutartist wretch 32

Wretch 32
Wretch 32 (real name Jermaine Scott) is a grime MC and rapper from Tottenham, North London. He was a member of the grime collective "Combination Chain Gang", before forming The Movement with Scorcher, Ghetto, Devlin and Lightning. Despite his claims to be a grime MC, Wretch has faced frequent criticism from dedicated grime fans, who accuse him of making "bait" hip-hop which he attempts to pass off as grime music. This is due to his tendency to spit over hip-hop sounding beats. He is also often associated with the TMT crew, also from Tottenham, due to his close relationship to fellow Tottenham rapper Cell 22. The pair have made several songs together.
After years of endeavour, Wretch 32 is now recognized as one of the leading urban artists that the UK has to offer. In 2009, he performed in every city in the country and to date his music catalogue has independently sold over 15,000 units. Already this year, Wretch 32 has been honoured with the Best Hip Hop award at OMA (Official Mixtape Awards) and he now plans to expand his profile and clothing line Wretchroboys.

Wretch 32 is heavily supported by radio stations such as BBC 1Xtra, Kiss FM and Choice FM. He has even won an award from BBC 1Xtra to acknowledge his high volume of radio play. His renowned word play has made him a firm favourite amongst DJs and captured the heart of audiences not only in the UK but across Europe. In fact, despite never being signed Wretch 32 has performed in venues which include The Indigo O2, The BBC Big Weekender and the Hip Hop Kemp Festival in Czech Republic.

Wretch 32 already has a popular twitter with over 10,000 followers, a blog and now launches his new website Wretch32.com with a free mixtape. He is currently working on his new album Black and White which is due for release later this year.

lyrics

Me and you, me and you (Haydon)
N I ain’t ever said that I was (Wretch 32)
leaving you (H)
Coz u aint never given me a (W)
reason to
its just me and you, me and you, me and you (H)
N i aint neva sed I was (W)
leaving you (H)
Coz u aint given you me a (W)
reason to
its jus me and you (H)

Im saying im sky fly, dark skin galaxy (W)
and with my smile, she cant stay mad at me
im a wild child my last name's casualty, so i like seeing nurses in outfits
she can wear the skirt, i'll work with the trousers, woah look i aint perfect, im clownin
my egos a problem we're working around it,
but he a throws an option to further the outings,
me and you, me and you (H)
We're out of this world but the earths got us grounded, i can give your index a circle around it,
ring.., its worth every pound is,
bling.., but thats only when the times right, the diamonds will shine like your smile when your outside,
grim.., I know that your down like 3-2, im down like me... too,
sing (W),

You got me feeling right. You girl i cant deny. You words i cant describe, because i jus cant get enough of..
You got me feeling right. You girl i cant deny. You words i cant describe, because i jus cant get enough of your love (H)

Look and we aint never falling out, coz she knows what the rules allow, and if her phones engaged, i just text her call me now, exclamation my juice aint water down,
i tell her blatant, n when we fool around, i always see the back of her n she aint walkin out,
i only got her tab now cos i bought her gown, but honey money aint a thing coz its all about (W),
me and you, me and you (H)
N I ain’t ever said that I was (W)
leaving you (H)
Coz u aint never given me a reason to
so lets jus keep it like that, n we can stay close coz i feel it like that,
i make notes, believe i like cash, and you can stay home n be in like rags,
n we wont break the oaths coz jesus likes that (W),

You got me feeling right. You girl i cant deny. You words i cant describe, because i jus cant get enough of..
You got me feeling right. You girl i cant deny. You words i cant describe, because i jus cant get enough of your love (H)

Look i aint sayin its really love, im jus sayin that she cheers me up,
on a bad day girls come n go n i am tired of the campaign, my chrystals got me tired of the champagne, but you don’t get closer then us,
we share the same bed n I thought the sofas enough, n on her bracelet it says there always in love, n it hurts me to say this aint only a crush (W),

You got me feeling right. You girl i cant deny. You words i cant describe, because i jus cant get enough of..
You got me feeling right. You girl i cant deny. You words i cant describe, because i juscant get enough of your love (H)

Girl you're all that i've got, n you're all im thinkin of, you are everything I want, everything that i need, we aint gotta sing much all i need is your touch, n i'm falling in love, (ohhh) with you baby (H)

I said im feeling you baby, I said im feeling you baby,
I said im feeling you baby, I said im feeling you baby, I said im feeling you baby, I said im feeling you baby, I said im feeling you baby, I said im feeling you baby (H)

music tv channels

Research into a Music TV channel which may distribute my product
MTV Base
Is owned by MTV Network Company and launched in 1999 in the UK. Mostly shows music videos from the genres Hip Hop, RnB, Grime, reggae and Soul. MTV Base is available in the United Kingdom, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland, the Republic of Ireland, Kenya and South Africa. The channel was previously available in the Netherlands, Germany and other European countries but was replaced by MTV Dance in some territories from March 2009.

Kiss
This is a music channel owned by Box television channel, launched in 1998. The music channel predominantly plays music from RnB, Dance and Hip Hop. The television channel was created by Guy Wingate who was the original creator of the kiss 100 radio station.
Daily Programming
• Deaf Jams - Music videos with sign language.
• Fresh Kiss Cuts - The newest urban music of the moment.
• Friday Night Garage - Non-stop new and old garage tunes.
• Good Morning Kiss! - New and old urban music videos to start the day.
• Kissalicious - The very best classic and modern urban tracks.
• Kiss Party Flavas - Non-stop urban party music.
• Kisstory: Rewind Thru The Years - Non-stop classic urban music videos.
• Kiss Urban Hitlist - The biggest urban music videos.
• Late Night Jamz - Urban music videos.
• Masterclass - One artist’s entire music history with facts and album statistics.
ViVa

A music channel, which has recently changed its name in the Uk from TMF to Viva. It also shows entertainment programmes. It is famous for showing uk top 40 every week. In the Uk the channel was launched in 2009. They show music videos of all genres especially pop, rnb and Hip Hop videos. The channel is available on freeview channels in the UK and originally the channel came from germany where it was launched in 1993.

4music
A music channel which is limited to the uk and some Ireland digital TV providers. It is owned by Box Television Company, who also own channel 4 in the Uk. The channel is free to own as it is shown on freeview television. The music shown on the channel is predominantly Hip Hop, pop, Dance, RnB and rock. They are a relatively new channel having only been launched in 2008. There slogan is “music and more”, and there sister channels are 4 channel, E4, more 4 and film 4.

lyrics analysis

Lyrics analysis
This song is sung by Haydon and wretch 32, wretch 32 is a predominantly grime artist whereas Haydon is an RnB artist. The main performer of the song is wretch 32, he is discussing his relationship in this song. Wretch 32 has made many songs about his love life; this is one of his more famous ones. He is an unsigned artist who is relatively well known in the Grime scene.
The opening verse of the lyrics of the song, reaffirm that this is a love song, as the Haydon singer says “Me and you”. This shows that this singer is talking about a relationship with a girl, as very few if any grime songs are based on homosexual relationships. We then here wretch 32 explain that he will not leave his girl, this represents him as caring which I think our group will have to take into consideration when thinking of how we will represent the main male performer. Wretch 32 then describes the reasons as to why his girlfriend likes him, e.g. he says,”with my smile she can’t stay mad at me”. This represents the artist as confident and comfortable with himself, this is a stereotypical representation of grime and hip hop artists. This alpha male representation is something our group will try to mediate in our music video. The fact that wretch then says “my egos a problem, were working around”, shows that he is aware of his over confidence and need to please, which is unconventional representation of a grime artist, giving our group a option to make the main performer less conventional. The mentioning of another male suggests that there may be a love triangle involved, which is a theme that we may also be able to incorporate into our music video.
In the next verse wretch wretch 32 shows that he is committed to his relationship, as he mentions the idea of marriage in the lyric, “i can put a ring around your finger”, this is also an unconventional representation of a grime/ hip hop artist as they are normally represented as disrespectful towards women. The chorus then plays where we hear the singer Haydon, expressing his care for his partner. He says, “you, words can’t describe”, this a quite stereotypical representation of an rnB singer as these type of lyrics are commonly seen in RnB music videos.
In the next verse we hear the artist wretch 32 acting like a alpha male once again, as he shows his supposed authority over his girlfriend. He says, “She knows what the rules allow”, here wretch 32 is claiming that there are certain rules which his girlfriend must abide by, making him look like the more superior in the relationship. The representations of wretch 32 we see in this verse reflect the stereotypical representation of grime artist in music videos. We are also given this impression of wretch 32 in the following lyrics where he says “money ain’t a Thing”, here he shows off that he is reasonably wealthy. This is commonly done by grime and Hip Hop artist, two very similar genres, as this is a genre in which artists are very money motivated and like to show their wealth and success.
In the next verse we here wretch 32 assert his affection for his girl, he says, “she makes me smile on a rainy day”. This lyric once again represents wretch 32 as a caring and affectionate person, especially towards his girlfriend. Here wretch 32 is not being represented as a stereotypical grime artist as grime artist tend to be portrayed as “tough guys” , who are not very emotional. We also her from wretch 32 in this verse that he in the past was with a lot of girls but has matured and changed his ways, he says, “ girls come and go, I’m tired of the campaign”. This lyric shows that wretch 32 is trying to settle down and commit to one girl.
In the next verse we hear Haydon proclaim his affection for his own girlfriend, just as wretch 32 had done previously. This is a conventional representation of RnB artists and something the audiences would expect. He says, “all I need is your touch”, which shows that Haydon is very passionate. The song ends with wretch repeating “all i need is you baby”, this ending is similar to the opening of the song in that it makes it clear that the songs main theme is love.
Overall, we can say that this song is represents the main artist both conventionally and unconventionally considering the genre of the song. There are some verse where the artist, wretch 32 is represented as caring and affectionate, which is not a stereotypical representation of grime artists. However, there are also verses where wretch 32 is represented as a macho alpha male and the more superior in the relationship. The two different sides to wretch 32 identified in the lyrics shows that in our music video we can have some creative freedom considering the fact that it is a grime song. Our group will also consider making the artist less stereotypical considering the lyrics are allowing us to, also this will help us to make our music video more original.

Narrative theories

Tzvetan todorov- equilibruim


All stories start in a state of equilibruim, which is then disrupted, setting in a motion of chain events. The resolution of the story is the creation of a new/different equilibruim.





Equilibruim>Disruption>Resolution/ Re-equilibruim


This narrative structure can be found in most Hollywood films.





Vladimir Prop

• Propp was essentially interested in the narrative of folk tales. He identified a theory about folk tales being similar in many areas.



• They were about the same basic struggles and they appeared to have "stock characters".



• He identified a theory about characters and actions as narrative functions; they provide structure for the texts.



• The Hero- a character that seeks something



• The Villian- who opposes or actively blocks the hero's quest



• The Donor- Who provides an object with majical properties



• The Dispatcher- who sends the hero on his/her quest via a message


• The false hero- who disrupts the hero's success by making false claim


• The Helper- who aids the hero.


• The Princess- acts as the reward for the hero and the object of the villains plot


• Her father- who acts to reward the hero for his effort

These characters appear in many mainstream Hollywood films.

Claude Levi -strauss: Binary Oppositions

Meanings, include narrative, depend on binary oppositions - he explores these in terms of underlying typical themes rather than events. Conflict helps to drive the narrative.

Man vs Woman, Young vs Old, hero vs villian, West vs East, Good vs Bad.

questions for Vox pox

1) What do you think will and wont work with this song?

2) What do you expect to see in a music video of this genre?

3) Which music TV channels would you expect to see this music video on?

4) Why do you watch music videos?

5) What themes or narrative's do you expect too see in a music video?

6) How do you think a male performer in this music video should presented?

7) Do you like to see some effects in a music video and what kind?

production skills

Camera techniques

• Framing:- where people, props etc. are placed within the frame (the composition)


• Angles:- high angle / birds eye view (filmed from above)


• Aerial shot (filmed from a helicopter)


• Low angle/ worms eye view (filmed from blow)


• Movement- pan/ panning (camera moves on pivot lef, right)


• Tilt - camera moves up or down on its pivot (pan up/ down)


• Track / tracking shot -(camera attached to moving object to follow the action)


• Zoom - camera moves in on an object / moves out from the object


• Short take- shot lasts for a short time


• long take -camera lingers on the frame

Editing: cutting and splicing the footag to create the finished text.

Editing techniques

• Quick cuts:- shot moves rapidly from one frame / shot to the next


• fade:- one shot fades away to black and the next shot fades in


• Dissolve:- one shot fades out as the next shot simultanously fades in


• Wipe:- a shot is literally wipped off the screen by another


• 
  
  Slow motion:- a sequence is slowed down


• 
  
  Fast motion:- a sequence is sped up


• 
  
  Stop motion:- a series of still shots or drawings etc. are taken with a still camera and mixed into a moving image programme to create a digital animation sequence

Feedback

Mase, your textual analysis pieces are detailed and intelligent - well done. You have also included research into the key theoretical perspectives. You now need to provide evidence of planning work e.g. initial ideas and evidence of storyboarding.

production log

So far i have completed the textual analysis, quantative research, further research and found a song. I am now along with my group hoping to find a actor for our music video who is over 21 and looks mature enough for our RNB, soul music video. We are also looking to complete our storyboard and analysis of song lyrics together. Our group has also delagated tasks to one another to help complete all our research and planning.

Post modernism analysis

Post-Modernism textual analysis
Lady gaga- “paparazzi”
The music video “paparazzi” is performed by Lady Gaga and directed by Jonas Akerlund. The music video is relatively new having officially been released in July 2009. The music video is both narrative and performance based; the narrative is based around the Lady Gaga’s rise to fame and relationship with her boyfriend. The video has many post-modernist features such as Homage/pastiche, intertextuality, binary divisions and references to popular culture.

The music video begins with close ups of flowers and then a cut to a LA mansion. The LA mansion may remind some audiences of those in the TV series Sunset Boulevard (1950); this is an example of intertexual reference. This may give some viewers pleasure if they are able to understand this intertextual reference; it also represents lady Gaga as a creative artist. The close up of flowers in the opening scenes connote innocence and purity, this may be the way that Lady Gaga is trying to portray herself at the start of the music video. There is also an opening title sequence in this music video at the start; this is an unconventional feature of a Pop/Dance music video. The opening title sequence is a feature of classic Hollywood music videos which maybe a hint to audiences that this music video contains a narrative, this is also an example of pastiche. Next we see a mid shot of a flower with lady Gaga written next to it, this further reinforces that Lady Gaga may be trying represent herself as pure and innocent.

Next there is a cut to the main bedroom of the Hollywood mansion, where we see Lady gaga and her boyfriend making love. There is still no music being played which is unconventional of Pop/ Dance music videos but expected in Post Modernist music videos as these videos are more reliant on style and not the content of the music video. Lady Gaga and her boyfriend move to the balcony where her boyfriend pushes her off. This shows that the narrative of the music video is going to revolve around Lady Gaga and her boyfriend’s relationship.

We then cut to the next example of homage, this time of Alfred Hitchcock’s film “vertigo”. Homage is commonly used in this music video for the audience’s pleasure as those who can understand them will appreciate the music video more. Next there is a cut to the first scene where music is being played in, this scenes shows a lady Gaga pull up in a limo in front of her house. Here we finally see a conventional feature of Pop/Dance music videos, which is back up dancers. This scene leads on to the first piece of binary division in the music video, which is lady Gaga’s robot costume making her look half human and half machine. It could also be argued that intertexuality is being used in this scene as Lady gaga looks similar in this scene to the fembot character in, “Metropolis”. Some auduience may gain pleasure from this scene especially if they are fans of this well known film.

The next scene is of lady gaga and female back up dancers, in this scene lady Gaga is showing off her dancing talents. Her costume in this scene is very unusual which may interest those who are into fashion, as Lady Gaga to some may be seen as a fashion icon. Here costume in the next scene is very interesting as she is wearing minie mouse costume and glasses. Here Lady Gaga is making reference to popular culture and maybe declaring her intentions of becoming an icon like Minie mouse. Referencing to popular culture is a stereotypical feature of postmodernist music videos.

Next we see another Post modernist feature of this music video which is blurring of fiction and reality. This occurs in the next scene where the audience are lead to believe that Lady Gaga is getting arrested for the murderer of her boyfriend, which is fiction. The reality which is shown in the next scene is the media attention and press (newspaper headlines shown in video) she gets as a celebrity. The music video ends in a stereotypical Hollywood film style, with the words “the end”.

Overall, we can say that this is music video makes use of many post modernist features which provide audiences who can understand them pleasure. The blurring of fiction and reality may also provide some viewers a form of escapism from everyday life, as they are drawn into someone elses life forgetting about theirs for a while. However, those who are unable to understand the use of homage and intertextuality in this video due to age are left to enjoy the music, dancing and fashion costumes. For this reason I believe this video does very well in attracting large audiences from a range of ages and interests.

Questionnaire results

Questionnaire results

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Goldie: inner city life

The music video for “Inner city life” shows a representation of life in an urban society. The music video illustrates the different problems and situations people in the urban society are in. The music video begins with an establishing shot of an urban estate full of tall apartment buildings. The buildings are shot from a high angle shot suggesting that the people living in them are vulnerable and seen as inferior to society, this would especially be a Marxists opinion as they believe that this is how people from less well of backgrounds are represented by the media. The dark lighting of the shot suggests that life is hard and dull for the people living in this urban estate.
We then cut to a mid-shot of a female singing the lyrics of the song; this shows the audience that this music video is also performance as well as narrative based. We then cut to a family which is possibly living in the urban estate’s kitchen. We see a woman who is possibly a single mother very stressed doing the dishes, with her kids in the background. There is then a cut to the gas meter and then back to her. This is may show that this lady is having problems paying her bills, which makes sense of her stressed out body language. The kids in the background along with the sombre music invite the audience to sympathise with this lady. The high angle shot she is shot from may symbolise that she is inferior in society because of her working class background.
Next, there is a cut to a youth wearing a hoody, which some may believe is a stereotypical representation of youths, as they are being represented negatively. Marxists would say that this representation of the youths is what the masses also believe in, as this is how youths are represented to mainstream audiences. We then see the youths playing basketball and not being a nuisance which subverts the stereotypical representation of youths. There are then cuts in between scenes to the female singer performing which remind us that this is also a performance based music video. There is then a cut to another youth who looks vulnerable which subverts the stereotypical representation of youths. This shows that this music video is trying to give a positive representation of people from urban estates, for this reason Marxists would say that this music video is good.
The next shot shows a BMW convertible in the urban estate. This car stands out as it does not fit in with urban estate, the dominant belief would be that this car belongs to a drug dealer but as this video is subversive some may be lead to believe that the driver is just passing by the estate rather than living there. There is then a semi-circle pan of the camera to show the car; in this pan we see the driver and passenger disappear this may suggest that drug dealers do not last long in this estate.
We then cut to a clubbing scene which is stereotypically represented as a place where people would be taking drugs and drinking especially in an urban area. But in this music video we see that it is just a place where the people in the urban area are just coming to enjoy music. There is an item which we cannot see at first, being passed around the club. At first the audience is lead to believe that this may be drugs but as the music video goes on we understand that this is a cd, which further reinforces the idea that the people in this club are there to enjoy the music. It also once again represents the people in the urban estate positively. We then see a series of shots showing people we have previously seen such as the mother struggling to pay her bills. One of the shots are interesting as it shows a kid riding his bike from a long shot which is shot behind bars, giving the effect that the kid feels imprisoned.
The editing technique shot reverse shot is used to show a woman in her bed and the vinyl player spinning a vinyl cd. The connotations of the vinyl CD spinning around could be that this woman’s life is repetitive and dull. We also see a shot showing two old men smiling showing that all is not bad in this urban estate and that the older generation have good memories of this area. Following this shot we see a rundown car being burnt possibly to remove evidence as it may have been stolen by someone on the urban estate. This shot acknowledges that there are some problems in the urban estate but not to the extent the masses are lead to believe.
A bird’s eye view shot is used to show a female on her bed who we have seen before from earlier shots. We see a female unable to sleep properly possibly because of pressure as this is a word we here repeated in the lyrics. We see a young child appear and then disappear and then we see a male appear and then disappear. The young child may be the woman’s child who she is struggling to look after, hence the reason she is struggling to sleep. But the significance of the male cannot be easily interpreted; most would probably believe that it is the father of the child who is no longer there to support the child and women. This shows the difficult situations that some people in the urban estates have to live in.
Overall, the “Inner city life” music video gives a positive representation of people from urban estates. It can also be said that this video is subversive and goes against stereotypical representation of people from urban estates. Marxists would say that this is a good video as it represents people differently to how they are represented to mainstream audiences. The video represents youths and people at the clubs positively, even though this may not be stereotypical representations of these social groups.

Marxist approach - Music videos

Marxism and the Media

Karl Marx, the founder of Marxist theory believed that the media and its messages could be used for good in the right hands. However, in the hands of what he called the dominant ideology the message could have a dangerously influential and controlling effect on the masses.



The Dominant Ideology

The ideologiacl forces that determine how society functions. Marxists believe that all powerful institutions subtly control how we, the masses, conduct our lives within society.



The Media's Message

Marxists believe that the media plays a significant part in controlling the massesand some would say as an institution it is a greater influence on society than religon, politics and the family (nature over nurture). The supposed subtle dominance with which the media control the masses is also known as hegemonic control.



Hegemony- was an ideological concept first introduced by italian Marxist Antonio Gramsci. He believed that the media message could perform a subtle indoctrination, influencing the manner in which society viewed the world until the message becomes 'common sense', unchallenged by the masses. Hegemonic contol is acceptance of the 'status quo'.



Examples

The amount of coverage football gets in the media (espicially compared to other sports) suggests that people should like it. During the world cup we are encouraged to get behind and support our country.



Lifestyle shows / magazines make it seem normal to own high-end appliances and therefore support the captilist economic system.



Micheal Moore's documentary Farenheit 9/11 can be seen as counter hegemonic as it questioned the Bush administration, an administration that was supposdly elected by the majority of U.S voters.

textual analysis

Umbrella – Rihanna
The Umbrella music video is performance based; it belongs to the RnB genre. The music video begins with a close up of Rihanna’s leg and then pans her whole body. Here face is concealed by a hat making it harder for us to recognise who the artist is. Rihanna’s costume is revealing and shows off her body, which may from a feminist perspective be done to attract a male audience. This is a negative representation of the female gender by feminist, as Rihanna is demeaning herself. Another interpretation of Rihanna’s costume by a post-feminist would be that she is in control and not being forced to do anything but only celebrate her success. In the lyrics at the start we hear a very famous rapper Jay Z promoting his record label and Rihanna, his newly signed artist at the time this music video was produced. The appearance of Jay Z in this music video will help attract a larger audience to purchase and listen to the song as he is a well established artist.
The long shot of Jay Z shows with female backup dancers in the background, the camera shot shows Jay Z in the centre making him look the most important and powerful. This is a stereotypical representation of the male gender as they are made to look more superior when compared to females. Jay Z costume is a leather jacket, baggy jeans and trainers; this is clothing most commonly worn by rappers making Jay Z look like a stereotypical Hip Hop artist. There is also special effects being used in this long shot as there is sparkles of fire raining down on Jay Z and the backup dancers without having any effect on them. The special effects make the music video seem more expensive and professional, therefore making Rihanna look like a high calibre artist to promote her name and music.
Next we cut to a Mid shot of Rihanna performing alone, her costume is all black making her look more like a rock singer as opposed to RnB artist, this costume may have been chosen to attract a larger audience from another genre. There is smoke in the background which may connote that Rihanna is one of “hottest” talents around. A series of different shots in the same scene reveal a drummer in the background which is conventionally not seen in RnB music videos but Rock videos instead, this shows that Rihanna has changed her style possibly to attract a larger target audience. Rihanna is carrying out different poses in this scene of the music video; these poses show that she is also reliant on her looks as well as talent. Feminist would argue that her poses and her costume have been chosen specifically to attract male audiences, the male gaze.
There is then a cut to a different scene which makes use of special effects once again. In this scene Rihanna is spraying around water with her hand; the fact that water is being used ties in with the name of the song “Umbrella”, for this reason the actions that are happening in this scene are not unusual. The connotations of water are purity and freshness, which may be the way Rihanna is trying to represent herself. Rihanna is represented in this scene more positively than in others, as she is made to look more innocent and less provocative. In this scene Rihanna looks more like an RnB artist than in others where she looked rock artist, this may have been done to reassure her original fans that she has not changed her style and music completely. Next there is a short cut to a scene where Rihanna is showing off her ballet skills by balancing the whole weight of her body on the tip of her toes. This represents Rihanna as she is represented as talented dancer, it can also be said that Intertextual references are being used here as Micheal Jackson has performed this dance move in his music video “Billie jean”.
We then cut to a long shot of Rihanna dancing with a waitress like costume; here Rihanna is playing a stereotypical female role. Rihanna’s costume and make up (high heels and red lipstick) in this scene is revealing and represents her as promiscuous, which is a negative representation of the female gender. Also her costume and props are all black making her seem like a rock artist once again, showing the change she has made in her style. However, female artists wearing tight costumes adhere to the conventions of RnB music videos. Also Rihanna’s choreographed dancing is another conventional aspect of RnB music videos, so it can be argued that Rihanna is not subverting the conventions of the RnB music videos in this music video. There is a range of camera shots being used in this scene like others in order to engage the audience interest in the music video.
Next there is a cut to a series of close ups and mid-shots showing Rihanna completely naked and covered in gold paint. Intertextual reference is once again being used as this scene to some Madonna fans would remind them of Madonna’s “fever” video in which she does exactly the same thing. It is also interesting that Rihanna’s music video uses Intertextual references that relate to big mainstream stars of the past, such as Madonna and Micheal Jackson, this may have been done to show her intention of becoming a big success in the music industry. Also the fact that Rihanna is completly naked represents females negatively as sex objects. There is then a cut to a close up of Rihanna in the next scene for a period of time which engages and keeps them interested in the music video.
The last scene in the music video is a choreographed dance performed by Rihanna and male backup dancers. A choreographed dance is a convention of an RnB music video hence the reason why there are many choreographed dancing scenes in this music video. The use of male dancers may have been done to attract female audiences and represent Rihanna as talented as she is leading the dance. The Umbrella prop has been used once again in this scene creating an obvious relationship between lyrics and images.
Overall, this music video manages to adhere to most of the conventions of RnB music videos. However, in some scenes Rihanna does look like a rock artist because of her leather black costumes. The music video does show that Rihanna has changed her style and music in order to attract larger audiences. The music video also uses intertextual references to give pleasure to fans of other big name artists who can understand them. The camera shots in this music video can be interpreted in many ways depending on how audiences read them. Feminist would say that Rihanna is representing females negatively through her provocative clothing and sexual behaviour. Whereas post feminist would argue that this video represents Rihanna as a successful and independent artist trying to become a very successful artist.

Postmodernism

Modernism

• Art/ social-political movement that aimed to reinvent culture that had become outdated
• Roughly occured between 1890s- 1960's.
• A rejection against realism
• divisions of modernism include avante-garde and surrealism
• films/ novels / art were self-reflective of society
• Modernism is self refelctive, it draws attention to itself and the material it uses- E.g. Jackson pollock

Postmodernism

• 1970s onwards
• the breakdown of barriers beween genre and style
• The breakdown of distinction between binary divides (E.g. human and machine)
• Mixing up time, space and narrative
• Emphasis of style over content
• Blurring of fiction and reality / representation and the real
• Becoming more use to a mediated version of reality, than reality itself (hyperreality)

Key terms

Intertextuality- one media text referring to another

Parody-mocking something in an original way

Parody

• The Simpsons parody both high and low cultre to a wide range of audiences
• part of the idea of postmodernism is that there is no divide between high arts and mass culture.

Pastiche-An artistic work in a style that imitates that of another work, artist or period. This is a self-conscious imitation.

Bricolage- mixing up and using different genres and styles. e.g Shaun of the Dead: Zombie mixed with and romantc comedy.

Homage-imitation from a respectful standpoint

pastiche/ Homage

• Generic conventions of a "golden age" Hollywood film of which "gaga" is the leading lady.

Kanye West – Power
The music video for the song power is a concept based music video. Concept based music videos base the whole music video on a theme or idea, the theme this music video is based on is a moving panting. This has been done by Kanye West as it is his idea of showing his power which is a very masculine way of thinking stereotypically seen in hip Hop music videos.
The music video begins with a close up of Kanye west, who is a famous Hip Hop artist, and in the background we can see pillars which are associated with ancient Rome. Around kanye west neck is a chain which is very big, showing his wealth and power. This is a stereotypical representation of males in Hip hop music videos. The camera shot makes it appear as though kanye west is as big as the pillars behind him; this has been to represent Kanye west as powerful and strong. In the first camera shot it can be said that this music video is reflecting the conventions of the genre. The camera tracks out revealing kanye wests costume, which we can see is robes that may be recognised by some as those worn by rich and powerful people in ancient Rome.
The camera tracks back further revealing more women around him, as though he is a king, the costume of the females is also associated with ancient Rome. The fact that they are around him and he is in the centre of the frame suggests that they are seen as inferior compared to Kanye west. This is a stereotypical representation of females in Hip Hop music videos especially as women are portrayed as sex objects for males. As the camera tracks back further we can see that there is even more women surrounding him, it can also be seen that some of them have wing suggesting they are angels, also we can see a halo around Kanye wests head. The halo may represent Kanye wests opinion of his massive contribution to Hip Hop music; this is seen a lot in Hip Hop music videos as the male rappers exaggerate their ability in order to show their self confidence and strength. We can also see that the females in this video are wearing very revealing clothes and being used to make Kanye west look more powerful.
As the camera tracks out further we can see two males fighting with swords, this was popular in Ancient Rome as it was a form of entertainment for the emperors. It also shows power as two people are risking their lives in order to entertain someone, this makes Kanye west seem important. This is a stereotypical representation of males, so it is reflecting conventional representations in the Hip Hop genre. The long shot shows a lot of people with Kanye west in the centre, this shot makes it look as though Kanye has a lot of followers and is popular. The music video ends with the word “POWER” being displayed, with Kanye west at the centre of the letter “O”.
Overall, we can see that this video represents genders very stereotypically. The male gender is made to look more superior to the female gender, Kanye West a male is made to look the most powerful of everyone in the video. The females used in the video are being used to self empower Kanye West and show that he has followers. This video is extremely short compared to the stereotypical Hip Hop music video, this was done to further reinforce the effect that music video is based on a moving painting. Although the costume and props used in this video are not associated with modern times and the Hip Hop genre, they do work well in helping Kanye west look more powerful which is a stereotypical representation of Hip Hop artists. The costume and props used make Kanye west look like an emperor, which was a position that in ancient times held a lot of power. I would say that this is a clever video as it manages to standout from other music videos whilst still managing to fit into the Hip Hop genre.

further research

Gender stereotypes in music: Current research findings

• Men engaged in significantly more aggresive and dominant behaviour.


• Men represented as independent, adventerous, unemotional and competent.


• Stereotypical gendered occupations apparent (i.e. Males as fire fighters/mechanics, women as cheerladers/Waitress).


• women engaged in significantly more explicit, sexual and passive behaviour.


• women represented as objects of sexual advances or as sexual objects


• Sex role stereotyping and negative attitudes towards females


• Women more likely to be presented in provocative or revealing clothing.


• Women portrayed as decorative objects that dance, pose and do not play instruments


• research findings NOT restricted to the Hip Hop genre.

Feminism ( 1960/70's)

• A movement in which women questioned their position within patriachal society and the "private sphere" of "home/children/domestic bliss".


• Serves to uncover, challenge and eliminate oppresion and dominant gender imagery


• women began to debate the narrow range of stereotypes present across all media;


• Women as virgins, mothers or promiscous


• Women as sex objects


• women are inferior to men


• Women as domestic/based in the home.

Sexual objectification and the Male Gaze (laura Mulvey 1975)

• definition of voyeurism: Erotic pleasures gained from looking at a sexual object (who is unaware of being watched)


• Presence of women solely for the purpose of display (rather than narrative function)


• female on display is passive and objectified for a male gaze regardless of viewers gender


• Voyeuristic treatment of female body in 'male' videos- use of dancers as adornments to the male ego


• the inclusion of women fr display is a staple element in music video's - across all genres


• Women connote to-be-looked-at-ness and are the object of the male gaze

Stereotypically 'female' occupations

• britney adheres to traditional gender stereotypes by taing on the roles of:


• secretary, Air hostess, waitress


• Each occupation emphasises highly sexualised costume and behavoiurs

Post-feminism and the female gaze (post-feminism (1980's))

• A re-appraisal of feminist values


• does not strive for 'equality' as this assumes men are the best - they wish to surpass male achievements


• Objected to theories which position them as objects of the 'male gaze'


• identifies a 'female gaze' - women actively desiring men


• Women began to assert their right to dress and be sexually attractive

Post-feminist readings

• Rihanna is not on show for the benifit of male audiences but is enjoying herself experiencing different identities.


• She is successful, independent and in control.


• connotes messages of empowerment/confidence/independence to female audience.

andrew goodwin-music videos

• there is a relationship between the lyrics and the visual( with visuals either illustrating, amplifying or contracting the lyrics).
• There is a relationship between the music and the visuals (again with visuals either illustrating amplifying or contracting the lyrics).
• Particular music genres may have their own music video style and iconography ( e.g. live stage performance in heavy rock).
• There is a demand on the part of the record company for lots of close ups of the main artist/ vocalists.
• The artist may devolp their own star iconography , in and out of theiir vidos, which, over time become part of their star image.
• There is likely to be reference to voyeurism, paryicularly in the treatment of women, but also in terms of systems of lookingh (screens within screens, binoculars, cameras etc).
• there are likely to be intertextual references, either to other musci videos or to films TV texts.

missy elliot- shes a bitch analysis

Missy Elliot-she’s a bitch
This Missy Elliot song is a performance based video, which interestingly contains no males. The video begins with Missy Elliot’s name in large print in a dark grey colour. The size of the text connotes Missy Elliots massive fame at the time of the making of the video, this helps attract people to keep watching the video as this a big Hip Hop stars song. Then the title of the song appears, this can be read in two different ways. One being the feminist approach would say that “she’s a bitch” is demeaning to the female gender and therefore representing the female gender negatively. The other way in which the “she’s a bitch” text can be read is the Post feminist approach. Post-feminists would say that the text is being used to self empower Missy Elliot.
Next we cut to a long shot of Missy Elliot from a low angle walking towards the camera. This represents her as a strong female; her long black leather coat is very masculine like and adds to the impression of missy Elliot being a strong female. She can hardly be seen because of the dark lighting making the video seem dark and gothic like. This subverts the Hip Hop genre as most of the Hip hop videos do not try to go for a dark and gothic effect. This shows that Missy Elliot is trying to be different and unique in a music genre which is very conventional. There is a brief cut to a room with different blue lights flashing, in which Missy Elliot is in the centre. These effects show that this is an expensive music video and that Missy Elliot is a big artist in the Hip Hop genre which is predominantly made up of male artists. This Post feminist would argue shows the amounts that female have come forward in recent years. Missy Elliot’s clothing is unconventional for a female artist for many reasons, first of all because it is not revealing and demeaning towards the female gender which is stereotypically seen in the Hip hop genre. This shows how Missy Elliot is not relying in her looks but talent.
There is then a cut to another shot which shows missy Elliot more clearly but from a side angle. We can see that Missy Elliot is wearing a mask making her appear bold and concealing half her face. This further reinforces the fact that she is not relying on her looks and trying to represent females in a different way, there is also a hint of humour in her costume which may amuse some. We then cut to a high angle shot where Missy Elliot begins rapping, the fact that she is rapping is unusual as there are not many female rappers who attract mainstream audiences. The high angle shot represents Missy Elliot differently to how she was represented previously in the music video, as in this shot she looks more vulnerable. The movements she is making with her hands are similar to that of male rappers, these hand movements are very unfeminine and portray Missy Elliot as a “tomboy”. We then see Missy Elliot walking in a male like manner which can again be compared to how male rappers walk in Hip Hop music videos. This may be her way of showing that female artists do not have to be constricted in how they behave in music videos.
We next cut to a shot of her in a sports car travelling at high speeds, fast cars are normally associated with males so this prop may be used to show that Missy Elliot’s is a bit masculine like. Also the fact that she is driving at high speeds in car may give the impression that she is daring and adventurous as an artist. There is then a cut to Missy Elliot and background dancers who are all female, the dancers are wearing provocative clothing except for Missy Elliot who is not revealing her body. Missy Elliot is dancing in the same way as the others possibly to show that you not have to reveal your body when dancing in a Hip Hop video. This represents Missy Elliot in a positive way which is not very common for a female in Hip Hop music videos. Missy Elliot also uses make up in her video to make herself look less attractive, possibly to show she does not care as much about her looks as other female artist. She is not trying to attract male audiences with her looks but her talent, which most would say is a good message to pass to younger audiences.
The next scene shows Missy Elliot emerging from water with her back up dancers on large “M” platform. This was done with special effects and makes the music video look fancier; it also shows how expensive the music video is. The heavy costs of the music video signify how big Missy Elliot is in the Hip Hop and music industry, it can therefore be said that she is a role model to many females. In the water dancing scene, there is a birds eyeview shot of Missy Elliot and the back up dancers on the “M” sign. The large “M” may signify Missy Elliots fame and success as a female rapper, throughout the video and in this scene dark lighting is used this connotes darkness and sadness of Missy Elliot whilist making this song, this sadness is probably caused by her critics. Although Missy Elliot is not as slim and fit as the other dancers in this scene she still dances and keeps up with them, showing that you do not have to look a certain way to dance in a Hip Hop video. The video ends with a close up of Missy Elliot sticking her tongue out and trying to reinforce that this video is not her being serious but creative.
Overall, i would say that this video portrays Missy Elliot in a positive way through the messages she is trying to send to the mainstream audiences. It may also be pleasing to some fans of Hip Hop music that a female artist is trying to be different and add another dimension to the Hip Hop genre which is very conventional. It is also interesting to see that there are no males in this video, which may have been done to self empower Missy Elliot and the female gender. There is positive representations of the female gender in this music video except for in one scene which feminist would argue the female back up dancers are revealing too much of their body. The music video subverts and does not rely on stereotypes, for example Missy Elliots walking, clothing and props (e.g. fast car).

pussy cat dolls- buttons

Pussycat dolls-buttons
This is a performance based music video, which begins with a mid shot of the famous hip hop artist Snoop Dog. He is wearing clothing which is stereotypical associated with the hip hop genre, for example he is wearing a hoody and baseball cap. Artist which are from the Hip Hop genre are represented as tough and powerful people. Therefore it can be said that the male gender in this video are being represented as the more powerful and dominant. We the cut to a long shot of snoop Dog, which is shot from a low angle making Snoop Dog appear much bigger and look more powerful. Next there is a cut to a shot from which the camera is positioned near to Snoop Dogs Hip, in this shot it appears as though the female singer is only up to Snoop Dogs waist in height. This makes the female singer apart of the girl group seem inferior to the male.
The editing technique shot reverse shot is being used to position us from behind the female singer looking at snoop Dog. The camera is once again positioned from a low angle making Snoop Dog seem much bigger than the female singer, which may connote he is more dominant than her. Also the fact that she has followed his instruction in the lyrics, “Come holla at me”, shows his dominance over her. The female singer is wearing a hoody which may signify she has an interest in rappers; also her clothing is revealing showing that she is trying to also use her looks to attract audiences to the music video.
Next, there is a cut to a long shot from a low angle of the entire girl group performing. The girl shown at the beginning is at the front suggesting she is the lead singer. Here through the lyrics we see that the female characters are challenging the male stereotype through the lyrics,” you keep fronting” and “I aint seen nothing”. Along with the following members of the group the lead singer is represented as a strong woman. This is different to how she was represented at the start, so it mayt be suggested that she feels more powerful with her fellow group members. Post feminist would say that the girl group is the more dominant in this video and that they are exercising their sexuality without being forced by anyone.
In the next scene we see the group walking into a circular structure. Here we see the group performing and acting promiscuously, Feminist would say that they are doing this in order to attract male audiences by acting as sexual objects, they would also think that this is a negative representation of the female gender. The pussycat dolls then begin to dance on a pole structure, this prop may connote that they are promiscuous girl group along with their provocative clothing. This is because a pole is commonly associated with sexual behaviour, it also is being used to show off their talents as some of the girls show there extreme flexibility.
We then see the lead singer go off by herself to a area which has many gold chains dangling. This may show that the female is glamorous and classy. She is positioned in the frame to show her importance and that she is the centre of attention. The fact that she is playing with the chains may show that she enjoys having fun and amusing herself. Through the lyrics she is still challenging the male gender saying “I wonder if I am just too much for you”. Here she is saying that the male she is talking about is not up to her standards. This shows her strength and confidence, representing the female gender positively.
Next we cut to a close up of snoop Dog, wearing sunglasses, a chain and other jewellery props associated with the Hip Hop genre. Here he is now shown from a straight angle, which may suggest that the male and female genders are being represented as equally powerful. The music then changes slightly making it sound like music associated with belly dancing, which is a style of dancing mostly performed by woman for men. This also once again shows off the talents of the group as they are able to show there dancing skills. So it can be said that this dancing scene maybe interpreted in many ways. Feminist would say the girl group are degrading themselves, whereas post feminist would argue they are showing off their talents. We also see special effects showing smoke come of the girls this may connote that they are very “hot” and attractive. There is also a blaze of fire which may further reinforce that the girl group is “hot”. The music video ends with the girls walking away in a confident and powerful manner, making them seem like strong women.
Overall, the “buttons” music video is a video which can be interpreted in many ways. I would say that the females are being represented as powerful and strong woman, as throughout the video they are challenging the stereotype that males are more superior. Some may also say that the video does degrade the female gender because of the provocative clothing and sexual behaviour of the girl group. The male singer in the video it can be said is representged very stereotypically through his Hip Hop clothing and behaviour.