The music video follows a male character suffering from depression. Due to social stigma and a religiously strict family he becomes isolated and can't talk about his emotions. Another character is introduced , who acts as a support network and "guardian angel" figure, helping the male character deal with his depression. It is implied that the male character attempts suicide, but the results of this remain an enigma.
As the band Have Mercy belong to the "emo", "alternative rock" and "pop-punk" genres. This gives me a relatively clear idea of the audience my music video needs to target. Punk, alternative and emo are popular genres among teenagers, since songs belonging to this genre often explore and portray the feelings of angst and being misunderstood. A quote that I feel sums up the audience for these genres is the following, by Pete Wentz, the bassist from Fall Out Boy (another band classed as belonging to the emo and pop-punk genre):
“Here's to the kids.The kids who would rather spend their night with a bottle of coke & Patrick or Sonny playing on their headphones than go to some vomit-stained high school party. Here's to the kids whose 11:11 wish was wasted on one person who will never be there for them. Here's to the kids whose idea of a good night is sitting on the hood of a car, watching the stars. Here's to the kids who never were too good at life, but still were wicked cool. Here's to the kids who listened to Fall Out boy and Hawthorne Heights before they were on MTV...and blame MTV for ruining their life. Here's to the kids who care more about the music than the haircuts. Here's to the kids who have crushes on a stupid lush. Here's to the kids who hum "A Little Less 16 Candles, A Little More Touch Me" when they're stuck home, dateless, on a Saturday night. Here's to the kids who have ever had a broken heart from someone who didn't even know they existed. Here's to the kids who have read The Perks of Being a Wallflower and didn't feel so alone after doing so. Here's to the kids who spend their days in photobooths with their best friend(s). Here's to the kids who are straight up smartasses & just don't care. Here's to the kids who speak their mind. Here's to the kids who consider screamo their lullaby for going to sleep. Here's to the kids who second guess themselves on everything they do. Here's to the kids who will never have 100 percent confidence in anything they do, and to the kids who are okay with that. Here's to the kids. This one's not for the kids, who always get what they want, But for the ones who never had it at all. It's not for the ones who never got caught, But for the ones who always try and fall. This one's for the kids who didn't make it, We were the kids who never made it. The Overcast girls and the Underdog Boys. Not for the kids who had all their joys. This one's for the kids who never faked it. We're the kids who didn't make it. They say "Breaking hearts is what we do best," And, "We'll make your heart be ripped of your chest" The only heart that I broke was mine, When I got My Hopes up too too high. We were the kids who didn't make it. We are the kids who never made it.”― Pete Wentz
Auteur: Celeste Adams Auteur Theory: An auteur is essentially the author of a film. Since I am working individually on my music video project, I will be the Director, Writer, Camera person and Editor. Therefore, I can class myself as solely responsible for the final product and the author of the video. The auteur theory arose in France in the 1940s and 1950s. André Bazin and Roger Leenhardt presented the theory that the director brings the film to life and uses the film to express personal thoughts and feelings about the subject matter and their worldview as an auteur. Below I have embedded the YouTube video I used for information about auteur theory. I did not create the following YouTube video and own no rights to it. It is only embedded for educational purposes. Bibliography:
Beyonce's song Formation clearly addresses issues of inequality in terms of both race and gender. Her video also advocates the "Black lives matter" movement which "campaigns against police brutality in the United States against African-Americans." Somewhat controversial images of a child dancing in front of a line of police in riot gear caused threats from multiple police unions to protest Beyonce's shows due to the potentially anti-police messages being presented. The graffiti shown in one close up shot of a wall shows the message "Stop Shooting Us". This is a clear reference to the numerous police shootings of black civilians in the United States of America. The over the shoulder shot of the child facing the line of police officers also acts as a poignant reminder that future generations will have to face the threats of racist forces.
One of the initial shots in the video depicts Beyonce sitting on top of a sinking New Orleans police car. This is a reference to the failure of the Hurricane Protection Project of New Orleans which resulted in major damage and flooding after the city's Levees broke as results of Hurricane Katrina. It is claimed that hurricane Katrina had the greatest effect on the less economically privileged black community in New Orleans. Therefore, The shots of sinking buildings and police cars could be a metaphor for the sinking position of the Black community in the deep south of America, which has been a problem dating back to the popularity of slavery.
The male voice using derogatory terms such as "B****" at certain points of the song including the very start raises the issue of such insults becoming acceptable within selective communities. A slow motion shot showing Beyonce leaning out of the passenger side of a car is accompanied by the sound of catcalling. This emphasises the sexualisation and objectification of women which still exists within modern communities. The lack of respect shown by the male voice draws attention to the lack of change in America's attitudes, implying that racism and sexism are still a major issue despite the apparent progressiveness of the nation. Beyonce appears to envision the song "Formation" as being a potential anthem for Black women who have been oppressed for centuries by slavery, racism, sexism, patriarchy and poverty. Shots depicting Beyonce in a plantation house and dressed as a plantation owner with a large brimmed black hat, symbolises her rewriting history and reclaiming the power denied to women like her in the past. The video contains a wide range of natural African american hairstyles and the lyrics of the song detail how black women should take pride in their appearances rather than hating and disguising features such as their nose and hair. One shot shows three women of black or mixed ethnicity who have succumbed to the aesthetic expectations of the media. A close up shot shows that one is wearing sandals with derogatory sexist language which the character appears to have accepted and encouraged by wearing the footwear. Beyonce is clearly criticising this passive and acceptive attitude towards the opppression of African-American natural beauty. The zoom shot of the three women shows rows of blatantly artificial wigs in luminous colours. The dull lighting of the shot and gaudy colour scheme emphasises the unattractive nature of the wigs and clothing which disguises African-American beauty and culture.
The ariel shots of Beyonce and her entourage dancing in a car-park is heavily filtered. The combination of the angle and filter gives the impression that the footage was recorded by a CCTV camera. This could be a reference to how Black individuals are often singled out by authorities as suspicious figures due to the over emphasis of African-American criminals in American media. This is also referencing the "black lives matter" movement, highlighting the cases of police monitoring, suspecting and shooting innocent civilians due to their appearance. Throughout the music video and during Beyonce's performance of "Formation" during half time of the Superbowl in 2016, the symbol "X" has been a motif. This could be a reference to Malcolm X, who "Laid the foundation for the Black Power movement of the late 1960s and 1970s". Another reference to key figures in the American Civil Rights movement is made in a shot showing Martin Luther King on the front page of a newspaper entitled "The Truth". These references make Beyonce's intentions of impacting public views and attitudes concerning the black community clear.
Despite the controversy the music video has caused, Beyonce maintains her view that she is using her music and influential power to make a positive impact rather than to incite a riot. In an interview she told Elle magazine that "If celebrating my roots and culture during Black History Month made anyone uncomfortable, those feelings were there long before a video and long before me," and that she's "proud of what we created and I'm proud to be a part of a conversation that is pushing things forward in a positive way." However, the question that must be asked is are the strong messages she's trying to convey being undermined by the provocative dancing and revealing clothing? One thing that's certain is that as a musician and international public figure, Beyonce has moved far from the generic pop artist she started off as in "Destiny's child". This music video embodies her good intentions and wishes to use her influence to make a positive impact on American culture. Bibliography:
Lady Gaga's music video for the song "bad romance" appears to be subliminally addressing the issues of corruption and objectification within the music industry.
Before the song even begins, the video contains two blatant product placements. The high end products Nemiroff vodka, which is featured throughout and is clearly a main sponsor of the video. This prioritisation of product placement reflects how the music has become less important than profit to the music industry, a shocking truth highlighted by an artist affected by the corruption.
Towards the start of the video, Gaga and her dancers are shown to be emerging from white pods, in skin tight, white suits that obscures parts of their faces. This could be symbolic of naive and innocent female artists (connoted by the white suits) entering the music industry, blind to the corruption of the world around them.
Close up shots of computer screens showing bids made on Lady Gaga, emphasises the importance and central nature of money to the music industry. It also informs the audience as to how female artists are often objectified by industries and audiences who buy and sell the artist's image as well as their music.
Throughout the majority of the video, the male characters are dressed in black and the female characters are dressed in white. This binary opposition of colours and genders emphasises the power dynamic of the music industry. The men are clearly in charge of this patriarchal system and the female characters are left to struggle and compete for power within the industry. At certain points in the video, Gaga is pictured wearing black or red instead of the usual white. The red costumes near the end of the video emphasise how female artists usually have to sell their image and body, like prostitutes, rather than just their music. Shots depicting Lady Gaga wearing black and stood in front of a mirror could be symbolic of how she is learning from and gaining power over the male characters in the music industry who control her. One particularly effective shot depicts Lady Gaga crawling on the floor, framed by the legs of one of the men dressed in black who was bidding on her earlier in the video. This clearly portrays the power dynamic within her relationship with the music industry. The men running the record labels clearly have the power over her as the artist, controlling her actions almost like a puppet designed to make them money.
An interesting aspect of this video is the role female characters. Gaga's backing dancers are all depicted wearing and doing the same things, suggesting that female artists can't break the mould created by the music industry and must comply to sexist standards in order to achieve fame. However, not all of the female characters in the video appear to be victimised. Some female characters in the industry appear to be complicit to the sexualisation and corruption going on behind scenes. It is two female characters that are shown to physically strip Lady Gaga and force feed her a drink. Stripping her could illustrate the brutality of reviews and critiques on an artist, as well as the need for female artists to sell their body as well as their music in order to succeed. The drink that she is force fed could symbolise how industries often force words into a client's mouth in order to maximise profit and essentially change who the artist is seen to be in order to make them easier to sell. This could be Gaga's way of calling out the lack of individuality permitted by industries who stick to what they know will guarantee a profit for the company. Some close up shots of Gaga portray her with unnaturally big eyes, again illustrating the naivety of most artists entering the ruthless music industry.
Throughout the video the symbolism of slightly demonic sphinx (hairless) cats is used. Much of the dancing in the video is almost feline in nature which could be linked to how femininity is often associated with cats. This feline symbolism could also relate to how the female artists like Lady Gaga are reluctant to be controlled by the industry, like cats have been unwilling to be domesticated like dogs. Occasional long shots and close up shots show Lady Gaga's unnatural silhouette, implying that she has turned into a feline monster by the industry that controls her. This was potentially foreshadowed by the fact her pod from the start of the video was labelled with "MONSTER" in red lettering. The demonisation of Gaga could be symbolic of how famous figures who rebel against conventions are chastised by the media. The fact that her album was entitled "Fame Monster" otherwise suggests that artists such as herself are willing to change and run themselves in order to succeed in becoming famous.
At the very end of the music video, Lady Gaga is shown wearing a pyrotechnic bra. This image is reminiscent of multiple other female artists including Madonna and Katy Perry. This could be implying that the corruption of the music industry is a long standing issue affecting multiple artists which has been ignored by the public. The low angled shot of Lady Gaga wearing a polar bear cape implies the extent of the power she has gained within the music industry, despite the disadvantage of her gender. The polar bear cape also connotes riches, decadence, power and the lack of a moral compass. All of these have clearly been key in gaining power in such a tough industry. The way that she burns the bed at the end of the video symbolises how she is using her new found power to manipulate and challenge the conventional workings of the music industry.
Overall, Lady Gaga's music video for the song "Bad Romance" contains many possible connotations and interpretations. However, the general message she appears to be conveying is that the music industry demands female artists to transform themselves into unnatural commodities in order to maximise profitability. Undoubtedly the music video was intended to create controversy in highlighting the corrupt methods of harsh industries, but it is hard to decide whether the product placement and scandalous clothing adds to, or lessens the impact of her message.
