Andrew Goodwin was Director of Music and the Organist at Bangor Cathedral for 37 years, during which time he released his theory on music videos in his book 'Dancing in the Distraction Factory'. He theorised that every music video has a relationship between the lyrics and their visual representation in the video, that different genres use varied styles and differing amounts of voyeurism and iconography and that most artists have a "Star Persona" which is usually an exaggerated form of one of the artists qualities e.g. aggressive, sexy.
The Relationship between the Lyrics and Visuals
Goodwin's theory suggests that the lyrics of the song on some level correspond with the footage and visual effects seen in the music video. The visuals can be used to reinforce the meaning of the lyrics or the message that the artist is trying to get across. An example of this would be in Sum 41's video 'In Too Deep' the lead singer begins doing a backflip and the lyrics correspond with this, saying "I'm bending over backwards to relate". It could be connoted that this visual representation of completing a very difficult task is comparable with being in a relationship.
Voyeurism
In most music videos, spreading across genres, there are often female dancers/performers in revealing costumes being portrayed in a very sexual manner. This objectifies these women and is used to increase the sales/views of the music video as it appeals to the "Male Gaze". In recent years solo female artists have begun using this method to increase their popularity with their male audience and have started to exploit the "Female Gaze" by introducing male performers and displaying them in the same fashion.
An example of targeting the Male gaze would Rihanna in her video "Umbrella".
An example of the Female gaze would be the performers in Nicki Minaj's video "Super Bass".
The Genres Characteristics
According to Goodwin each genre has a stereotypical base to their videos for example a rock group usually has a lot of footage of the group playing their instruments, where as a Rap/Hip-Hop video will typically have provocatively dressed women performers and the main artists will have expensive jewellery and large expensive cars.
This image shows Green Day doing an "As-Live" performance in their music video for American Idiot.
Both these images are from 50 Cent's video for his song "Window Shopper".
Star Persona
An artists Star Persona is when one of the artists qualities is exaggerated in the videos and other form of media like news channels and sometimes in interviews. Although the persona is a part of the artist it is also fictional as the artists will only act their persona when in the public eye. Artists don't usually show their all-round character, the record companies usually try to focus in on one particular quality and market the artist by their persona. Star Persona's can change over time as the artist adapts to try and keep their popularity and income up, a great example of this would be Madonna who has changed her persona or image many times in order to be in-keeping with the current fashion and maintain her popularity.
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This image shows Green Day doing an "As-Live" performance in their music video for American Idiot.
Both these images are from 50 Cent's video for his song "Window Shopper".
Star Persona
An artists Star Persona is when one of the artists qualities is exaggerated in the videos and other form of media like news channels and sometimes in interviews. Although the persona is a part of the artist it is also fictional as the artists will only act their persona when in the public eye. Artists don't usually show their all-round character, the record companies usually try to focus in on one particular quality and market the artist by their persona. Star Persona's can change over time as the artist adapts to try and keep their popularity and income up, a great example of this would be Madonna who has changed her persona or image many times in order to be in-keeping with the current fashion and maintain her popularity.
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| Madonna 80's |
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| Madonna 90's |
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| Madonna 2000 |
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| Madonna 2011 |
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