Ghost town music video - Genre Flashcards
What does Goodwin argue about music + visuals? How is this shown in Ghost Town?
Music + lyrics can be linked in literal, amplified, or oppositional
Literal = Obvious - Music video shows ghost town, linking to song title
Amplified = Adds more meaning - Cars burnt out, shows riots
Oppositional = Contradicts
What are the 3 ways visuals are used to promote a song + what do they mean?
Illustrate = Music videos use certain images + shots to explain meaning of their lyrics to their song { genre
Disjuncture = Meaning of the song ignored in music video, contradicts the lyrics
Amplification = Images + camera shots shown repeatedly through music video to create key theme
How does illustrate, disjuncture, and amplification explain Ghost Town?
Illustrate = ‘Town is coming like a ghost town’ - Shows that through empty streets + buildings
‘Too much fighting on the dance floor’ - Shows shadows of people fighting
Amplification = Shows multiple shots of empty streets + buildings to emphasise how empty everywhere is
No clear signs of disjuncture
How does the Ghost Town music video illustrate the genre through genre characteristics (lighting, camerawork, props)?
Ska usually includes ‘rude boy’ aesthetic = Focuses on group dynamic since inclusion of members from Jamaican backgrounds + English backgrounds, which is visual fusion of actual genre 2 tone
Reggae + Brit reggae got popular in 1960s + include props from 60s =1 min Shows focus on anti-racist movements + act as voice for working class youth
Where were intertextual references (to other music videos, films, etc) + themes of looking + voyeurism (encouraging viewer to desire artist of their lifestyle) shown in the video?
- Regge + ska
- Social realism = unemployed boys
- 1981 riots
What is the star image? Where is this shown in the video?
Constructed image allowing a person to use specific look to target audience + advertise genre or media form
There is no star, although Terry Hall seemed to be most prominent
Where were demands of the record label shown in the video?
- Performance + narrative = Doesnt tell story but portrays the music
- Had creative freedom since Jerry, who was in the band, owned the record label
What examples of convention of horror or realism is there in the video? (Steve Neale)
-Lighting under faces = eerie shadows, horror
- Film noir = dark themes, ominous atmosphere
- Shaky camera shots
- Coming of age theme = young adults not knowing what to do
- Social realism = deprived areas, empty streets, talking abt politics + unemployment
- Horror = whistling, screaming
How can we apply Gilroy’s idea about music + the diaspora to Ghost Town?
- Gilroy believes music gives people environment where politics can be performed = Lyrics link to Thatcher’s negatuve impact on economy + unemployment
- Shows both British + Jamaican people in band, offers evidence for Black Atlantic diasporic identity = Lynval Golding moved from Jamaica to UK at 18 + Neville Staples did at 5
- Representations are racially diverse = Reflects genre of ska, political + in the context of racially divided community
To what extent do you think the video has helped to sell the song?
- In 1981, people didn’t make much money from music videos, economic value came as marketing tool to advertise the single
- However, Ghost Town is now on Youtube, with revenue opportunities through viewing + advertising
What were the dominant ideological messages at the time?
- Capitalism = Unemployment, hierarchy
- Nationalism
- Consumerism
- Deindustrialisation
- Heteronormative
How does Ghost Town challenge/reinforce these dominant ideologies?
- Band consists of multi-cultural members + they’re sat close in the car
- ‘Youth left on the shelf’ = Also shown doing pointless activities like rock skipping
- ‘People fighting on the dance floor’ = Riots
