Ghost Town 1981 Flashcards
What are the main themes of Ghost Town?
Commentary on social injustice specifically Thatcher’s conservative government, Economic despair, Social change.
Why is GT considered a hybrid? (ML)
Because it combines conventions of performance and narrative styles of music video.
Performance style (ML)
The band barrels towards the camera while lip-synching the lyrics, purposefully directly communicating with the audience, much like a live show.
Lyrics (ML)
The band hypnotically chant ‘this town is coming like a ghost town’ expressing a nightmarish/horror future as a result of politics. The wailing of the chorus depicts screams of terror as a result of this future.
The lyric ‘can’t go on no more’ is particularly somber and encodes the lack of enthusiasm of the young w/c, as there’s no jobs or future to strive to.
Facial Expressions + Body Language (ML)
The bands performance within the car supports the dissatisfaction of the young people.
The band are stiff, lifeless almost zombie-like with their souls being sucked out because they have no hope.
Although as the chorus rises and becomes more aggressive and hellish, the facial expressions and body language become madder expressing the anger towards the elite.
Lighting (ML)
The cinematography seem to draw inspiration from both horror/thriller genres through low-key lighting and diegetic sounds, and British social realism through it’s depiction of London through the eyes of the youth.
The black and white filter as well as worm’s eye view shots create a binary opposition that reflects societies divide of both race and class.
Costuming (ML)
The contrast between the floral shirts of the black members and formal suits of the white members show the conflict between black Caribbean culture and the white m/c, as a result of diaspora like the Windrush generation. Further encoded with the genre hybrid of ska and punk rock.
Narrative (ML)
The video starts with the synthesized sound of wind, this unnatural sound creates a sense of eerily emptiness.
The shot of the brutalist architecture set against the grey sky, depicts London as uninviting.
The green traffic light is an symbol which tells the driver to pass. Here, it signifies the start of our journey with the band through the deserted streets of East London.
Gilroy - The Black Atlantic Identity and Double Consciousness.
The theory points to the diaspora of Africans who had to construct a new black identity in the Americas because they were robbed of their heritage and sold as slaves, and after assimilating to white cultures needed to adapt their identities, constructing a double consciousness.
The Specials are a good example example of this, as a multicultural band and their hybrid genre reflecting this double consciousness by being a combination of Caribbean and British music.
Ideology
The video is an obvious attack on the right-wing ideology, as it portrays the ideas of the young w/c.
The police sirens are supposed to connote law and order. However, the song was inspired by the Brixton riots, so the sounds become a signifier of social unrest and police brutality, especially the implementation of stop-and-search powers which disproportionately targeted young black men.
