Music videos Flashcards
Performative music video:
features the artist performing the song in some way
Narrative music video
tells a story, inspired by the codes in the song
Concept music video
centres around a visual motif or idea
What type of music video is Old Town Road?
both performative and narrative
Media Language in Old Town Road
Old western features
Dress codes: cowboy outfits, pink and glam
Contrast: bright colours compared to a bland and dull landscape
Sexual lyrics: ‘bull riding and boobies’ ‘ride til’ I can’t no more’
Narrative: Lil Nas X gaining the respect of those around him, completing a quest (Propp)
Comedic aspects: ‘flabbergasted’ posing for images with old ladies, race scene
Body language: dominant, authoritative, sometimes fearful.
Camera angles: panoramic shot to begin with (western movies), wide shots encompassing many people, some close ups when singing
OTR Context: Lil Nas X
came out when Old Town Road was at the height of its popularity
seen as controversial for content with satanic ideas, specifically aimed to provoke Christians
OTR Context: yeehaw agenda
started in BHM 2019, to reclaim the cowboy aesthetic, trend with Old Town Road which boosted it to number one on the billboard hot 100
OTR Context: country
Billy Ray Cyrus sang on a remix after it was removed from the Billboard country chart
OTR genre
uses many of the conventions of old western media, like villain-hero conflict, cowboy aesthetic, wild west aesthetics, sound effects (whiplash), props (money bags), etc
Application of Todorov to OTR
Equilibrium - western scene
Disruption - shot at by white man and daughter, run away through hole to 2019
Recognition - reaction from those in town, otherness
Attempt to repair - horse race and outfit change
New equilibrium - friendly in the bingo hall.
Application of Gilroy to OTR
Racial otherness - black community vs bingo hall, always othered
Double consciousness- ‘last time i was here’
When was Ghost Town released?
1981
Media Language in Ghost Town
Dim lighting
Dull colour codes: mostly yellows and blues
Shaky and sweeping camera shots
Empty and derelict streets
Eye contact with the camera
Diegetic sound: sirens
Ghost town Context: Thatcherism
Thatcher era Britain: high levels of unemployment, racism was rife
Ghost town Context: Two tone
record label, fusing punk and ska, tried to defuse racial tension in Britain, bands were composed of people of many races, unusual at the time.
Ghost Town Context: riots
Ghost Town was very popular during the Brixton and Toxteth riots that occurred due to stop and search procedures being biased, high unemployment, police brutality, etc
Ghost town: hybrid genre
hybrid of horror and social realism
horror conventions: screaming, dim lighting, dull colour codes, shaky camera
social realism: draws attention to and critiques socio-political conditions of Thatcher England
Application of Gilroy to Ghost Town
representations in the music video are racially diverse.
offers evidence of diasporic identity theory: black culture is forged through travel and hybridity, a “liquidity of culture”.
Application of Todorov to Ghost Town
Equilibrium - calm shots of buildings/empty streets
Disruption - music and erratic screams in the car while driving
Recognition - ‘cant go on no more, too much fighting on the dance floor’, ‘remember the good old days’
Attempt to repair - throwing stones, rebelling, ‘Why must the youth fight against themselves?’
New equilibrium - sirens at the end, as camera pans out.
Application of Neale to Ghost Town
music video was a new media form at the time, so it is difficult to find instances of repetition
may have adapted codes from tv and cinema
horror conventions, alongside social realism: hybridity
