Music Video Analysis Flashcards
Theorist: Jonathan Sterne
Concepts: Temporal vectorization, amplification, phonofixation.
Analysis:
- The video progresses in rhythm with the music, reflecting temporal vectorization as sound drives the
narrative flow.
- Visual storytelling amplifies the emotional themes of struggle and
resilience.
- Phonofixation is evident in the polished studio sound anchoring the video’s intensity.
Labrinth - “Let it Be”
Theorist: Michel Chion
Concepts: Synchronization, synchresis, replayability.
Analysis:
- The reversed footage aligns rhythmically with the beat, demonstrating synchronization.
- Synchresis emerges as the video fuses unconventional visuals with sound to create cohesion.
- The video’s complexity enhances replayability, as viewers return to decipher its reversed structure.
The Pharcyde - “Drop”
Theorist: Kirsty Fairclough
Concepts: Queerness, spectacle, cultural reclamation.
Analysis:
- The video uses bold,
mythological visuals to celebrate queerness and challenge societal norms.
- The highly stylized visuals create a spectacle that draws attention to the artist’s reclamation of religious
and cultural imagery.
Lil Nas X - “Montero (Call 4) W
Me By Your Name)”
Theorist: Susan Delson
Concepts: Cultural preservation, ethnic authenticity, tropes of femininity.
Analysis:
- Aguilera incorporates traditional Latina cultural symbols, promoting cultural preservation and authenticity.
- The visuals challenge tropes of femininity by presenting Aguilera as powerful and culturally rooted.
Christina Aguilera - “Genio 4) *
Atropado”
Theorist: Noel Burch
Concepts: Montage, temporal legibility, authenticity.
Analysis:
- The video pays homage to silent cinema using montage techniques reminiscent of Georges Mélies.
- The narrative retains temporal legibility, as viewers can follow the fantastical journey seamlessly.
- Its aesthetic achieves authenticity by faithfully recreating early cinematic techniques.
Smashing Pumpkins -
“Tonight Tonight”
Theorist: Steven Shaviro
Concepts: Hyperreality, fragmentation, hybridity.
Analysis:
- The video’s exaggerated CGI creates a hyperreality, where live-action and digital effects blur reality.
- The narrative structure prioritizes visual randomness, emphasizing fragmentation over linear coherence.
- The hybrid use of animation and live footage showcases
The Cars - “You Might
Think”
Theorist: Jonathan Sterne
Concepts: Audile technique, phonogeneration, haptic space.
Analysis:
- The sound design employs audile technique with electronic layers mimicking natural eruptions.
- Phonogeneration blends organic sounds with synthetic production, reflecting nature’s transformation.
- Haptic space emerges as tactile visuals (sand, lava) align with bass-heavy soundscapes, creating sensory immersion.
Bjork - “Mutual Core”
Theorist: Andrew Goodwin
Concepts: Disjuncture, amplification, visual hooks.
Analysis:
- The chaotic visuals contradict the song’s upbeat rhythm, creating disjuncture for comedic effect.
- Visual elements amplify the energy of the music, mirroring its erratic tone.
- Jonze employs visual hooks like exaggerated animations and slapstick actions to maintain slapstick actions to maintain viewer engagement.
Spike Jonze - “Clink Clink
Another Drink”
Theorist: Guy Debord
Concepts: Spectacle, mise-en-scène, surrealism.
Analysis:
- The religious imagery and visual symbolism create a spectacle that critiques faith and existential doubt.
- Mise-en-scène: Angelic statues, chiaroscuro lighting, and flowing fabrics enhance themes of inner
turmoil.
- The fragmented visuals evoke surrealism, reflecting the subconscious exploration of loss and longing.
REM - “Losing My
Religion”
Theorist: Laura Mulvey
Concepts: Scopophilic voyeurism, tropes of femininity.
Analysis:
- The male gaze is challenged as Sivan adopts feminine beauty through drag, disrupting scopophilic voyeurism.
- The video plays with tropes of femininity, embracing hyper-feminized aesthetics to challenge gender stereotypes.
Troye Sivan - “One of Your Girls”
Theorist: Kirsty Fairclough
Concepts: Queerness, hybridity, cultural appropriation.
Analysis:
- The video blends luxury fashion and urban imagery, creating a visual hybridity that challenges traditional masculinity.
- Rocky’s fashion-forward style flirts with gender norms, aligning with queerness as a subversion of heteronormative ideals.
- Questions arise about the cultural appropriation of high fashion juxtaposed with street culture.
A$AP Rocky - “Tailor Swif”
Theorist: Michel Chion
Concepts: Synchronization, added value, spectacle, scopophilic voyeurism.
Analysis:
- The pulsating synths are synchronized with neon visuals and violent, slasher-film aesthetics (synchronization).
- The emotional intensity of the song gains added value through the dramatic narrative of pursuit and death.
- The male gaze emerges as scopophilic voyeurism, where violence toward the female character aligns with horror film tropes.
- The visuals contribute to the spectacle, blending horror with vibrant stylistic appeal.
“In Your Eyes” - The Weekend
