Music Videos Introduction

Music Videos

Purpose

• What is the content
• Themes?
• Lyrics

Music

• Tells a story
• Entertains

Musical films are where music videos evolved from

• Censorship
• History 
• Swearing in lyrics and explicit visual content

• Technological Innovation
• Changes
• Quality of visuals 
• Silent Film + Music
• First Talkie movie - 
• Colours introduced to films
• First Colour movie was Wizard Of Oz (musical)
• Special FX

Representations

• Historically
• Represents moments in time
• Politics
• Beauty
• Gender

Pop MV's

• Awards
• Publicity/Advertising/Marketing
• Branding
• MTV

Elvis Presley

• Was the first performer on live television to dance and ‘be interesting’
• Caused ruckus - females went crazy, parents thought he was too sexual
• Leads to censorship in music and films

Representations of:

• Gender
• Culture
• Time
• Fashion (Male and Female)

Look at:

Target audiences across the genres

Institutions: companies that own the music channels, singers, performers, record companies, radio and audio broadcasting

Languages: Pop, JPop, KPop, EuroPop, Visual Language (Mise En Scene, Cinematography), Censorship

Understand how society has changed their views rather than how the law on censorship hasn't changed

Normalisation, Desensitisation

Controversial Music Videos

Blurred Lines - women sexualised, 3 women walking around naked 

California Girls - girls all naked in candy

Lilly Allen

Lady Gaga - bizzare fashion

Britney Spears - dressed like a 'slut' in her school uniform

Wrecking Ball - Miley Cyrus - naked on a wrecking ball - sexualising 

Kylie Monogue 

Girls On Film

Madonna - Like a Prayer - Justify My Love (banned)