gender representation- r'n'b

Males and females are portrayed differently in music videos. Males are often portrayed as strong and important; they are the ones surrounded by girls or playing instruments or doing the 'important task'. Females are portrayed as weaker, usually dancing and seemingly less important. They often have less screen time and even if the musician is a female she is often shown in some kind of love story with another male.

 

Beyoncé - Partition

 

This music video features blatant exhibitionism and female empowerment throughout. The video begins with a shot of a castle or palace, giving Beyoncé an appearance of being royal or powerful (linking with her 'Queen Bey' title). This is highlighted further  through the fact that her maid in the background is headless, as is the person from whom we are witnessing the scene, showing that everyone else is unimportant in comparison.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Almost immediately, there are several cuts of camera shots showing first Beyoncé's face as she removes her glasses and second, Beyoncé pulling her robe outwards deliberately (the first use of exhibitionism). The shot is a close up just of her chest, showing how strongly she feels about flaunting her sexuality.



Soon after is an over-the-shoulder shot of Beyoncé in a glittered corset looking at herself in the mirror. At the beginning of the shot, Beyoncé herself is in focus (her shoulder, back of head) but the focus shifts to her body in the mirror, highlighting her exposed cleavage.

 

Beyoncé then proceeds to strike a provocative pose in which she thrusts her chest forward towards the camera. The camera tilts sultrily up her body as she moves. All of these actions and the deliberate focus on her bust are examples of exhibitionism and highlight Beyoncé's desire to expose her sexuality.

 



The video gets more blatant as it goes on until Beyoncé stands directly in front of a car's headlights in a trent coat and opens it to reveal sultry lingerie. She looks directly at the camera and pulls a 'come hither' motion with her finger.

 

In the car there are several shots of Beyoncé and her husband, Jay Z, acting in a seductive and provocative manner. This is an example of vouyerism: short, quick, faceless shots are typical in vouyerism and show a private act where the partakers seemingly aren't aware that anyone is watching.

andrew goodwin's theory

"Music videos ignore narrative and just try to advertise"
Conventions:
1) A relationship between the lyrics and the visuals, which illustrate, amplify or contradict the lyrics
2) Thought beats, you see the sound
3) Genre-related style and iconography present
4) Multiple close-ups of the main artist or vocalist: creation of a star image to promote a recognisable brand-image
5) Voyeurism often plays a major part, especially in females
6) Intertextual references to other media texts may be present, especially in humourous videos
3 types: narrative, performance, concept

Concept:

'Scream' - Michael Jackson ft. Janet Jackson

This is an example of a concept video mixed with performance. Concept videos are unusual and 'arty', designed to attract attention. The audience can rarely look away when what they are seeing is so different to reality. For example, this video starts with an animation of space and a spacecraft, and the musicians in this video are walking on walls and screaming into glass, which proceeds to crack.
There is a link between the music and the music video as, to start with, there is a high-pitched, disturbing noise which both musicians are reacting to in a way that shows their discomfort at the noise. There is a strong beat near the beginning of the music, at which point Michael punches towards the camera, on the beat. There is a smashing noise where Michael throws his guitar on the ground and it promptly smashed.
There is a link between the lyrics and the music video. When Michael sings 'got to get up' he appears to be standing on the ceiling, showing that he has risen above (literally) those who are 'kicking him down'. When Janet says 'and I won't give up the fight' she jumps up from her position on her knees on the floor. The song is about control and empowerment, shown through the video.

Performance:

'A Love Like War' - All Time Low ft. Vic Fuentes

This is an example of a performance video as most of the video is just the band performing their music to those watching. It is set to a background of a cinema and includes no story or plot. A performance video mostly shows the band/musician lip synching to the lyrics and seemingly playing the song on their instruments. This is most common in indie and rock genres and typically involves the lowest budget as it is 'raw', simply showing the musicians in their most realistic form. A downside to this type of video is that interest will become saturated if the band is of little interest; many if not all of the viewers will be the musicians' fans, as they are simply watching the people they enjoy wathcing. Without fans, views will be sparse.
There is a link between the music and the music video as the band are literally playing the song. They are moving, lip-synching and playing in time with the music. There are very few links between the lyrics and the video, however; the music video generally has nothing to do with the song itself. There are little things, such as when the singer says 'fingernails', he wiggles his fingers.

Narrative:

'Everytime' - Britney Spears

This is a narrative video as it tells a story which links with the lyrics. The story told is one of Britney's media 'meltdown' and troubles within her relationship which together lead to her being hospitalised. There are elements of performance in this video as Britney herself occasionally sings to the camera as if singing for the watcher. The narrative style of music video is usually used in love songs and slower songs.
There is a link between the lyrics and the video as the first line sung is 'notice me' at which point paparazzi swarms to the limo. This shows that whilst she is being noticed through all of the media attention she's getting the person she wants to notice her has no interest. The music video cuts in time with the music.