Music Video Controversy

We were given this Q Magazine article:

From this article I can summarise that the writer is arguing certain Celebrities (Rihanna etc) get to a low point in their career and then have to spark some controversy that may push them back onto the forefront of music (or it could push them further back than the music periphery that they are more than likely on).

Controversy these days in music video plays a huge role; anything that may start the internet talking will be spread around the world in a very short space of time. This plays a key part in music hits, and for example as shown in this article, Rihanna's 'Bitch better have my money' video would have only peaked at a shoddy number 17th in the charts through music form. However, the hyped video grabbed attention, in particular I watched it on YouTube; in which it now has over 45 million views in just 2 months.

I agree with the writers points to a certain extent. This is because I agree with the point of him saying that when artists do try to push back on to the musical limelight by releasing controversial music videos it is time to go. It can be seen throughout the media, and womens gossip magazines (which my mum reads, not me... honestly...) that Rihanna has changed her form recently- going from a stereotypical pop star, looking clean and attractive to now still being attractive but looking more surly and almost depressive, through her dark clothing.

However, I don't think Rihanna would be trying to send out a political message- not intentionally anyway! She has just tried to create an eye catching video that to the current and older generation seems incredibly controversial- because who hangs a woman naked upside down and then stabs someone to death? She planned this video, with choreography; showing the record labels desire for views, and Rihanna is clearly is in a state of transformation and wants to try and re-kindle her career through an eye catching piece. However, there is not much within the video that suggests to me that she is implying a political message- she doesn't seem clever enough.

The lyrics used are so simple and repetitive showing her desire for the controversy as she has focused more on the video; making me agree with his point that it is just an event video and a 'mini movie' that invites views.

Genre Theories: Pop Music (Textual Analysis)

For this textual analysis I have used the song 'Cool for the summer' by Demi Lovato (please don't judge me...).
 
I've used this song to apply genre theories we have recently been learning.


The first theory applied to this music video is John Hartley (1994) and he argues that 'genres are agents of ideological closure-they limit the meaning-potential of a given text'. This suggests genre acts as a straight jacket; limiting creative potential. For example a person could say to a rock band that they can't have an element of pop because they are supposed to be a rock band.
Hartley's theory applies to this song because Demi Lovato is clearly a pop artist and within this video it shows only elements of pop; the glamour, the bright lights, the clothing, the partying etc. This shows the limitation of the artist and the genre; from this I can infer that Demi Lovato is scared of what the media may say if uses different genre elements; therefore doesn't want to cause controversy over her 'style' of music.

The next theory I will apply to this music video is Hodge and Kress; the idea that 'genres control the behavior of producers of such texts and the expectations of potential consumers'. Essentially, suggesting that genres can limit creativity and often merely conform to audience expectations. This music video backs up this point because it involves things that you would expect in a female pop star music video- things such as models, attractive clothing/shots, close ups of her face showing her attractiveness. Another thing is fast cuts within the video- a key feature you expect to see in a pop music video. The creativity is clearly limit through the setting and dress code; the music video shows bright colours in a party area with people well dressed- seen in thousands of music videos.
A pop artist that goes against this would be Rihanna who often uses things you wouldn't expect and doesn't let her genre limit her (somewhat controversial) ideas ie. running through a field topless.

John Fiske's theory is also proven by this music video. He said that 'generic conventions embody the crucial ideological concerns of the time in which they are popular'. From this is can gather that he is suggesting that genres tell us something about the way of the world in the time in which they are popular (essentially; reflecting the Zeitgeist). This video proves this through the attractive girls 'living it up' with the glamour and bright lights, wearing clothes that maybe your Nan would say 'where's the rest of your outfit then love?'. The fact that they are attractive/idolised means that they get a lot of money for not really doing a lot- they get to 'live the dream' by partying, driving round posh cities etc. This reflects the Zeitgeist through showing that people with money don't particularly have to work hard to get it, and can be portrayed as selfish and those who are working very hard that aren't as well know/attractive don't get as much money so don't get to live life like those with more money, and when Demi Lovato walks down that merky street with the rather short outfit on it is almost seen to be mocking that area, as she struts down there- within this, this could refer to the recent UK election of the conservative government.

A final theory is Rick Altman's argument that there is no such thing as 'pure ' genre anymore. Genre is progressive, in that it will always change. This may be suggesting hybridisation of the genres, and I think this video could well support this theory. This video is clearly pop but could be have an element of possible rock within it with the metal guitar riffs included and fairly heavy drumming at various points. Within the video as well, typical of a rock group, headbanging can be seen; proving the point that there is no such thing as a 'pure' genre.

The shots used in it are lots of close ups, showing the beauty of the women used within the video; representing them more as objects rather than females; raising the debate in the mise-en-scene aspect; are girls still less powerful than men, or do they dress like that because they like to. This is an on-going debate within the media, and is always a question raised.
The editing used is mainly quick cuts throughout

What I learnt from making 'Man Down'

Making 'Man Down' has helped me to realise that making a music video to a sad, slow song is very hard- and this has been key for helping me know what to do next year in my actual music video... NOT A SAD, SLOW SONG!!

Within the video we tried to use emotional shots, and effect and in my personal opinion I don't think it has worked out particularly well; don't get me wrong we tried our best but I feel like it could be a lot better. A thing I have learnt from making this piece is that for the main piece I am going to rely on myself, and work on my own- nothing against my partner Reece but I just feel like I will benefit if I work by myself.

In the making, I have learnt a lot of new ideas that I will definitely use next year to my advantage, and some of the effects I learnt are new and will also be useful in the future. Within 'Man Down' we did in fact learn from our mistake from the 'Happy' re-creation and filmed more than enough footage, but I don't think the footage was good enough and the shots were not correct for the mood we tried to create. However, every cloud comes with a silver lining as I will again learn from these mistakes and make the main piece next year better.

Man Down- CD Cover

Here is our CD front cover for our preliminary piece. 

Preliminary Practice Piece- Man Down

This is our first attempt at a music video. The song is by The Eden Project and the song is called 'Man Down'.