Beyonce - If i were a boy

Beyonce – If I were a boy.

This music video is shown to be a narrative based music video, including a visual storyline that features the artist as the “protagonist” of the narrative, with visuals that parallel a short film which matches the relevant messages in the song’s lyrics.

The music video starts off with no music, initially displaying just a medium shot of Beyoncé and another man, who proceed to say the words; “intimacy, honesty, commitment, you, me and us”. After the two finish speaking these words the music starts, and as expected so does the music video which accompanies the song. The words spoken by the two are words that are commonly attributed to what makes a health relationship, and it is said directly to the viewer. This is done to essentially directly address the viewer and to set up the subject that the music video aims to tackle; relationships. This also serves to imply that the two are in a relationship, and the music video will use them as examples of a relationship.

The entire music video is filmed in black and white, with absolutely no colour in the entire music video, this stylistic choice creates a dramatic yet sophisticated atmosphere for the music video, reflecting the serious tones that it aims to tackle. The shots following this depict Beyonce and her significant other with yet another medium shot, and shows them putting plates on the table. A similar shot following this shows a zoomed in version of the previous shot, allowing the viewer to get a better glance at the table and realise that they are preparing breakfast, implying that these two live together and must be an established couple.

Afterwards; Beyonce leaves the house wearing a police uniform, with a panning shot that leads her to a police car with another person in a police uniform inside. The man in the car is implied to be her work partner based off his uniform and that they’re getting into a car together. The fact that Beyonce is wearing a police uniform serves to challenge the gender stereotypes of employment, as typically men are the primary gender to be working as police officers or any other kind of enforcement.

Beyonce and her co-worker are seen talking to one another; and while no dialogue can be heard their expressions are shown to be positive so that the viewer can infer that they are laughing amongst one another and that they have a health rapport with each other. A few medium shots depict Beyonce smiling and standing with her co-worker and several other police officers, enjoying herself amongst them. Beyonce seems to be the only female police officer amongst them, further emphasising how she is unique for challenging the gender stereotype of police enforcement, this also serves to emphasise her as an individual, making the viewer focus on her more.

A close up shot of Beyonce’s police partner shows him intently

looking at something, shown by his fixated gaze. This naturally entices the viewer’s attention as we want to see what he sees. The following shots is a shot reverse shot which reveals to the viewer that the officer is actually looking at Beyonce as she interrogates somebody in a car we assume they pulled over for some sort of violation. The lingering focus on Beyonce and the shot reverse shot of her partners face connotes to the viewer that his gaze may be romantic, and that he is interested in her. The shot immediately following this displays Beyonce’s boyfriend in a completely different setting to Beyonce, dressed up in a suit with a laptop at a desk, which we can infer is his workplace. This further serves to challenge the gender normative of job professions, as women are typically shown in office settings while men are typically shown to be police officers, showing a role reversal in this couple’s professions.

Soon after we see Beyonce’s significant other, we see a woman trying to get his attention, and while he does acknowledge her, his gaze seems transfixed on his laptop screen. A following shot reveals to us that the laptop screen has several pictures of extravagant jewellery on the screen, which immediately connotes to the viewer that he may be buying a gift for Beyonce, due to the fact that jewellery is commonly an appropriate gift for women. This

further connotes to the viewer that this man is loyal to his partner and only has eyes for her, on top of the fact that he did not provide a lingering glance to his co-worker at all, implying he has no feelings for her.

Later, Beyonce and her boyfriend are shown reunited at a party together, with Beyonce wearing a pair of new earrings that we can infer are a pair her boyfriend bought for her online. A shot reverse shot of Beyonce’s boyfriend shows him looking at beyonce as she dance’s almost seductively with her police officer co-worker, and after they lock eyes, Beyonce stops. This connotes to the viewer that Beyonce immediately feels guilty or at least uncomfortable by the fact that she was caught dancing like that with another man, and her boyfriend rejects her attempts at an apology; providing a dramatic atmosphere.

Afterwards there is a shot of both of them together at home, and the music from the music video has ended. The two exchange dialogue about how the man is uncomfortable with the way Beyonce acts with other men, to which she replies mockingly about how he shouldn’t be worried because it’s not like they’re sleeping together. After this, her boyfriend asks “what?” and the dialogue pauses, and suddenly Beyonce is the one asking “what?” and her boyfriend is the one stating that she shouldn’t be worried because it’s not as if he’s sleeping with the girl. At this very moment there is a role reversal, switching the positions of the two as they have been through the whole music video. This connotes to the viewer that throughout the music video we have viewing an alternate version of reality, where their roles are switched, and the name of the song “If I were a boy” dawns upon the viewer. The music video challenges the gender stereotypes and tackles the issue of concerns of cheating within a relationship, and how there is a double standard of women “overreacting” when suspicious of a cheating lover, while men are free to be suspicious without ridicule.

Madonna vs Monroe

Diamonds are a girl’s best friend

 VS

Material Girl

In 1953 Marilyn Monroe starred in a song named “Diamonds are a girl’s best friend”, similar to a music video however it appeared in the film “Gentlemen prefer blondes”. The music video depicted Monroe in a glamorous scenario, surrounded by men lusting over her as she denies them in favour of her love of diamonds, claiming that they are a girl’s best friend. Later in 1985 Madonna released a music video named “Material Girl” which displayed a notable deconstruction of Monroe’s “Diamonds are a girl’s best friend” with several similarities in choreography, cinematography and mise en scene.

The first notable similarity between Monroe and Madonna’s respective music videos are their outfits. The mise en scene between these two music videos is remarkably similar,  Madonna and Monroe both wear a long pink dress with matching gloves that reach up to below their shoulders with a big bow wrapped up at the back. The similarities  between their outfits are made further blatant with their jewellery, the both of them wearing diamond bracelets, diamond necklaces and to top it off; diamond earrings. The general premise of both of the songs is also quite similar, which is probably what sparked the idea for the deconstruction of Monroe’s song. Madonna’s Material Girl revolves around her and her love for jewellery, as a “material girl” refers to a girl who has a great love for objects and clothing rather than another person. This idea is evident within Monroe’s song, which can be clearly taken from the title of “diamonds are a girl’s best friend”, which has heavy connotations towards a materialistic mind-set.

Beyond the names of the songs and the appearances of the two artists in both of the songs there are even more similarities that can be drawn from the supporting dancers in both of the music videos and the mise en scene used in the scenes of both songs. In both of the music videos both Madonna and Monroe are surrounded by men in identical black suits who are all pining for them, only to be comically overshadowed by Madonna or Monroe’s love for materialism. The men in both music videos are seen surrounding Monroe and Madonna in their respective songs and providing supporting choreography for them. The men in both of the music videos are dressed identically in dark colours, in contrast to Monroe and Madonna who wear bright pink dresses and are the only ones wearing these outfits in order to emphasise their importance within the music videos.

In addition, the setting of the music videos is remarkably similar, both of them having very minimalistic designs and similar colours. The set of Monroe’s song is set on a completely red stage in order to emphasise her backup dancers and her bright pink dress and white jewellery in contrast to the harsh red. The colour red is also commonly associated with romance and love, which is an evident theme within both music videos, as the men in both music videos are seen lusting for Monroe and Madonna’s romantic attention but are denied. The setting is the same in “Material Girl”; a very minimalistic set sporting a harsh red background reflecting the colour of romance and love in order to emphasise the colours of the people performing within the music video. This setting was probably taken by Madonna and inspired by Monroe due to its relevant symbolism revolving around romance and materialism In both of the music videos.

The most notable similarity between the two music videos in regards to the choreography of the backup dancers is a scene in Monroe’s video in which several men form a circle around her and all revolve around her and make her the centre of attention. This scene is completely recreated in Madonna’s “Material Girl”, with Madonna being surrounded by her male backup dancers as they revolve around her. 

Lady Gaga - Bad Romance

Lady Gaga – Bad Romance

Before the music starts there is a wide shot with Lady Gaga in the centre, surrounded by several other people, this directly connotes to the viewer that Lady Gaga is the main focus of this music video and that she is most important, as the viewer’s eye is immediately drawn to her first. Following this are several panning shots of white pods with light that illuminates them, one pod has a holy cross on it with the word “monster” written upon it. Lady Gaga’s fanbase is affectionally referred to as her “little monsters”, which may imply that her fans are lying dormant within this peculiar pure white pods. Additionally the fact that there is a holy cross on these pods may imply that these are intended to be coffins, housing the dead.

The name “Bath haus of Gaga” appears in the room, which may be a play on the “Haus of Gaga”, which is the name of Lady Gaga’s creative team, this name also serves to reflect the porcelain white environment of the shot, which reflects themes of a bath house. Several people promptly emerge from the pods wearing pure white leotards and masks which obscure their eyes and ears, these figures are intended to represent Lady Gaga’s fanbase, however they seem to have no individuality, as if they are a blank slate ready to be moulded. This idea is further supported by the strange pods they emerge from, almost as if they have just been born from them, or if they are implied to be coffins; possibly reborn from. In collaboration with shots showing Lady Gaga’s fans, there are also shots of Lady Gaga in a bathtub with cartoon-like eyes that are wide, staring at the viewer, which may directly imply that her fans are “wide-eyed”, something said about a new-born who is experiencing something for the first time, further supporting the idea that her fans are just being introduced to the world.

The white figures have very animalistic and feline movements, possibly comparing the women of the music industry as difficult to domesticate felines, something of a negative representation of women. Additionally, felines have a stigma of femininity surrounding them, as well as elegance, further implying that these animalistic movements have ties to the female gender. A medium shot of lady gaga infront of a mirror shows her wearing a black outfit which completely covers her body, in addition to black sunglasses and a black spiky crown which is noticeably similar to the masks of the white figures. This outfit has a direct parallel with the outfits of the white figures, with her eyes being obscured and her hat being similar to a crown, possibly implying that she is their ruler. Her black colour scheme directly contrasts with that of her fans, whom are pure white, a colour tied to purity and birth, while Lady Gaga’s colour scheme is pure black, possibly connoting that she is experienced and is in no way new to this world.

A scene following this depicts Lady Gaga being handled by two women wearing the same outfits as her fans, however now their masks have been removed. The two force Lady Gaga to drink an unknown fluid, which in a following scene is shown to change her completely. Previously in the video all of Lady Gaga’s outfits were modest, however now her outfit is a lot more sexualised, this implies to the viewer that Lady Gaga has been forced to become hyper sexualised, not only by the music industry but also by her fans; who without their masks have been exposed to the world and believe they know what’s best for Lady Gaga, forcing her to drink an elixir which sexualises her. After her forced sexualisation, a shot displays several men staring at Lady Gaga and her little monsters, men who have not been present in the video until Lady Gaga’s abrupt sexualisation. Lady Gaga dances for the men, and they respond by pushing buttons which are shown to increase bid prices on a computer, these men are supposed to represent the music industry who spend their money on Lady Gaga as if she were an object or possession to be bought. Not only does this serve to display the severe objectification of women by the music industry and media, it also shows to imply that the media wants women to change to become sexualised before they are willing to spend any money for their benefit.

Later in the music video Lady Gaga is shown wearing a polar bear cape, which connotes themes of both violence and elegance due to the fact that this is a repurposed bear corpse, however it is also a symbol of glamour due to the price of authentic clothing made of animal furs. This is done to display Lady Gaga as a strong and fearsome woman, but also as a glamorous one; one not to be messed with. This is not the same Lady Gaga from the start of the music video, nor one who has been sexualised by the hand of the music industry. This is a Lady Gaga who has risen above the male-run music industry that oppressed her and that she played the part for. Gaga is then seen burning a bed with a man in it, the same man who bid on her early in the music video, and the man who represents the oppressive music industry. By playing the part in the music industry’s scheme she has gained enough power to rise above them, and this shot serves to show Lady Gaga discarding the oppressive industry that used her, achieving her revenge and burning them alive.

Immediately after burning the man, Gaga and her little monsters are shown dancing in red outfits, which drastically contrast with the pure white outfits they have had in the music video thus far. The red colour scheme connotes themes of passion and power, and displays that Gaga and her fans have reached a level of individuality which was not available to them while under the control of the music industry, when they were wearing plain white outfits. At the very end of the music video, Lady Gaga is shown lying next to the scorched skeleton of the man she previous burned alive, almost mocking him as she wears her peculiar outfit with firework sparkler breasts, displaying her abstract individuality and proving to the viewer that she has won.

Short film analysis - Wasp

A short film can be shown in many different ways, and can be demonstrated as many different things. A short film can theoretically have any kind of genre and setting as it is generally has its own tropes that define it alongside whatever genre it is appropriating.

In my experience short films are; as the title implies, short. This means that a short film does not necessarily have to concise of a concrete beginning and end with all of the ins and outs of the world of the movie completely explored and explained. A short film is simply a slice of life version of any movie, it is a window into the everyday life of whatever world the short film takes place in, while the film’s story may span across the length of weeks or years the amount we are given is limited, compact and concise enough to give us an understanding of the world and its representations.

Most short films do not have incredibly complex plots, as if they did they would probably be required to wrap up any lingering misunderstandings or queries that the audience may develop from a film with too much complexity. Commonly short films have very simple storylines, or potentially confusing storylines that take until the ending for the whole thing to make sense to the viewer, and while all the characters may not feel wrapped up in the end, the aim of the initial storyline of the film should be wrapped up somewhat, with some kind of message to accompany the ending.

This analysis is done in response to the 25-minute short film by Andrea Arnold, simply named “wasp”. The story of the short film follows a small family consisting of a young single mother with four children, consisting of three young children aged 5-8 and a young toddler incapable of speech or the ability to walk.

The short film challenges British stereotypes revolving around young single mothers, child neglect, unemployment and living on government benefits. While initially dismissive of the generic premise of the film I was soon invested in the story, which followed this small struggling family and the trials and tribulations put upon them by their struggling single mother, and her conflicting ideals.

The setting of the film and the characters within it could be generally deemed stereotypically “chavvy”, which most people view negatively and look down upon regardless of who they are judging. This film allowed me to get to know the main characters and understand their struggles, while it didn’t outright tell me these struggles the mise-en-scene used and the capabilities of the actors involved were able to imply them to me. I grew a sense of empathy towards the single mother as found her to be dealing with a struggle between taking care of her children full time and longing for a romantic life and to hold onto her youth despite her living conditions which are clearly unfit for her desired lifestyle.

The film uses its incredible mise-en-scene to its advantage, one might claim that the area of filming is nothing spectacular, and they would be absolutely right. However due to the fact that this short film is tackling the subject of a low-income household with a single mother dealing with several young children, the stereotypically poor and “chavvy” neighbourhood is completely justified. With the main character being in her nighty for the majority of the first few minutes of the film and her walking out on the streets with her children; all bare foot connoting their absolute lack of money, the mise-en-scene helps to convey to the viewer just what kind of scenario this family is in.

The movie seems to portray something of a negative stereotype of the people of the UK, however the stereotype is also not an inaccurate one. The film follows a small family, tackling themes of unemployment, single motherhood, food shortages and living off of government funds. All of these aspects are present in some areas of UK culture, the film representing the typically “chav-populated” areas of the UK, a nickname given to people of the UK who are commonly in low-income areas and are depicted as being rude and foul-mouthed.

The film has several layers of symbolism including the wasp which I initially did not catch at first, and may have yet to catch onto still. The first instance of a wasp appearing is when one is trapped within the family’s house while the mother is chatting to a friend on her phone, during her conversation she notices the wasp however does not show any aggression towards it. Rather than attempting to kill the wasp, an insect that is typically considered aggressive and dangerous, she instead opens the window to let the wasp back out into the wild. This is the first instance where the wasp itself can be compared to the single mother of the short film. Wasps are typically considered needlessly aggressive creatures which generally serve no practical purpose, especially when compared to their more practical similarly coloured counterparts; bees. These traits typically given to the wasp can also be given to the single mother of the short film, she is shown to be aggressive at times, definitely evident at the start of the film where she marches her entire family to another mother’s home to attack her for supposedly hitting her child. The woman could also be considered absolutely useless, with no practical value; a single mother living off of government funds is considered by society to be incredibly lazy and looked down upon. This notion is further supported by the mother whom the main character attacks, as she implies several times throughout the movie that she has been at risk of losing her children to child services in the past due to her poor mothering.

Similarly to the way that the wasp was trapped in the woman’s house, the woman feels trapped herself by the situation she is in. She is not in her current situation by choice, as she lusts for her love and youth, which is rekindled by the reappearance of a love interest in David. In the same way that the woman freed the wasp from her home, the single mother believes that David can free her as well, and that he can life her off of her feet and make her happy.

The second instance of the wasp appearing Is towards the end of the movie, where it lands on the toddler’s mouth as he sleep, attracted by the sauce of the barbeque ribs he was fed by his siblings. It is definitely possible that this wasp is different from the wasp freed from the family’s house earlier in the movie, however it is implied to the viewer that it is the same wasp due to its fixation on this family. As the wasp enters the child’s mouth, all of his siblings scream, attracting their mother back to them. The comparisons between the wasp and the mother are once again evident here, after the wasp was freed from the family’s home it was free to do what it wanted, however wasps are dangerous and aggressive, and may go on to sting people and cause damage if given the chance. The character David is who the single mother believes will free her of her complicated life and let her be able to live the way she wants; similarly to how the wasp was free. However, in the same way as the wasp, with the mother temporarily being blissfully ignorant of the life she had during her limited time of freedom, she ended up hurting those around her; namely her children. While in the end none of her children were actually harmed, her aspirations of romance and freedom caused her children to be neglected and mistreated, to the point where one was nearly stung by a potentially dangerous wasp.

Codes and Conventions of a Documentary

Codes and Conventions of a Documentary

During the opening of most documentaries there is typically some kind of “hook” that is used to grab the audience’s attention and maintain it throughout the course of the documentary in order to make sure they keep watching. A hook can be anything as long it initially catches people’s interest and convinces people to continue watching.

In the documentary “Louis Theroux behind bars” the initial hook happens during a conversation between Louis Theroux and an inmate behind bars, and Theroux implies that the inmate is serving over 500 years in prison. This implication grabs the audience’s attention and ensures that they shall continue watching through the documentary in order to find out why this inmate was sentenced such a ridiculous amount of time in prison; which is usually revealed towards the end of the documentary so people have to watch most if not all of the documentary to get what they want to know.

Some documentaries have a kind of question that is always posed at the start of the documentary to grab a person’s attention and inform them about the purpose of the documentary.  Additionally, titles are also presented in this way, very early on in the documentary in order to inform the viewer about the general purpose of the documentary and what it covers. These titles and questions are usually presented as an onscreen graphic that is done through editing, and may be done in certain fonts in order to reflect the theme of the documentary; for example a documentary focused around obesity may comically use large bulky text as the font for it’s documentary title, as that would connote obesity.

Documentaries commonly include montages at the start of them, sometimes accompanied by a voiceover, which may be relevant to the montages on screen. This is again done in Louis Theroux’s documentary where it displays a short montage of several inmates with a voiceover talking about the prison they are in. These voiceovers are common in documentaries and are there to provide facts and information for the viewer and to further reinforce the purpose of the documentary. Other things that may be in the opening sequence of a documentary is a soundtrack of incidental music which is relevant to the documentary and may accompany a montage instead of or alongside a voiceover, however if music is every paired with a voiceover it is undoubtedly always quieter so not to override the person speaking.

After the opening of the documentary, throughout the course of the entire production there are several codes and conventions that are not limited to any point of the film, and there are also several types of documentaries such as historical documentaries or reality television documentaries that implement different codes and conventions. Some documentaries have a theme of filming live events that are relevant to a topic, such as filming a live hurricane or tsunami if the documentary were about natural disasters, however this could be considered highly dangerous. Other documentaries may opt to use archived footage for these segments, using archived footage of natural disasters instead. There are also times where archived footage is necessary and not optional if the documentary centres on the topic of past events such as historical documentaries, which may use archived footage of historical figures to help display information.

Some more informal documentaries about reality television may incorporate a “fly on the wall” convention, which includes filming real people in real life scenarios in a very realistic and down to earth setting. These types of documentaries include codes and conventions such as including a conversation between family members whom the documentary is about and filming them having a discussion, which is relevant to the topic of the film. There is also simply live event footage which consists of handheld cameras following people around and documenting their everyday lives.

Research into Existing Products

Research into existing products

Each genre goes through four phases of existence:

·         The experimental

·         The Classic

·         The Parody

·         The Deconstruction

The Experimental

This is the phase of very early film, which explore and experiment with horror themes in its narratives. Films such as:

·         The Cabinet of Dr Caligari (1919)

·         Nosferatu (1922)

These films helped to formalise the narrative conventions of the horror film in it’s easiest phase.

The Classic

This is the phase of films which established the narrative conventions of the horror genre in its most successful and defining period. Films such as:

·         Dracula (1931)

·         Frankstein (1931)

è By Universal

The Parody

These are the films that have mimicked the horror genre in some comical way. Films such as:

·         Abbot and Costello meet Frankenstein (1948)

·         Carry on Screaming (1968)

·         Scary movie (1998)

Deconstruction

These are the films that have taken the generic elements of the horror genre and amalgamated them into varying sub-genres. Films such as:

·         Se7en (1995)

·         The sixth sense (1999)

·         The Blair witch project (1998)

·         Scream (1996)

Music Videos

Like films have their genres Music Videos also have certain archetypes which define them, which can be seen in all music videos after closer inspection.

The three types of music videos are:

Performance based music videos

·         These are music videos which commonly depict the song artist performing their song to the viewer, potentially with choreography etc. as it is a performance

·         Bands such as U2 and The Rolling Stones, sometimes Beyoncé.

·         These music videos can mimic the appearance of live performances.

Narrative based music videos

·         These are music videos which depict a story within the video which would be supported by the song, conveying imagery that may match the music.

·         These types of music videos wouldn’t show the artist of the song unless they were acting in a part of the story, otherwise they wouldn’t be seen performing at all.

·         Artists such as Ed Sheeran are known for narrative based music videos.

Abstract/Artistic/Surrealist music videos

·         These are music videos which do not seem to be a performance or story-driven, and instead can be difficult to interpret due to being so abstract.

·         These types of videos can seem more metaphorical and or psychological and attempt to convey artistic ideals through abstract imagery.

·         Gotye – Somebody that I used to know is a song which is known for being quite abstract

·         Lady Gaga has also been known for depicting abstract music videos.

·         Queen – Bohemian Rhapsody

Just like films can merge genres in order to create sub-genres music videos can merge different types of their music videos in order to create sub-types in order to add to the experience of the video. Components of each type can be merged in music videos, such as a performance and narrative types being merged and depicting both a story as well as a performance. Beyoncé often interprets this type of sub-type in her music videos.

Homage/Pastiches

·         “Pastiche” is a word commonly used in Art, which essentially means to take another artist’s work and reimagine it. This is the same with music videos.

·         Certain music videos may take minor inspiration from existing ones

·         Or there can be music videos which outright copy existing music videos shot-by-shot, however these are usually seen as parodies or used to make a statement.

·         Weird Al Yankovic is known for making clean parody music videos of existing music videos, usually with word play on the lyrics.

·         à “Eat it” was a Weird Al parody of Michael Jackson’s “Beat it”.

·         Shania Twain made a performance music video for her “Man! I feel like a woman” song, which depicting a frame-by-frame homage to Robert Palmer’s “Addicted to love”

·         The original song depicting a man centre stage (fully dressed and average looking) surrounded by several women dressed in sexualised ways acting as eye-candy

·         Shania Twain reversed these roles in her song, depicting her centre stage non-sexualised with several men around her dressed in sexualised outfits, now using them as eye candy. The music video was renowned for its themes of female empowerment.