Extra Research: Controversy in Music Videos

In the music industry, there are many stand out music videos that catch the attention of the audience and the media. This is because they are usually very unique, and therefore usually lead to some form of controversy. The issue we have in todays society is that the media has the power to portray differed versions of events, meaning they can bend stories and as a result have control over what audiences see. The media can manipulate an audience and in news stories, will often be pro-police, however as 'We Media' grows and becomes more and more popular in todays society as technology improves, multiple different versions of an event are now being published, seeing events from different sides. The same thing therefore happens with music and music videos in the media.

Examples:

Frankie Goes To Hollywood, Relax
This music video and song was banned by the BBC in 1984. This was there debut single and was banned due to the sexual lyrics. Despite the ban that the song was Number 1 for 5 weeks, and is the 7th best selling British single. This was one of the first ever record to be banned by the BBC.



Kinks, Lola
This song led to controversy due to the song lyrics and video, which detailed on a romantic encounter between a man and a transvestite or transgender. This led to speculation and anger, and the media therefore portrayed this giving the kinks a bad image. The lyrics go "walked like a woman and talked like a man" which is what caused the issues in the media and public and what led to an uproar of unhappy audiences.

Miley Cyrus copying Sinead O'Connor
In a recent event involving both Cyrus and O'Connor, rows have escalated as it appear Miley Cyrus included and even appeared to copy shots seen in O'Connor's music video for 'Nothing Compares 2 U'. The shots used were close ups of Cyrus in her 'Wrecking Ball' music video. Cyrus as a result has now been the cause of heavy controversy over the copying of the shots, and O'Connor wrote to Cyrus as a result regarding the matter and other matters too.


Overall, although standing out from the crowd is good as it means you are noticed and as a result you hope more people will see your music and music videos, it is also important to ensure that the music/music video is acceptable and suitable to be shown in todays society. This means that it is important that things such as racist views, sexist views or anything of the nature are not included, meaning when producing both song and music videos they must be thoroughly checked before being released to the public, even if no direct comment is made, sometimes a lyric or visual accompanying a lyric may be implying a view unintentionally. Therefore, when we produce our music video, it is important that we consider how our target audience and other audiences could perceive and consume it and how this could affect the sort of things we include in it. Overall, it is therefore important that the music video is clean, and does not harm any viewers or audiences in any way.

Miley Cyrus We Can't Stop: Music Video Textual Analysis

This music video was released in June 2013. It became a number one hit in the UK and sold millions of copies worldwide. The music video led to a lot of controversy regarding the singer and her current situation, as she transformed from a children's TV personality to a controversial pop star.

'We Can't Stop' Single Album Cover

It is from the pop/R&B genre, this is identifiable from watching the music video as I can see many conventions that link it with these genre music videos. Some examples of these generic codes are things like the drinking and drug use, connoting this genre. Also the relationships/relationship problems connote to me and the rest of the audience watching the music video that this music video is in the pop/R&B genre. There are also other generic codes used, however these are used very subtly, meaning they aren't immediately apparent to the viewing audience.

The music video starts with a close up on the artist herself; this is very often the case with music videos as they often start on the artist lip syncing the first line. This is her first video since her ‘big change’ and because of this caused a lot of controversy in the media. The initial close up shot is therefore even more important, as it connotes the beginning of a new era and is used to promote her new look. Over the top of this image we can see her name in large yellow writing; this therefore catches the audience’s attention and allows the audience to know exactly who the artist is. This again promotes the artist. 

Screenshot showing Miley Cyrus and the yellow text that informs the audience who she is. This may be because being her first video since her change of appearance and style, she may be trying to promote herself again. 

The next shot that we then see in the music video is a long shot, showing Miley against a black background and with smoke in front of her, distorting the image slightly. This along with the dark costume means the entire mise-en-scene is very dark. This connotes that she may be moving on from past, darker times and wants to re-establish herself in the music industry as being a matured lady.

The editing in the music video is very unique throughout and has parts which represent slow editing and other which shows fast pace editing. The slow editing can be seen in the scene where Miley is seen with a knife on her fingers. This is then seen to 'cut off' her fingers. When this occurs we can see pink liquid, which is imitation blood. This links back to her younger days, when this sort of thing would be used on children's channel rather than blood, so it isn't as crude, this could be connoting a comparison between then and showing the audience how she is changing now and developing into the artist she wants to be. 

This shows the pink blood and the knife that imitates Miley cutting her fingers off. 

Fast pace editing can be seen in most of the video, this is seen with lots of cuts from one scene to another, making the music video interesting to watch and keeping the audience intrigued. By doing this it means the editing would have taken a long time, however it keeps the audiences attention as there is always a different shot on screen, opposed to long boring shots that last a long time. Also in the music video there are sections that are in slow motion that have been edited to fit in time with the music video. By doing this, it adds an extra dimension to the video. We can also see a variety of locations, this in itself makes it more interesting for the audience to view, however all these locations have been edited effectively to make it obvious to the audience that this is one large party. Therefore, the editing is very clever here and is important that it is clear, to make it obvious to the audience the narrative of the piece. A lot of the time, the editing was done to match the visuals with the music. This enabled the audience to follow the narrative of the music video easily. 

Location : Kitchen 

Location: Outdoors

Location : Swimming Pool

These screenshots show the variety of different locations used in the music video. 

The shots used in the music video are vast. There are many different types of shot. The most prolific shot that helps me to understand the genre of the music video is the inclusion of the two shot. This shot shows a couple at a party. As stated earlier, this is a generic convention used in R&B/ Pop music videos, seeing two people in a shot that are in a relationship. Also it links in with Miley’s new self, showing she has matured from the times of Children’s television and is now rebelling and becoming an adult. Close ups are also used, as we saw at the very beginning of the video. Also we see the use of close ups later on in the video where we see a chip skull. This could be suggesting to the audience that she is trying to change her image, without being too explicit by using symbolism that could be connoting death and rebellious. Mid shots are also used in the music video, these shots tend to show Miley in provocative poses and/or revealing outfits. 

An example of Miley's revealing outfits which can be seen throughout the whole music video. This led to controversy in the music industry, especially in her to be released music video at the time; 'Wrecking Ball'. It caused woman to feel saddened by the fact Miley itemized herself making woman feel as though they are seen as 'items'. 

This again, backing up the idea that she is changing her style from being a well known Children's idol to becoming a rival to major pop stars like Jessie J and Beyonce. 

Textual Analysis of Whole Music Video- Beyonce: Single Ladies

The music video that I am analyzing is Beyonce's 'Single Ladies' music video. It was released on October 12th 2008. It was directed by Jake Nava. The music video mainly categorizes and fits into the R&B genre, and could also be considered to fit into the sub genre of dance pop.

From the beginning, we see the music video contains Beyonce, and two other woman in black leotards dancing to her song 'Single Ladies'. They are also wearing black heels. This makes them look very glamorous and could be interpreted to be quite sexual. The whole music video is a performance type, of which consists of Beyonce and her two other backing dancers, dancing to the whole song.

The music video is set  in a filming studio. The entire music video is filmed against a white background, and the music video has effects on it to make it look black and white. The setting is very simple and ensures that no attention is taken away from the singer and her two other dancers. By having a simple background, the audiences eyes don't get distracted, and are permanently on the dancers. Beyonce is always the central dancer, this is connoting her power, and connoting the idea that she is the most important lady there, and therefore is the 'center of attention'.

The only props used in the music video is the small ring that Beyonce has on her finger, which is used to link the lyrics to the music video, and therefore matches Goodwin's theory that lyrics go with what we can see.

There are many different editing techniques used throughout the music video. The music video uses basic cuts, jumping from one scene to another very quickly. Also the music video at the beginning uses a fade in, the screen is black but then the image of Beyonce and her dancers fades in. Also there is quite a lot of basic camera movements in the music video. The music video includes pans, when we see the camera panning around the dancers. Also the music video uses zooms to enhance the music video and enhance the emphasis of Beyonce being the most important in the music video. This is because when this happens, the camera zooms in and out, getting close ups of Beyonce, but never once gets a close up of any of the other dancers. This again connoting the importance of Beyonce in comparison to the other dancers. The main camera shots throughout are long shots, which allow us as an audience to see everything that is happening in each shot. We also see some close ups and some mid shots but the majority is long shots.

Mid Shot 

Long Shot (Also shows Three Shot)

The use of the three shot is in use almost the whole time (as there are three people in one shot). The male gaze theory could be in place in this music video, although there are no shots that actually suggest this completely, throughout the woman are wearing very little and dancing in such a way that could imply this and mean that this argument could be valid. The music video uses effects that mean it is black and white throughout. This could have connotations with regards to the name of the song, suggesting that the white is showing the emotion and feelings behind getting married while the colour black is usually linked with negative things, and could be suggesting that if the man has missed his chance to 'put a ring on it', meaning he has missed his chance to marry the lady he shouldn't be upset or sad.

Example of where Male Gaze Theory could be introduced. 

Male Gaze Theory could be used here too.

Throughout the music video, the main theme is Beyonce dancing to her song. However, unlike other videos such as PSY 'Gangnam Style' she isn't trying to make other people remember the dance for the song. Instead, she is showing and telling the audience that she can dance. This is a way of attracting audiences as people may enjoy watching this, as females may aspire to be like her, and may see her as a role model while males may enjoy watching it due to her being seen as an attractive woman.

The music video is very catchy, as it makes people want to watch it as the dance routine she does it good. It is a very simple music video that is purely a dance performance throughout. Audience could see the video as feminist as the outfits chosen are very revealing and show lots of Beyonce's body, however this shows she is confident and powerful figure and connotes that she isn't phased by what others think.

Textual Analysis of Music Video- Jay Z: 99 Problems

The reason for carrying out a textual analysis on this music video is because it is a good way of me understanding the sort of things that are used in music videos and the effect they have on the audience. This is a very good example of a music video and a good one to analyse because there are common themes and stereotypical iconography throughout that is good to analyse.

The main visual codes used in the music video consist of the setting. It is set in Brooklyn, New York and this is shown by shots that show iconic landmarks in Brooklyn. For example, we see Jay-Z on Brooklyn Bridge. In this shot, he is in  the centre of the framing, and therefore the central piece of the shot, this shows dominance, importance and connotes that Jay-Z 'owns' the bridge and runs the city. The shot is also a low angle, making Jay-Z look larger than he really is, and again showing dominance. The shot then tracks him, showing he is the most important thing in the shot.

Image backing up my point regarding Jay Z on Brooklyn Bridge.

As previously spoke about, camera angles help to connote different things to the audience. The low camera angles makes Jay-Z appear to be dominant, violent and powerful throughout. This makes the audience feel like he owns Brooklyn and could run the city, linking back to my previous point in the paragraph above.

Iconography is used heavily throughout the music video. There are lots of shots showing jewellery, snap backs and baggy items of clothing. This is stereotypical attire for the area which is known to be a rough location and also backs up the idea of an ethnic minority who live there (In contrast to an area such as London City which would be stereotyped to suits and smart wear).

The narrative is very dull. Straight away this could be seen from the black and white filter on the music video. This could suggest a division between races and/or suggest (due to some grey in the video) that there are grey areas between black and white people in todays society. This links back and connotes the setting, which is known to be home to the ethnic minority, having connotations to less money and less of a say in society due to others looking down on them.

Throughout the moving images are black and white throughout.

Also it makes some references throughout that black people are treated differently in society to white people. This can be heard in the song where Jay-Z raps the words 'half a million for bail, cause I'm African' suggesting that it could be more due to race.

The video starts and ends on a problem, this implies that Brooklyn is a troubled area and connotes it to not be a very nice place. This links to the song title '99 Problems'. This is the narrative throughout and links in with TODOROV's recognisable structure.

TODOROV's recognisable theory structure.

The audience for this piece is teenagers and young adults, this is evident due to the language used throughout and the sort of video that has been produced. It is very specifically targeted at a certain audience which allows the piece to reach the set target audience that it is aimed towards via platforms such as social media sites.

Textual Analysis of Music Video- Plan B

This is a Plan B song from his album 'Strickland Banks'.

2 seconds into the music video, we see a shot of the outside of the arena where Plan B, known as 'Strickland Banks' is performing. This straight away allows the audience to understand the setting straight away. 

The narrative of the music video is Plan B singing about a fictional character, known as Strickland Banks. From the off, we see Plan B going out and performing his song at a concert, and then he goes on to go out for dinner after.

A screenshot of Plan B in performance. This is early on in his music video where we see images of him singing his song. The video progressively starts to have a strong narrative to it, giving the audience an idea of what's to come.

Whilst we see this, we also see Plan B's long term girlfriend at home, cooking a romantic dinner for the two of them. During the video of his song 'Writing's On The Wall' we get the idea that the character Strickland Banks isn't happy in his relationship and this can be justified when we see him going off with another girl after his performance. This also links in with the lyrics and even the song name, connoting maybe he always thought they were never going to last, and as the song name suggests there was 'Writing On The Wall'.

The video throughout uses lots of stereotypes. The main one is the social stereotype of woman staying in at home, while the man is out working, making money. This is a stereotypical stereotype and makes the video seem very realistic, whilst helping us to concentrate on the hidden message behind this.

There are many different shots in this music video. The most common is the extreme close up. This is significant because it is used to help express and portray each characters feelings and emotions. This for example, when Plan B's girlfriend becomes upset and worried when her boyfriend doesn't answer his phone and doesn't arrive home, even though she has cooked him dinner.

Also these shots are used to help show other things, for example when we see the sauce rising as she is cooking dinner. The rising of the sauce could have connotations of her feelings, showing she is happy and excited to be able to cook for her man, however this shortly turns into sadness and anger, as we see the sauce become less. This could again connote her feelings, or suggest the idea of her hope of seeing her man at home for dinner tonight slowly fading. Finally it could connote her feelings of being worried, and the concern as to why her man isn't home, and maybe starting to think about what we can see.

We also see different camera shots such as high angle shots, an example of this would be when we see Plan B's girlfriend at home, crying on the stairs once the realisation that he isn't coming home kicks in. By using the high angle shot, it makes her look small, fragile and venerable. The other shot type is the low angle, this is used when we see the headline 'Strickland Banks' outside his concert. By using this angle shot, it shows Bank's dominance and power, and the relationship he has with his fans, suggesting they 'look up to him'. We do also see some other types of shots, such as establishing shots, mid shot, long shot, wide shot and POV shot, which all help to show emotions and portray different things to the audience.

We see two main settings in this music video, the first is the house, where we see Bank's girlfriend primarily. At this house we get an establishing shot, which shows us a stereotypical 80's bedroom. Also we can tell this by the choice of woman's clothing. It is very bright and stands out. Also we see a short perm, again implying the time period and being a stereotypical 80's hair style. The other setting we see is the arena where Strickland Banks is performing. This has a Motown/80's feel to it given the tables, chairs and traditional silver microphone that we see him using when performing. All this implies the time period is the 80's. Also the stereotypical black and white suit, connoting the time era of the 80's again.

The lyrics of the song also match the moving images that we can see. In one part of the song, the lyrics are 'we aren't over but the writings on the wall, this time next year we will be no more'. This implies Strickland Banks doesn't expect the relationship to last, and is saying that they are still together, but there are many reasons why they could be over. At the end of the music video, we then see Strickland Banks with another lady, therefore we all feel for his actual girlfriend, meaning the audience connect to the music video and we feel the same emotions that Bank's girlfriend must also be feeling.

Real Media Texts 1 (Music Videos) - Justin Timberlake TKO

Song	The Narrative	Settings	Number Of Shots	Transitions Used	Representations Seen
Justin Timberlake- TKO	Starts in house. Camera focuses on woman. Woman gets in car and leaves the house. Appears to drag man along behind car. Flashbacks to house scenes showing the man and woman fighting. At the end of the video, roles have reversed, and although it was made to look like it was the man being dragged, and left outside in a large expanse of open land, turns out to be the woman.	The main settings are the house and the car dragging the man along which is set outside. There is a 50/50 split of camera time for each roughly. The settings are used effectively as the	2 main shots. Inside the house and outside with the car. They would have all been filmed at one time, even more so due to costumes remaining the same throughout. This shows that the artists probably would have been on set and filmed it all in a very short time period (a day or two). This footage would then be edited and broke down into lots of shorter pieces, as we can see from the video and then get the split between two different scenes.	Cut- Directly cut from one scene to another. An example of this can be found at 30-31 seconds.   Fade to Black- Used at the very end of the video, at 6.37.	Non-Stereotypically, Woman is seen to be dominant. However, roles are then reversed back to the stereotypical at the end of the video at 6.18 till 6.37 where we can see the woman has actually been left and now looks weak and powerless.   Woman are seen as sex objects in the video, starting at 3.56 until 4.56.   By the end of the video, it turns out, throughout the whole video, the roles are in reversal, and that in real life it is the other way around to how we see it in the video. By the end of the music video to the audience it becomes evident of this.

Real Media Texts 3 (Music Videos) - Magic! Rude

Song	The Narrative	Settings	Number Of Shots	Transitions Used	Representations Seen
Magic!- Rude	There is a man who is in love with a girl and is trying to win her dad over. He is trying to persuade her father to let him marry her. However, her father wants her to marry another guy.	Starts at a house, this then progresses to them being outside the house, in a car. This house appears to be his and then he and his friends travel to see the girl’s father. Also there are shots of him performing in his garage, in the girl’s father’s house and of the girl. We then see a scene where the girl and her family are sitting eating dinner with the man sitting next to the daughter who the father wants her to marry. This is the continuous theme throughout, the father wants one thing and the daughter another until the end where we see the two get married, as the daughter ‘rebels’ against her father. At this point we see the father shut the door on his daughter and then she is seen walking off dancing with her man.	Lots- There are lots of shots used. Close ups, for example of the ring. Also long shots of the car outside the house. Other various shots were used, for example Mid Shots, high angle, low angle and a clever fish-eye type shot through the door. All these shots add to the music video and make it more interesting to watch.	Cuts- From one shot to another, very normal to find this sort of shot in a music video.   Shot Reverse Shots- These were used to show the father and man talking when he was asking if he could marry her. This made it look like a cut from one scene to another.   Fade to Black- A common trend at the end of music videos for it to fade out.	The dominant character throughout is the father figure. He doesn’t allow the other man to marry his daughter which is the main narrative throughout the music video. He also appears to be very dominant of his daughter and he expects a lot from her, and even choses who he wants her to marry. The father seems to be upper class, in comparison to the man begging for his word who seems to be a stereotypical lower class man.