Goodwin's Theory of Music Videos

Goodwin Music Video Analysis

Intertextuality & Post Modernism

Intertextuality & Post Modernism

 Intertextuality is when one media text refers to or draws ideas from another media text. This could include films, images, music videos, web content etc. For those that understand the references, the experience of watching the music video is more enjoyable but this doesn't mean that for those that don't understand the reference it is less enjoyable.

Blink 182's "All The Small Things"

This video makes fun of a lot of late 90s and early 2000s Pop music videos that were well-known and iconic at the time, including one of their own songs. A lot of people in their 20's and older would recognize these videos being played with and be able to laugh at the ridiculousness of them.

Some of the referenced videos include:

Backstreet Boys - I Want It That Way

N Sync - Tearin' Up My Heart

 

 TLC - Creep

Sugar Ray - Someday

 

Britney Spears - Sometimes

Christina Aguilera - Genie In A Bottle

Ricky Martin - Livin' La Vida Loca

98 Degrees - I Do (Cherish You)

Backstreet Boys - Quit Playing Games (With My Heart)

Blink 182 - What's My Age Again?

Genre

Genre

Voyeurism & Objectification of Men: LMFAO's "Sexy and I Know It"

Objectification of Men: LMFAO's "Sexy and I Know It"

Generally speaking, it can't be said that male objectification is used in this video because the men in the video have an identity and are shown to be empowered by wearing nearly nothing, rather than being in the shots just to fill up space and act as sexual objects. However, this video does incorporate the idea of voyeurism in the sense that it has been purposefully edited to present the male body in a way that is pleasing to the female gaze. 

The first example of this is when the main singer 'Redfoo' rips of his trousers to reveal a shiny light blue speedo. The shot is a close up and zooms in slowly for a second to emphasise the action as well as being slowed down. He then starts to thrust in slow motion while the camera stays focused on the close up of his groin area. His face and the faces of all of his friends/backup dancers have been cut off as well for attention to stay there.

He stands centre-frame while his friends stand symmetrical on either side doing the same pose. He continues his hip thrusting dance until suddenly his friends rip off their trousers and start dancing in tiny metallic speedos as well. The group of men on the screen are dancing in next-to-nothing which some women might find appealing, like male strippers.

When they are all on the beach laying on the sand it might be enticing to the female gaze because they are laid out displaying their bodies from overhead (so the female viewer is in a more powerful position than the men on screen) and also from behind so that Redfoo's bum is visible in the frame.

The camera whip pans to a couple of body-builders in tight short shorts, which gives female viewers a bit of eye candy, because the mid shot is close enough to see all of their biceps and abdominal muscles while still being able to see a bit of their huge thighs. Even the slightly low angle helps to dramatize the size of them and their masculinity.

When they are in a bar and having a catwalk/ dance competition the first guy skateboarding through in his underwear (Skyblu is his performer name) gets groped by a woman in the crowd. This makes it seem like some kind of male strip club where middle aged women come to enjoy themselves and that she playfully touched his spiked underwear like he's performing for money.
It might give females a sense of thrill because a guy performing in his underwear is thrilling and not something that middle aged women are known to watch.

Digipak Research: Katy Perry 'One of the Boys'

Digipak Research:

Katy Perry 'One of the Boys'

Album Covers Research

Album Covers Research

Voyeurism & Objectification of Women: 50 Cent's Candy Shop

Objectification of Women:

50 Cent's "Candy Shop"

50 Cents videos are often reprimanded as being sexist and openly objectifying women. This video is no different, with the entire song and the video's narrative illustrating that women are all just sweets that he can buy for his own pleasure.

The first shot when the music starts has a door opening to a wide shot of a house full of half-dressed women and then cuts back to 50 Cent in the middle of a long shot to show that he is alone with all these women and he has so many girls to pick from.

Even when it cuts to a mid-shot of the woman in black there are still women walking past in the background with their hands on their hips and even just posing on a chair or leaning against the staircase railing. The women are constantly presenting themselves like they are items that need to look good to be bought.

After she welcomes him to the "Candy Shop" the camera tilts upwards to display a girls body as she walks down the stairs from thighs to head showing that she's wearing underwear and exhibits her body in slow motion to please male viewers and give them a full spectacle.

There are then close-ups of the girls' faces, all turning to look at him like they all want him. This video is essentially recreating male fantasies of having a crowd of girls lusting after them.

A wide shot shows him appreciating all of the women that are displaying themselves on the chairs and sprawled over the banisters (like furniture/ possessions).

Then he walks into a room and a wide shot shows a girl laying seductively on the bed with a live projection of her framed up on the wall behind her. This demonstrates the idea of voyeurism and watching someone for pleasure.










After a few seconds of 50 Cent rapping on his own he says "I'm the love doctor" and the scene changes to a mid shot of his face next to a woman in a pink leather nurse's outfit where only her boobs are visible before it slowly zooms out to show the rest of her. Not only is it objectifying her body but it dehumanises her as just a pair of boobs and a bum.

In between all of the shots of the women draped over him, there are shots of him rapping with a woman behind him, dancing and singing the female parts of the chorus. In a lot of parts where she doesn't sing she can still be seen in the shot with him just for show and in her black lingerie.

During the dance sequence with all the girls still half dressed there are a lot of wide shots that are mainly only used when they do something sexual like shake their butts or touch their crotches.

The girl in the next scene is dressed in more pink leather that shows her cleavage. She is introduced with a close up but it cuts to a long shot to show the rest of her outfit and that she is holding a whip. After the first few seconds where she takes off his shirt, she is only in the shot so that she can stand behind him and dance a bit, because she's just there to be a decoration in the frame.

Generally the music video portrays women as sexual objects, possessions or nothing more than decorations in the frame.

Star Image

Star Image:
Nicki Minaj