I chose to analyze the music video for “Beat It” by Michael Jackson for this week’s music video. All of Michael Jackson’s videos are pure goodness, so it was definitely hard for me to narrow down my choices. In a phrase, this music video is storytelling gold. The narrative of the video shows three different viewpoints, two are rival gangs preparing for a fight, and the third is a young Michael Jackson, waiting in either fear, impatience, or anxiety to join in as well. First, I think color plays a very important role in this music video. The contrast within the visuals really adds an extra element to the story. At first the viewer sees the dark, dirty colors of these gangs moving toward each other, crawling out of sewers or coming out of dark corners, which really provides a tone of danger and suspense. Then, switching to Michael Jackson’s point of view, his character is in a minimalist, white room, and in white clothing. I believe this initial choice of outfit represents his character’s innocence to match the lyrical story of how a boy wants to join violence in order to prove his manhood. However, when Michael Jackson exits the room, he is wearing a red jacket, often associated with anger or danger, and a darker shirt, representing a transition into a more intense world. In addition, the combination of colors with the lighting of the video as well create these very defined worlds of darkness and light. As the juxtaposition moves throughout the video, the viewer sees close-up shots of the two gang leaders rapidly moving toward the camera, giving the video a real feeling of tension and suspense. This is also provided in Michael Jackson’s juxtaposition as the camera utilizes close-ups of Michael Jackson’s angry facial expressions as he becomes tireless in his room, eventually breaking out. The choreography is truly incredible in this video, illustrated near the end, as the two gangs are preparing to take their first jabs, when Michael Jackson interrupts and then unites the two groups with dance. Heck yes.
Tag Archives: music video
You Belong With Me
For this blog entry I chose to write about Taylor Swift’s “You Belong With Me” music video. This music video is highly effective in relationship to the song. The goal of any music video is to promote the music attached to it and this song definitely accomplishes this goal.
The high school setting of this music video is perfect. “You Belong With Me” is a song about a girl knowing that this boy that she likes would be better off with her than with his current girlfriend. It’s a cute little love story. The music video does an excellent job of acting out this story. A key part of the music video is the portrayal of the girl who wants to be with the boy as opposed to the girl who is already with the boy. The two girls are so different; one’s sporty and relaxed and the other one is more girly in her behavior and looks. The lyrics “she wears short skirts I wear t-shirts, she’s cheer captain and I’m on the bleachers” show this contrast. The juxtaposition makes the storyline more interesting and makes me want to keep watching.
I also like how the girl who thinks the boy belongs with her and the boy live right next to each other and they hold up signs to each other. This shows how the girl and the boy are friends and have a close friendship. The separation between the two houses represents the girlfriend who is in the way of their love. In the end the end the boy realizes that he doesn’t belong with his girlfriend, but with the other girl.
Overall, this music video is an accurate representation of the song. The simplicity of the song lyrics make it easy to put into a video form. When I watch the music video, I feel like I’m watching a mini movie. This is how all music videos should be. The music video is straightforward and connects with one’s emotions.
Music Video For a Cause
I had a hard time deciding on a music video, but once I thought of this one I was settled. I chose “Wrong Side of Heaven,” by Five Finger Death Punch because it is not only powerful, but also highlights a huge problem that we have in our country today. The video opens with flashes of several people dressed in military uniform explaining that they are fighting for us, for those that they care about, so that we don’t have to. It goes on to explain the growing problem of military veterans becoming homeless as it flips between images of the streets and soldiers.
The video goes on following a group of soldiers as they fight, intermittently flashing to these same soldiers singing the lyrics and looking forlorn. This serves to evoke sympathy and highlight the felling in the lyrics of the song. As the video progresses we flash between combat and the soldiers suffering upon their return home. One scene cuts to a soldier sitting on the street looking at a picture of his daughter. A young girl gives him a flower, but is pulled away by her mother, reinforcing the idea that we are turning our back on the veterans.
The flashes of text in the video help to explain the issue in detail as well as provide some explanation as to why things in the video are occurring. At 4:10 the video flashes text that explains “The Veterans administration have resources to serve only a fraction of our veterans.” The idea is further enforced when we see one of the military veterans well off and dressed in a suit stopping when he sees one of his fellow veterans sitting on the street, homeless and looking disheveled. The end of the video highlights the prominence of suicide by veterans and then provides several organizations for their support for about 2 minutes.
The video is trying to educate its audience about the issues of homelessness and suicide amongst military veterans. It highlights the prominence of these issues through explaining that during the video thousands of veterans are sleeping on the street of committing suicide. The flashes between combat and issues that the soldiers face post-war are effective in showing how much they gave to receive nothing in return. The video shows the focus of the song on our veterans and the struggles they face during and after war. Although the song is hard rock bordering on metal the video doesn’t evoke feelings that one would normally associate with the genre. Instead of making the viewer feel amped up and powerful it evokes feelings of sympathy and sadness. I am a firm believer in that if a video or song can make you feel something, really pull at your emotions, then it is outstanding. This video certainly satisfies that for me.
Homage to the music video (Blog Entry 8)
Blog Entry 8
Music video!
This music blog entry is dedicated to….. *dum dum dum*…. the music video!!!
Pick a music video (made by the artist, intended to accompany the song) and evaluate the effectiveness of the video in relationship to the song. We must assume that, given the nature of music video as a type of genre in and of itself, that the goal of any given music video is to promote the music attached to it (in sales, popularity of the artist and/or label, etc.).
“Evaluate the effectiveness” means: use your skills of visual rhetoric analysis! Critically engage with all of the directorial/artistic choices of the video (colors, clothing, setting, characters, lighting, texture, film editing, juxtaposition) to evaluate the video’s purpose, audience and context. Is there a narrative in the video, or do the images not “build” in any logical way? Are there multiple story lines at work, or just one cohesive visual without multiple cuts? Is the video intending to “sell” anything: a concept, a product, a genre? Or just the likability or personal image of the artist (as in a video that mainly relies on a visual performance of the song)?
Chose wisely and find a way to make this posting analytically rich… after all, a lot has happened since “Video Killed the Radio Star.” 😉
Writing on Music, Summer 2015 