Riptide Flashcards
Who is it by and when was it released?
Vance Joy
2013
What type of video is it, according to andrew goodwin?
concept based
What is the genre of the video and what does it mean?
Surrealism
An artistic movement, started in 1924, that depicted the creative potential of the unconscious mind.
Editing became extremely haphazard and spontaneous. Casual links between the shots is completely disregarded in favour of oddity and surprise.
What is significant about this songs release?
it was vance joys first single to be released in the usa
Give an example of a link between music and visuals (andrew goodwin)
fast paced - quick changing images (editing) and theres a lot of running shots (reflective of upbeat song , erratic, repetitive)
Give an example of the links between music and lyrics (andrew goodwin)
> “you’re gonna sing the words wrong” - she sings the words wrong in the subtitles
“i was scared of the dentist” - she’s at the dentist
“and the dark” - light goes off
“turning green” - dollar bill (which is green)
“magician” - card trick (appears in his hand)
“come unstuck” - she gets out of rope when tied to a tree
“running down to the riptide” - girl running and then a tide/wave
“i wanna be your left hand” - doing things with left hand (holding microphone, cutting plant, picking fruit, holding a gun, left hand stabbed with knife)
“theres this movie” - shows videotape
“cowboy” - cowboy
Give an example of intertextuality in riptide (andrew goodwin)
> Catch Me If You Can - ‘PAN AMERICAN’ plane ticket (airline he uses in the film), then shot of the plane
‘horror’ references - stabbing hand, being pulled from the bed
Velocite - racing film
“There’s this movie that I think you like/ This guy decides to quit his job and heads to New York City/ This cowboy’s running from himself.” - midnight cowboy
playboy magazine
camera is following the woman running away whilst also zooming out (‘vertigo’ shot) - used in Alfred Hitchcock film ‘Vertigo’, and ‘Jaws’ and ‘The Simpsons’
Woman running away, and camera is postioned as if we are someone who is running after her - horror genre, slasher films in particular
Give an example of voyeurism in riptide (andrew goodwin)
- woman on beach removing swimsuit
- woman on balcony being watched whilst also watching someone else (low camera angle from behind a bush create a voyeuristic view of women as though they are being watched/stalked)
- shot of young attractive woman escaping rope; the shot may make people uncomfortable (audience is positioned in a voyeuristic uncomfortable mode of address) and the shot is taken with a telephoto lens from a distance (could be seen as creepy, like whoever is shooting this doesn’t want to be seen)
Give an example of how women are victimised in the video.
- woman tied to a tree
- woman tortured at the dentist
- woman singing and covered in bruises
Give an example of how the video makes watchers feel uncomfortable. What is the purpose?
> Shots of woman singing are long takes - audience is able to see her up close for a longer time (made to look at her injuries) - audience is uncomfortable and it creates an understanding that we are supposed to question why the victimisation of women is happening
Use of high camera angles, terrified facial expressions and low-key lighting present women as fearful. This representation is not meant to be enjoyable; it often would make an audience uncomfortable which encourages us to see the victimisation of women as undesirable
How are the representations of women as victims contradicted?
there are instances when women act as their own hero/ are shown to be more powerful/independent e.g. woman escaping from tree, woman as an actress, woman on balcony looking at person in the bushes
Give examples of how women are sexualised?
- woman undressing on beach
- book about photographing girls
How are women objectified in the video?
Many shots literally objectify women because we don’t get to see their full bodies/faces, only their feet - don’t get to see the identity of the females who are a main part of the video
These shots help to ‘dehumanise’ them and help to make them seem like objects to be admired
How are men represented in the video?
Men as voyeurs (watching the women) e.g. man with binoculars on the beach, men with camera filming woman on beach, person in bushes (presumably male) watching woman on balcony, shot of woman undressing for male gaze
Shots of men in reasonably powerful positions (camera operators, directors etc.) - reflective of typical patriarchal views of men in society
Describe how the singing women is represented, and how this is significant.
> makeup, hair and outfit is done and the spotlight is on her - alludes to expectations of women having to look perfect. this makes her seem powerful and important, but also sexualises her and highlights traditional ideas about beauty for women - links to the idea of male gaze(laura mulvey)
her glamourised look deteriorates which shocks the audience and helps to create enigma codes about what is happening to her - also emphasises how women are often victims of violence and control - creates tense and scary atmosphere
blood, bruises and makeup encourages audience to sympathise with her
the onscreen lyrics help us to see that she is singing the words wrong which signifies she is panicked, emotional and scared
However
> She can also be seen as strong and powerful: despite her injuries, she doesn’t look to be in extreme amounts of pain (her facial expressions remain neutral and unchanged), and she continues to sing the words wrong despite the injuries (which are presumably caused by her inability to sing the right words)
