Terminology Dream

Question 1

Allegory dream

Answer 1

a story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one.
This is written in a storytelling children’s book style and has clear political messages in terms of racism. E.g. the policeman beating the black man in the London hood

Question 2

Anti-social behaviour dream

Answer 2

Shown mainly in his early years with the graffiti’d shop. Boys and men drinking/getting into fights, was assumed to be the norm. “I was scared”

Question 3

Barthes/semiotics dream

Answer 3

Mise en scene used to literally create the scene as it is a puppet show/set up.
Graffiti = unruliness, bad area, struggles with poverty.
Horse = references to muffin the mule, children’s programming in the 50’s

Question 4

Challenges authority dream

Answer 4

Told from the voice of a black man who was oppressed for all of his young life. Authorities e.g. police painted as the enemy , beating his friends.

Question 5

Connotations of power dream

Answer 5

The white lady seems to have all of the power. She is physically bigger, presents the show. References to puppets from the 1950s.
Messages of him overcoming various prejudices to create music - his poor background, race, lack of education etc.

Question 6

Ethnically diverse dream

Answer 6

White woman playing the presenter at the piano
Mostly black puppets from his childhood, white people shown as policemen, dangerous
Becomes more diverse as he grows up, mixed races at parties etc.
He is the only human on the set

Question 7

“hoodies” dream

Answer 7

Demonising black people / poorer people that wear that for comfort.
Associated with crime, shadiness
Connotations of anonymity, obscuring self
Arguably just fashion

Question 8

Iconography dream

Answer 8

Icons such as the alcohol bottles connote the struggles he faced
Icons such as the dogs and animals e.g. horses show childhood escapism? Reference to 50s shows

Question 9

Illustrative dream

Answer 9

serving as an example or explanation.
The music video is illustrative of his entire life up to that point and his struggles.
Illustrative of race struggles, and perhaps the underlying white power over all of black people.

Question 10

Immigration (Gilroy) dream

Answer 10

Links to gilroy - immigrants to America (SS Windrush) treated awfully due to their race. Residual racism toward immigrants today.

Question 11

Intertextual references dream

Answer 11

South Pacific “happy talk” 1950’s - all about harmony, “happy native” trope used heavily
1950’s children’s shows e.g. Muffin the mule and andy pandy

Question 12

Juxtaposing / levi strauss dream

Answer 12

Black vs white
The calm child-friendly atmosphere vs the “hood” atmosphere played out on the piano
Happy music vs violence on screen (“contrapuntal”)

Question 13

Narrative dream

Answer 13

Cyclic narrative - ends as it begins.
Shows him climbing out of box, his life happening, climbing back into box.
Shows pointlessness of fighting against an ingrained system?

Question 14

Nostalgia dream

Answer 14

All references to the 1950s may draw an older audience, or possibly just comment on the racism at the time versus modern racism.
Nostalgia from people’s childhoods: things they had forgotten may bring them pleasure.

Question 15

Performance dream

Answer 15

He is an actor in the reality of the children’s show. Direct address to the audience. Not much choreographed dancing, mostly just standing within the scene and talking to the audience.

Question 16

Position the audience dream

Answer 16

Audience positioned from Dizzee’s point of view and to accept his “preferred reading” of the race struggle

Question 17

Positive representations dream

Answer 17

Dizzee portrays himself positively, portrays black parents positively “young baby momma/daddy” offers positive advice to youths similar to him. Humanises them

Question 18

Postmodern (Baudrillard) dream

Answer 18

Links to living in a hyper reality - the music video is set in a different reality. Everything is just representing something else, e.g. the shop with graffiti on it is just representing an actual shop. All mise en scene INCLUDING HUMANS are just simulacra

Question 19

Presentor/narrator dream

Answer 19

She is an old woman meant to look like the woman from Muffin the Mule. She talks directly to the audience and introduces dizzy.
Acts as the puppet master (or another person is assumed to be). Dizzee is the only one not on strings and “real”.

Question 20

Reinforces dominant ideologies dream

Answer 20

The physically larger white woman that seems to be orchestrating/allowing the whole scene to take place is in a position of power.
The fact that he gets back in the box shows how pointless it is to fight against the system.
Reinforces the stereotype of “young trouble making black man wearing hoodies + rap” however the lyrics are positive in many parts and shows he has learned from his experiences

Question 21

Role model dream

Answer 21

Dizzee acts as a role model for other similar black youths. He offers advice:
“To all the youngers cotchin’ on the stairs in the flats
With the superstar soccer-lings, Beckham in the makings
You can go far if you put your mind to it
You’re a star, don’t wait to be told, just do it
Try to keep school in your plans don’t be worrying about your mans
They’ll be there in the end if they’re real, if they ain’t
Don’t be making no effort to impress
Cause you’ll find out where you are, just do what you feel
Young babymothers, yo I got your back as well
Young babyfathers, hold it down for your girl
I ain’t trying to preach but for what it’s worth
That kid’s the next generation Planet Earth”

Question 22

Worlds dream

Answer 22

There is the strange, nostalgic “1950s childrens show” reality with another, smaller reality on top of the piano. Both are weird and unnatural, draws attention to the video