Media Messages- Music Video

With this video having over 635 million, it shows what America is like to him as a black american and the type of stereotypes being portrayed around them. He uses violence as a way of entertainment. He is being portrayed as America. Gold chains- physical bondage, consumerism. Red America values guns over human lives.


Some of the lyrics-
We just want the money
Money just for you

You just a black man in this world
You just a barcode, ayy
You just a black man in this world
Drivin' expensive foreigns, ayy
You just a big dawg, yeah
I kenneled him in the backyard
No proper life to a dog
For a big dog


He’s talking about the contradictions of trying to get money, the idea of being a black man in America. The dancers could be there to distract viewers in the same way black art is used to distract people from real problems plaguing America.  The use of so many famous dance moves show how ultra-popular pieces of culture lose their specificity over time as they become more ubiquitous. The final moments of the video show Gambino running, terrified, down a long dark hallway away from a group of people as Young Thug sings “You just a Black man in this world / You just a barcode, ayy.” Gambino’s sprint goes back to a long tradition of black Americans having to run to save their lives, according to Ramsey, who says one song dating back to slavery in the 19th century was called “Run N— Run.”

Theoretical framework

Learners will develop their understanding of the media through the consistent application of the four areas of the theoretical framework:

•media language: how the media through their forms, codes, conventions and techniques communicate meanings

-  social groups

•media representations how the media portray events, issues, individuals and social groups

- the link between the the issues and the individuals, with texts

•media industries: how the media industries’ processes of production, distribution and circulation affect media forms and platforms

•media audiences: how media forms target, reach and address audiences, how audiences interpret and respond to them and how members of audiences become producers themselves.

Emeli Sande – Heaven

feature their respective artist(s) and are a mixture of performance and narrative, and raise a number of similar representational issues surrounding ‘street life’.

Radiohead - Burn The Witch

does not feature the artist(s) but celebrates the power of narrative and signification and a postmodern emphasis on intertextuality. The video contrasts clearly with the representations featured in Heaven.

Intertextuality is the links between two texts.

Narrative is the connection of events to make a story

Post Modernism- A

 late 20th-century style and concept in the arts, architecture, and criticism, which represents a departure from modernism and is characterized by the self-conscious use of earlier styles and conventions, a mixing of different artistic styles and media, and a general distrust of theories.

Signification- the representation or conveying of meaning.

•A music video can be defined as a filmed and edited performance of a recorded song.

•

•The main purpose of a music video is to promote the single, the album the single is from and the artist to a wide an audience as possible.  To do this the album has to:

•

1.Sell the song in a way that helps the audience remember it from the video

2.Provide the viewer with a better understanding of the song so that they can engage with it visually and audibly

3.Entertain the viewer by highlighting the talents of the artists – dancing, singing performing and their physical appearance.

•Music Videos tend to be categorized in terms of musical genre is for, for example, indie rock, pop or country.  Each genre will follow slightly different conventions

•Task guess the conventions associated with the following genres

–ROCK- experimental, cut scenes, flashing lights, zoom ins, band, instruments, narrative, emotive, CGI, close up- midshots artists, fire, subgenre, dark scene- grotesque, shock, religous, drug use, dark colours

–HIP HOP- storyline, a lot of people, cars, money, sunglasses, if a male singer a lot of females around, performance, dance

–POP- performance, dance, a lot of things going on, fun, bright lighting, colourful, bubbly/happy hedonistic, narrative, elaborate costumes

1.Performance:  this is where we hear the song and see  the artist performing in a number of locations and settings.  The video will cut between locations at different points in the song but we always seethe artist singing. Locations, settings, camera angles and edits are key to this type of video.

2.Storyline:   The lyrics and/or feeling of the song are used to help create a story.   The artist may or may not feature in the music video. These are sometimes known as narrative music videos and may look like a short film with the song in the background

3.Experimental:  These can be storyline and or performance music videos but may not be related to the lyrics or feature the artist.  They may not make sense, but they create a mood, tone or comment that drives the video.  This type of music video is also known as conceptual

This song comes under the pop genre however this song goes with the theme performance and storyline because the performance aspect locates when they are growing up and the insight of all of their concerts, and the storyline aspect is from how they have grown through all their careers and are inspiring artists on their own now.

This song comes under as a sad pop song and portrays the aspect of being a storyline because it shows her past relationship which is to do with the song and how things are different in that house now that he is gone and they are not together, it reflects onto a lot of people as many have gone through difficult breakups. It is quite dramatic from the close ups.

This song is an sad rock song which comes under the experimental category as there is a lot of things going on in the video and it represents both performance and storyline.

Camera- Lots of camera angles have been used in this video to focus on all different types of people and each way they have been represented.
Use bright lighting

Editing- equal parts performance and equal parts story line, dimmed the brightness in wider shots
Mise en scene- Location looks like London
Bright lighting
Sound- Calm

Its focusing on this one person at first to kind of show the vibe for the rest of the music video and what it is going to be about, quite dark lighting to make the blue on his clothes, sound could be quite sad then go to uplifting at the end.

This is an up close shot of a man whose story could be represented through this music video and how their lives have changed to look on the bright side of things which goes with the bright lighting throughout the middle to the end. It looks like a rough side of town in the background.

This is a middle shot of this girl with her back on a wall with angel wings relating to heaven which is the title of the song and the use of the lighting makes it have an orange tint towards it making it quite golden and it's quite a happy sound radiating from it. A contrast of light.

This photo is a close up of some children playing on a swing set and they look very happy which sets a reminder for the good things in our lives, the props is the swing set and the picture has been taken with a curve to have an circle outline.

This photo is kind of a wide shot as you focus on Emeli Sande however in the background there is someone who has been blurred out which could relate to them feeling invisible or no one notices them so she is spreading positivity to them, the lighting is dark in the background and is quite bright on the main person in focus Emeli Sande.

This photo is a close up of a toddler in a push chair which shows how they are in need of their parents/families and how drugs/depression takes influence on their lives and could leave without saying goodbye.

This shows a close up of a mother and a child and shows the light they have in this world with the influences of how reality is now and that's what the normal is with stereotypes for homelessness.

The guy has angel wings on his back which can relate to Heaven, both the place and title, it could show the future for some people, shows they can fight what they are going through and there is till hope.

This photo is a reflection of someone standing in a puddle, they look like they are in a  bulletproof vest, which shows a different perspective from just taking a photo straight into their face. The colours are quite dim.

This photo with a lighter shows their escape from reality by using drugs and alcohol, with in the background there is a man sitting on the floor observing what is happening in front of him.

This clip shows a different side of the music video as it is not focusing on anyone just the background, the brightness is quite light and you have the reflection of the sun towards the camera with buildings and trees around.

This photo is an up close shot of a man who we see in the  beginning of the music video, the background has been blurred and it is quite blank so we focus on him, are eyes are drawn to the contrast colour which is blue.

The first photo is a middle shot with Emeli Sande being quite up close to the camera with her back facing it and in front of her you have someone who you can't see their face but it's like shes going to go help them to the side you have a contrast in colour which is yellow and kind of blurred.
In the second photo it is an close up shot of a man who we have seen in the video already and from his action here it looks like he is celebrating or praying to god hence the video having religious connotations, the background is blurred to focus on him.

This photo is a wide shot view of the sky with birds flying to show a sign of life and hope as they are all together gives a different perspective to the music video and the song, there is a contrast in the sky compared to the birds as they stand out within the light.

In this shot you are focusing on the children playing and these emotions are their natural, with the background being quite bright in the background, at the edge you can see the camera lens where it goes in.

This is the ending shot watching the 7ubj4r

Realism-

This is the opening scene to the music video 'Burn The Witch' which  the bird is portrayed both in the start and ending of the music video. It has links to the film 'Blue Velvet' which the bird is present in both and also relates to The Wicker Man.

This scene is the part  before the business man comes to their village and it looks as though they are planning to do something and try and sugar coat the bad things that are happening in the village, to make it look like they're fine.

This scene people don't realise that he's building the wooden structure which is the Wicker Man later on in the music video where the business man gets locked in and the whole thing gets set on fire, shows the contrast between how its being showed here and then at the end of the video.

This scene shows when the business man and the mayor maybe first meet and it shows the mayor giving him his hand to shake his hand and the business man just ticks off his clipboard showing that he thinks he is better then them all and they're different in terms of what they are wearing and their noses.

This scene shows a painter painting an X in red on someones door with their head peering through the bits of wood in the window, in the olden days when someone had this on their door it meant that they had the 'The Great Plague' and sometimes they had words like 'Lord have mercy upon us'.

This scene shows a see saw but if you look closely, the girl with the blonde hair is actually sitting on a dunking chair, which was one of the trials they used to see if you were a witch, which was that you got your hands tied behind your back an if you were drowned you were seen to be pure because water is pure and if you floated you were seen to be a witch.

This scene shows a woman tied up to a tree with people wearing masks around her carrying swords and they are all rotate in a circle this links to the film 'The Wicker Man' as this exact scene is in the film, reflecting the extent people go to, to try and fit in the norm and not act suspicious.

This scene shows a representation of a cow on the food table with blood, this links to the viking age where if you saw or imagined blood on his food or that his food disappeared, he would expect a speedy and violent death.

In this scene just before this happened the girls were seen to be decorating this noose/wooden structure with flowers to sugar coat the fact that they think death is a good thing and that the girls are trying to fit in and do what people are telling them so they don't act suspicious because then people won't think that they are a witch.

In this scene one of the farmers handed one of the men a bottle of XXX which is poison so they are kind of sending signals to him that he is going to die without saying it, the business mans expression on his face is quite confused as he doesn't know what they are trying to use it for or what they are implying to him however the other man has quite a smirk look on his face or like they are going to do something to him.

This scene shows the statue covered up and people are waiting for the revealing of what it could be and this is a surprise to the business man as well but this is what everyone has been leading up to from the moment the man has arrived.

This scene shows the unveiled statue in which is the Wicker Man, this is what one of the men is building at the start of the music video so it shows all the different jobs people had and what they had to do in society to keep up with the class, we know that something bad is going to happen.

This scene shows the business man being put in the compartment of the Wicker Man statue which shows he is being used as an human sacrifice to the people of the town like they were preparing for his arrival, so it's like they planned on what was going to do and giving subtle hints in the majority of each sections. They do this partly because the guy is an outsider.

This scene shows one of the women lighting the Wicker Man for it to be burnt alongside with the business man, shows the dark side to the village and how quick they are to fit in with the rest of the group to not look suspicious.

This is one of the ending scenes of the music video where all the people are waving with the wicker man burning in the background with the man being on fire in the middle.

Summary of Media Representations and Media Language- Burn the Witch

This song has connotations about persecution and how the media language in the music video reflects the theme of persecution within the song and video.

Normality has many connotations in this video with the use of cheerful lighting and bright saturated colours, reflecting children's television. The language emphasises some other connotations of warmth and safety which includes the paranoia and persecution. They all wear traditional clothing (smocks and folk costumes) these connotate stability and tradition, the editing pace is quite slow and most of the camera movement is primarily static (connoting theoretically).

The narrative follows the protagonist in which the vents become increasingly disturbing, with the cross on the door, the girl on the dunking chair and the fruit pickers, this goes towards the Wicker Man.

Summary of Media Representations and Media Language- Heaven

Social realism is portrayed throughout, the camera work is handheld most of the time and not in focus, naturalism is shown from real people, documentary realism, Emeli Sande is the exception, connotes glamour, breaks naturalism and doesn’t address the camera she’s a character in drama rather than the performance, jumpy editing and cuts to people locations time periods and moods (kaleidoscope) of people and experiences, one striking juxtaposition one low angle shot of a statue of Christ on the cross to a white dress, image of transcendence includes a recurrent low angle of her on a roof top fills the frame, combined with fast pace of editing to bring joy and freedom, narrative disruption wrong moves in the song, enigmatic ending doesn’t provide satisfactory resolution.

This song is full of contrasts, the lyrics make a desire to be a better person with the lure of temptation which leads to the character letting people down, the downbeat message of the lyrics contrast with upbeat nature of the music. The music video reflects these contrasts in its mixture of gritty social realism, reflecting the downbeat message of the lyrics and images of transcendence which reflect Heaven of the title and the upbeat music.

Viewpoints and ideologies- Celebrates the desire to be better possibly a religious message, social realist media language depicts the sorrows caused by temptation but also suggests the power of redemption. 

I think that these viewpoints and ideologies relate to the music video because of the religious terms there is a cross and a statue relating to that aspect, also I think the idea of realism is heavily portrayed from the use of homeless people and the effect that life has on some people and what they turn to. 

Intertextuality- Street life in film and television, 'Top Boy' (Film) Plan B 'Ill Manors', Troubled inner city, urban deprivation.

Poverty links to Emeli Sande's music video because there is multiple clips where people are either homeless or struggling so it reflects the real life in the music video.

Capitalism links to Emeli Sande's music video because in the video Emeli is portrayed to be a character in drama rather then performance and it makes her seem that she is the better one as she is upper to middle class whereas everyone else in the video is either working or unemployed.

Hedonism is the pursuit of pleasure; sensual self-indulgence,  its also the ethical theory that pleasure (in the sense of the satisfaction of desires) is the highest good and proper aim of human life. So in the music video at the start the majority are quite sad and not having a good time whereas when you go further into the music video the spirit of joy and freedom comes into action so their spirits are being lifted showing there is good in life for them and the only way is up.

Consumerism- is the protection or promotion of the interests of consumers, which can relate to the money and drug side of it.

Individualism- a social theory favouring freedom of action for individuals over collective or state control, which is why the editing is used to bring joy and freedom so its all gathering together all the clips and how everyone is struggling.

Representation- The video represents the negative consequences of giving in to temptation and at the same time celebrates street life, consequences of temptation from sad faces, black and white, male and female, reflecting the videos inclusive representation strategy in terms of gender race ethnicity and class. Street life is represented from people and places shot in a traditionally working class district of East London. Represents youth as the norm, nearly all characters are young adults or children with the odd exception, no clear dominant race or ethnicity. Temptation represented early from the woman in a red dress, rare sexualised images of women in the video. Emeli is not represented in the matter. Two women giving into temptation making the video ambiguous as to sexuality. Representation of it being fluid and not fixed. Class from the ordinariness of the location, celebrating urban working class life. Emeli is represented as belonging in this world, suggested by her unglamourised costume, location and performance style, this video represents everyday life as an struggle.

Burn The Witch-

Intertextuality- Wicker Man/Hot Fuzz, Trumpton, Blue Velvet, Nursery Rhymes, Political Trump Immigrants, Witch Hunting, Plague.

Xenophobia- is the dislike of or prejudice against people from other countries.

Nationalism- is the identification with one's own nation and support for its interests, especially to the exclusion or detriment of the interests of other nations. Government and Politics

Individualism- is a social theory favouring freedom of action for individuals over collective or state control.

Globalisation- is the process by which businesses or other organisations develop international influence or start operating on an international scale.

Populism- is a political approach that strives to appeal to ordinary people who feel that their concerns are disregarded by established elite groups.

Authoritarianism- is the enforcement or advocacy of strict obedience to authority at the expense of personal freedom. Lack of concern for the wishes or opinions of others

Consumerism- is the protection or promotion of the interests of consumers. 

Representation- Uses representation of rural utopia to highlight exclusion and exploitation, traditional British village represented by the initial mise en scene. The outsider is represented as a bureaucrat by suit and clipboard he represents urbanism and central authority in opposition to the rural communities. The insider is represented by the mayor, a traditional community no women are in charge, powerful women become the witch, dress in traditional costume and have submissive roles such as being tied to a tree, serving food and dressing with flowers a structure that turns out to be the hanging gallows. Exploitation of foreign workers is shown and presented by the poly tunnels full of tomato pickers who appear to be different, and do not feature in the planning of the visit, made to wave cheerily by the drunken man with the stick, social exclusion is represented by the painting of a red cross on a front door (plague victim) deliberate fooling of the man in the suit, by reference to witch hunting in the ducking stool that children play on, by the ominous gallows and the final wicker man ceremony in the community is brought together in harmony over a brutal attempted murder.