Exam Technique for Music Videos

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POINT Lizzo’s Good as Hell strategically balances established music video tropes with unconventional elements to redefine the representation of female empowerment. EVIDENCE While the video is largely performance-based and features Lizzo in a high-status gold costume connoting glamour, it challenges the form by delaying the artist's appearance until 00:43 and incorporating raw diegetic sound of students cheering in the final "out-take" style shot. THEORY This aligns with Steve Neale’s theory that genres rely on "repetition" to stay recognizable while utilizing "variation" to remain dynamic, as seen when the video centers the female students as "Proppian heroes" who undergo a transformation of self-confidence. ANALYSIS By centering the narrative on the students' personal struggles before Lizzo skips into the frame, the producers shift the focus from celebrity branding to a narrative of confidence, creating a documentary-style sense of inclusion and realism that avoids traditional objectification. CONTEXT This positive representation of an entirely Black cast in an HBCU setting directly reflects the social context of Black empowerment and success, intentionally countering historical under-representation in the music video industry.

POINT Justin Bieber's Intentions similarly employs narrative conventions to advocate for social justice, transitioning his "star persona" from a pop icon to a philanthropic mentor. EVIDENCE The video follows a standard three-strand narrative where Bieber and Quavo act as "helpers" to vulnerable women, yet it utilizes unconventional documentary-style voiceovers and on-screen credits that identify real-life "characters" from Alexandria House. THEORY This structure utilizes Propp’s character functions by positioning the artists as "donors" whose Intentions Fund acts as the magical agent providing financial support and public awareness. ANALYSIS The choice of a non-glamorous homeless shelter and unchoreographed community dancing creates a sense of authenticity and social responsibility that subverts the high-budget commercial visual excess typical of traditional pop videos. CONTEXT This shift represents a broader trend in 21st-century socially conscious celebrity branding, where global stars use digital platforms like YouTube and Twitter to engage in advocacy for mental health and social justice.

POINT Ultimately, both videos utilize technical codes to challenge stereotypical portrayals of gender and ethnicity while satisfying modern audience needs. EVIDENCE Lizzo is represented as a successful, confident Black plus-size woman who addresses the audience directly to build intimacy, while Bieber and Quavo are shown as caring and emotionally demonstrative toward marginalized communities. THEORY These representations complicate Laura Mulvey's concept of the "male gaze," as women in these videos are portrayed as focused, ambitious heroes rather than passive objects for visual pleasure. ANALYSIS By merging performance with narratives of real-world struggle, both products expand the "music video" form into a tool for social commentary, which gratifies the audience's need for personal identity and social interaction through cross-platform digital engagement. CONTEXT These contemporary products reflect a cultural era defined by #blacklivesmatter and female empowerment, where audiences expect high-quality media to align with their progressive social values and "intentions".

Question 4: How do music videos reflect the time in which they were made? Refer to Rio (Duran Duran, 1982) [10 Marks]

POINT Duran Duran’s Rio (1982) serves as a visual record of the early 1980s, reflecting the era's specific cultural obsession with materialism, cinematic escapism, and the emerging influence of global music television. EVIDENCE The video opens with a voyeuristic "telescope" effect to create a point-of-view shot of Rio, while props like a telephone on a silver platter and champagne on a yacht depict a glamorous "playboy" lifestyle. THEORY These symbolic and technical codes initially reinforce the "male gaze" and satirize "yuppie" culture, constructing a narrative associated with 1980s excess and affluence. ANALYSIS The rapid, fragmented editing and energetic synth-pop track mirror the hedonistic pursuit of pleasure common in this decade, while the high production values elevated the importance of the music video as a vital marketing tool. CONTEXT The arrival of MTV in 1981-82 was a pivotal cultural shift that allowed this video to function as a metaphor for the band's ambition to break into the American market, securing their international fame.

POINT While Rio initially reinforces traditional 1980s gender tropes, it also reflects the progressive social shifts of the decade through its representation of the female lead. EVIDENCE Rio actively subverts her role as an object of desire by kicking band members into the water and pulling others into the sea, eventually winking at the camera to signal her control. THEORY This complicated dynamic provides a "feminist reading" where Rio is granted agency, rejecting the "passive object" stereotype typical of earlier historical media. ANALYSIS Her playful actions and rejection of the men's advances demonstrate that even within a highly commercialized "glamour" context, representations were evolving to accommodate more assertive female identities. CONTEXT These choices reflect the continued rise of second-wave feminism in the 1980s, while the video's intertextual references to Ursula Andress in Dr. No (1962) show how 1960s cultural icons continued to influence the visual language of the MTV generation.