Formation- Beyonce

Binary Oppositions:

• Mise-en-scene of the police car with her sitting on it symbolising rebellion, which is further anchored by her carefree and powerful facial expressions
• Intertextual conflict- Police persecution of black people 
• Hanging out of the car, conflicts with B's facial expressions 
• Contrast between poor, dilapidated neighbourhood and rich  antebellum house- 
• B wears an antebellum dress (what a slave trade owners wife would wear) which creates a binary opposition as she is black (BME) - This signifies cultural appropriation, but also demonstrates B's power over the past 
• High key spotlight in empty swimming pool, shorts, crop tops and 70's loose afros and Librarian glasses 

Context:

• Formation is the lead single from the album Lemonade, was released the day before Beyonce performed at the super bowl final 2016
• The music video has won numerous awards including a Clio award for innovation and creative excellence  
• Formation is exclusive and aggressive 

Ideology might be that times haven't actually changed that much

Bricolage is a media product which combines lots of different elements of different time periods and styles.

MOVEMENT:

In general Beyonce's movements are powerful, quick, blunt and almost violent. 

Movement connotes power through the jerky movement 

Mise-en-scene suggests she is rich, wealthy but also could symbolise a tie to Africa.Middle fingers symbolises anger. She confronts the camera with a direct mode of address. The aggressive head movement could suggest resignation 








Long braided hair which is common with BME women. 







Beyonce takes clips from That B.E.A.T - a documentary and includes them in her music video:

• To reflect the culture of new orleans 
• To save time and money 
• Referential codes- intertextuality
• Representation of gay people has been left out  
• Allows B to explore an aspect of Black southern American culture 
• Actual footage used, but mainly "filler" footage and establishing shots 
• Formation is exclusive and aggressive 

Hyperreality/ Postmodernism:

• Term at least in part developed by Jean Baudrillard
• This refers to the idea that representations within media texts are more real than that which they represent 
• Some of these representations are simulacrum. This refers to a representation of something that no loner exists, or something that never exists 
• Representation is the new reality- what he believed 

Paul Gilroy- theories around ethnicity and post colonial theory:

Colonisation is what happens when one country takes over another country and forces their culture on them 

Linked to the hierarchies 

Racial hierarchies and othering - From Gilroy's perspective, is is another method of establishing hegemonic control 

Anaconda & lil pump music video/ How to discuss binary oppositions

How to discuss binary oppositions:
"In the video to Anaconda by Nikki Minaj, there is a binary opposition between Minaj's girlish appearance and the crude sexual lyrics of the song."


Representation: How the producer shows an issue, a group of people or a place. This is away of showing stereotypes and ideologies.
Stereotypes- Allows people a way of making sense of the world 
People care about representation because it has  an effect on how people are seen within society, because it cultivates a certain ideology.
Representation constructs reality. 



Anaconda:

Looking at black minority ethnic groups specifically black women. (BME)

Women are sexualised throughout the video 
There positions are sexualised along with their outfits
Jungle setting - Presenting the ideology that BME women as wild and uncivilised 
It is the representation of a stereotypical black body type 
In the video she adopts the stereotypical housewife role.
In the video is gives the ideology that black women are sexually promiscuous
The video is sub-vertices



Gucci Gang-Lil Pump:

Mise-en-scene of the tigger suggests that they are someone not to be messed with. Presenting BME american males as aggressive and powerful 
The binary opposition of the tiger walking down a school corridor connotes rebellion  
The amount of cannabis connotes he is a drug dealer 
Provides the audience of the gratification of escapism 
They are drinking lean- soft drinks mixed with drugs 
The use of jargon will appeal to the target audience 
Young girls rolling their eyes at the teacher shows no respect, and displays that they have attitude because they aren't doing/listening to what he is saying 
Many aspects of the video displaying tripping on drugs, for example the use of drugs and hallucinogenic imagery of the tiger and purple lights 

Riptide- Vance Joy

Postmodernism- Cannot have a definition 

Example: Breaking the fourth wall- 

Deadpool 

The music video: Vance Joy- Riptide
2013

• To the beat editing
• Muted colour palette - mise-en-scene
• General theme and narrative- montage of shots suggests themes of drowning,dying and death
• Alternate theme and narrative- an unpredictable and deliberately misleading montage of shots
• Deliberately invites polysemic interpretations 
• Emotional response- cold, confusing 
• Montage consistently matches the themes of the lyrics e.g 'cowboy running' is matched with long shot, canted angle, symbolic of dual personalities, afraid of what he has become 
• Intertextuality-  the mise-en-scene suggests the conventions of a western film therefore functions as a referential code 
• Referential codes create audience appeal, as only certain audiences will understand the reference 
• Horror is also referenced in this video. The mid shot of the seance and the mise-en-scene of the ouija board is referential of horror cinema, in particular 70's horror films 

• The mid shot of the letter dated August 1974 anchors the audience in to a a particular time period, because it's cool 
• Mid/Long shot of feet being dragged under a bed,slightly low angled shot, low key blue/ purple lighting which connotes darkness, misery and threat -Italian horror film 
• Denies the audience a defiant conclusion/response 
• Voyeuristic mid shot high angled POV shot of young blonde woman removing in a one-piece yellow swimsuit, slow zoom on naked back, intertextual references to early bond films
• Image at the dentist looks as if it is from a horror film, being tortured instead of a trip to the dentist
• Desaturation is used to create the 1970's look 
• Uses discontinuity editing 

Context:

• He is Australian and is a singer, song writer 
• Signed to Atlantic records
• His genre of music is folk-pop 
• The video was directed by Dimitri Basil and Laura Gorun and has had nearly over 210 million views on youtube 
• Riptide was Vance Joy's first single to be released in the USA, following his debut EP(extended play)  " god loves you when you're dancing". It became a platinum selling single (needs to sell a million copies to be a platinum selling single)

Definitions:

Objectification- The process in which a human is represented as an object (process)

Male Gaze- The assumption that every media product is for a heterosexual audience 

Sexualisation- The process of only valuing someone for their sexual appeal 

Voyeurism- Taking pleasure of watching someone without them knowing 

Scopophillia- The love of watching

High angle mid-shot suggests voyeurism- implies she doesn't know she is being watched 

Looking out into the ocean is symbolic of adventure 

The costume is exotic and exciting setting 

Framed in the centre of the shot which emphasises the importance to the heterosexual male audience 

The shot is shallow depth of field- she is the only thing in focus 

Shot with a zoom lense 

Positions audience in a scopophillia position 

Stereotypically attractive with her long blonde hair 

mise-en-scene connotes luxury with the beach in front of her

Natural lighting is used in this shot 

Representation of women throughout the music video:

 

• One ideology that is presented is women are vonuerable 
• Very stereotypical representation 
• Intertextuality of films and other music videos
• Women are represented as being a stereotypical damsel of distress  
• Women are consistently shown as in distress
• Women are made to look powerful by doing stereotypical manly things such as smoking 
• An ideology is for women to be powerful they need to be like men 
• One argument is we live in a society dominated by men 
• Women are offended on close proximity or being comforted by men suggesting women cant be independent 
• There are consistent shots of feet and hands which objectifies women

Looks mature and glamorous
has propionate cheek bones 
Looks italian 
Hair style might make her look grumpy 
Has dark berry lips which suggests she's sultry and mysterious
Mid-shot/ close up 
Voyeuristic and an uncomfortable position
Creepy shot 
The shots are repeated (master shot)   
No explicit anchorage to this 



Feminist ideology encoded:

• Shown as confident - bright colours(yellow) , stripping in front of the camera 
• Presents a mocking parody of sexism in music videos ("how to photograph girls" which connotes that women are purely present to be looked at by heterosexual men)
• Many shots of women in stereotypical male clothing 
• Low angle mid shot of woman holding arms in a gesture that connotes power
• Mid shot of blonde women bound in mise-en-scene of tight ropes connotes the restrictions that women face in society, and is critical of the notion of women as a 'weaker sex'- connotes of 'being tied down' with maternal responsibilities etc
• Video lacks anchorage which forces audience to make own assumptions, simultaneously providing sexual gratification for male heterosexual audience, but also consistently informs the audience that schopophilia is creepy and NOT okay 
• Ironic representation of patriarchal hegemony
• Sexualised images utilised as referential codes  

Intertextuality-  where one media product makes reference to another media product - Allows audience a completely new way to relate to the product
- Allows audience satisfaction 
- Draws in a significantly larger audience   




Paradigmatic features of the horror film- Suspiria (intertextuality Riptide):

• The props- knives, noose, gloved hands, barbed wire
• Weak and vulnerable protagonist- damsel in distress archetype 
• Colour scheme- red, blue, white and green - vibrant primary colour scheme- red and blue filters, highly typical of 70's horror 
• Sound track builds suspenseful non-diegetic sounds. diegetic female screaming
• Violent male antagonist 
• Iconographic features such as cherry red blood 
• retro- fashion, muted colours 

Surrealism:

 Artistic movement which came about in the early 20TH century. It originated in France 

A text that follows the logic of dreams 

Allows the audience another way to relate to the music video- provides gratification of intertextuality- causing the audience to talk about the video with others after they have seen it - provides audiences of social interaction 

Eye line match or a match on action- when you cut from something happening to the reaction of something happening and generally they would make sense with the previous shot or image. Riptide has very little of these

Binary oppositions- Claude levi strauss 
Bart Simpson is naughty because Lisa is the complete opposite 
We know it's day because it isn't night 
They are used for comedy 

Metanarrative

Metanarrative- an overreaching narrative or system of belief which helps us make sense of the world.

Music videos

What is a music video?

A video that accompanies a song 
The visual aspects of the song
Often includes performance
Often with a band 
Provides the audience with another level of entertainment 
To make money 
*A music video needs to look how the song sounds*
A music video is an advert for the song  



Polysemy- Multiple meanings 

Conventions- performance, music in the background, people dancing in the background/setting, staged, dramatic lightening, 4 mins long

Construction- Where an ideology of the producer in constructed 

Intertextuality- When you make reference tho another media product

Social and cultural context- what is going on at the time(life,culture and politics)



People identify with music more than any other media product, fans tend to becomes obsessive, and relate to the artist.
people often listen to music while on there own to make them feel less alone 
Another reason we use music is for social interaction 
Music is also very personal for the audience 



France Gall Baby Pop Scopitone:

Scopitone- your own personal music video, similar to a small juke box 

The bright happy visuals form a binary opposition with the dark lyrics 

Starts with a mid-shot then zooms out, she is totally still, the setting is unconventional
She is seen as being awkward during the performance   
The setting is boring and bland making it unconventional 
The awkward use of dancing 
Costumers are conventual for the time, very fashionable 
Social ad cultural: the buildings in the back ground are cool at the time, and the hip thing 


Rebecca- Vanity Angel:  
Performance
Looking into the camera- direct mode of 
teen age girls audience- it is aspirational for the target audience 

Extreme low angle establishing shot 
mise-en-scene 
neon lights- very 80's 
intertextuality- looks like an american film 
exoticism  

How the Exams work

3 things you get assessed on/ 3 components: 

Component 1: Unseen texts 

Exam-

Advertising

Newspapers

Film industry

Radio 

Music videos

Video games 

Section A: Media language + representation

Section B: Audience and industry 

 

Component 2:  Media products in detail

Exam- 1 question about each of the 3 industries

• Television 
• Internet 
• Magazines

Language, representation, industry and audiences 

Component 3: The production 

Coursework- 

1. Statement of intent
2. Music video 
3. Magazine 

Uses and Gratifications- Kylie Minogue

Hand on your heart music video- Kylie Minogue 

• Primary target audience- Teenage females (12/13)
• The ideology of the song is about love 
• Mise-en-scene of her hair appeals to the target audience- it is aspirational 
• Mise-en-scene of the dresses encodes the ideology of the song 
• The audience are able to relate
• People might find the 80's appealing and want to watch it 
• She looks as if she is trying to appeal to heterosexual males 
• Constantly looks directly into the camera- direct mode of address- feels like a live concert 
• Narrative is encoded through symbolic codes such as the colours of the dresses
• Video doesn't anchor the audience