Riptide Representation

Question 1

Who is the artist of the song “Riptide”?

Answer 1

Vance Joy

Question 2

What genre does Vance Joy’s music, including “Riptide,” belong to?

Answer 2

Indie folk-pop.

Question 3

What is a notable feature of the editing style used in the “Riptide” music video?

Answer 3

Montage editing with hard jump cuts.

Question 4

What concept by Eisenstein is relevant to the editing style of “Riptide”?

Answer 4

Intellectual montage

Question 5

How does the “Riptide” music video interpret the song lyrics?

Answer 5

Through overt and deliberate graphical representation - USE YOUR OWN EXAMPLES!

Question 6

What cinematic styles does the “Riptide” music video reference?

Answer 6

Western, Thriller, and Horror genres

Question 7

What social and cultural contexts are relevant to the “Riptide” music video?

Answer 7

The representation of women and references to surrealist film.

Question 8

How are women represented in the “Riptide” music video?

Answer 8

Women are often presented as objects to be watched, sometimes in a sexualized manner.

Question 9

What is the significance of the lip-synch sections in the “Riptide” music video?

Answer 9

They show a woman becoming increasingly disheveled, challenging norms of beauty and glamour.

Question 10

What scenes in the “Riptide” music video depict violence?

Answer 10

A female hand being stabbed by a knife and a gun being pointed off-screen.

Question 11

What is Gauntlett’s identity theory?

Answer 11

• the idea that the media provide us with ‘tools’ or resources that we use to construct our identities
• the idea that whilst in the past the media tended to convey singular, straightforward
  messages about ideal types of male and female identities, the media today offer us a more diverse range of stars, icons and characters from whom we may pick and mix different ideas.

Question 12

How does David Gauntlett’s theory of identity apply to the “Riptide” music video?

Answer 12

The video constructs a range of stimuli that invite varied interpretations, rejecting ‘singular, straightforward’ messages.

Question 13

What is bell hooks feminist theory?

Answer 13

• the idea that feminism is a struggle to end sexist/patriarchal oppression and the ideology of domination
• the idea that feminism is a political commitment rather than a lifestyle choice
• the idea that race and class as well as sex determine the extent to which individuals are
  exploited, discriminated against or oppressed

Question 14

How can bell hooks’ feminist theory be used to analyze the “Riptide” music video?

Answer 14

Throughout the music video, women are victims to patriarchal oppression as there are several occasions where women are victims to male violence.

Question 15

How are women generally represented in the “Riptide” music video?

Answer 15

Women are often presented as objects to be watched, sometimes in a sexualized manner.

Question 16

What is one example of a woman being objectified in the “Riptide” music video?

Answer 16

A woman with her back to the camera undresses out of her swimming costume.

Question 17

How does the video use disembodied sections of women’s bodies?

Answer 17

It shows isolated sections such as bare feet running away or feminine hands being dragged out of shot.

Question 18

What does the repeated dragging of females off-screen signify?

Answer 18

It references Horror genre iconography and may imply violence or danger.

Question 19

How does the video depict violence against women?

Answer 19

Through scenes such as a female hand being stabbed by a knife and a gun being pointed off-screen.

Question 20

What is the significance of the hand stabbing scene in the video?

Answer 20

It can be compared to the infamous eye cutting scene in Buñuel and Dali’s Un Chien Andalou, exploring violence and sexual desire.

Question 21

How does the video use the concept of scopophilia?

Answer 21

By presenting images of women that may be sexualized and offered to audiences for their pleasure.