BJ: Comparison of Two Music Videos

Kendrick Lamar - i

-Under Goodwin’s theory we can see that the video sticks to conventions of the genre. As an R’n’B/rap track it, as you would expect, features black people and typical black culture references. The video is also typical of R’n’B as when see a lot of dancing and a lot of voyeuristic shots of women.

-The relationship between lyrics and visuals is overall amplifying, as the song is about loving yourself and being free and that is represented through the metaphor of running through the streets together. However at some points it is very illustrative, for example when he says ‘life is more than suicide’ we see a shot of a man holding a gun to his head. 

-We see a lot of voyeurism in this video as we see a lot of close ups of women i.e ‘flesh shots’ also creating a fetishistic view of the video.

-There are many references to the 1970’s American culture in this music video. This is further proved by the fact that the whole song is a sample of ‘Who’s That Lady’ by The Isley Brothers.

-Lamar is presented as normal under Dyer’s theory. This is due to the fact that he is wearing a plain costume with a white t-shirt and a baseball cap. However, the paradox is created when Lamar is gaining a larger following of people as he is running down the streets. This presents him as abnormal as we assume he must be a special person if people are following him. This could relate to the idea of being like Jesus.

-This yearning to understand the artist further leads to the creation of a star as the audience consume more of his work because they want to ‘understand’ him more.

-Lamar is wearing a white t-shirt, which makes him stand out against the dark background, thus presenting him as the star. This also creates a sense of star image as white connotes purity and power. The white also has connotations of angels, therefore portraying Lamar as some sort of otherworldly force which adds to the star image and creates a particular meta-narrative around him. It also gives off the idea that Lamar possesses superhuman talents or has particular creativity and is above everyone else.

-Lamar is presented as both present and absent in the clip as we see breaking of the fourth wall in some shots, giving a first person mode of address. However, in other shots we see him not breaking the fourth wall and therefore being absent.

-We also see anti-authoritarian attitudes throughout the video as we see shots of a man getting arrested and towards the end we see Lamar in a car with his head out the window showing complete lack of respect for safety. It is also at this point that we see him spitting out the window, further portraying him as rebellious. Star image is also constructed through the use of conspicuous consumption of alcohol and excessive partying. This is shown towards the end where we see a party occurring on top of a roof which further constructs a star image through lack of respect for polite behaviour.

-The shot of the man getting arrested could reflect rebellion or anger and frustration among the black community. This further pushes his star image under Dyer’s theory as well.

-This particular text is very open as it uses enigma codes to create mystery and a lack of closure in the narrative. This makes the audience ask questions and gives the video repeatability value. This also can link to the idea of star image as mystery is created around the artist.

Hozier - Take Me To Church

-This song falls into the alternative genre and the video fits that straight away as it has a very sombre tone to it as the whole video is in black and white. This immediately constructs a particular meta-narrative around the artist. The fire shot we see is of fire, which connotes danger and violence and in combination with the black and white video this creates an ambiguous tone to the video. The narrative of the video is conventional of the genre in that it has a dark meaning to compliment to dark music. The characters are also conventional of the genre as they could be considered to not fit with the norm as they are gay.

-The relationship between lyrics and visuals is overall amplifying. This is proved when he says ‘the only heaven I’ll be sent to is when I’m alone with you’, and we see a flock of birds flying away in the sky. This is a visual motif of freedom which is trying to be represented throughout the video. Immediately after this shot however, we see the two men walking, but we see it through bars. This connotes being trapped or imprisoned due to their feelings. Another example is when the word ‘sacrifice’ is used multiple times we see the man being dragged to the bonfire. 

-Para social intimacy is not created at all as there is no first person mode of address, which means that the audience take a voyeuristic view of the video.

-This video seems to challenge Dyer’s theory that the artist must be both present and absent. This is because in this video, the artist is completely absent so is not seen at all meaning that we can’t get a sense of what he is like. However this could also conform to the theory as it creates a lot of mystery around the artist therefore making people want to see him and meet him and understand who he is.

-Enigma is created in the video as we, the audience, are not fully sure of why the couple are being targeted. We assume it is a hate crime born of hatred for gay people, but we still don’t fully understand. This contributes to repeatability value of the video and also leaves the text open to interpretation by the audience.