Essay

“Music videos reflect the social and cultural context in which they were made” Discuss this statement through a comparison of the two music videos you have studied. One mv from list A (CBR) and one from list B (DG)

The music video ‘Titanium’ takes your through the journey of a young boy whom has just discovered his supernatural powers and is facing diversity from society as he’s struggling to understand his new identity. Whilst society is trying to catch up to him, the boy uses his newly found powers to escape and continue ignoring the help he needs in order to understand himself. A shot displays a retro TV, with the local live news playing. The retro TV is used as a prop in the video to show audiences the time frame of the music video. Furthermore, the live news displays the boy as a criminal, causing audiences to create a second, negative opinion of the boy. This also causes the boy to second guess himself, due to how the local news displays, and make him wonder whether his powers are for the good or the bad. Another shot displays the boy rushing into his room to pack clothes/supplies to run away with. The shot focuses on the boy picking up and shoving items into his bag, however when the boy got hold of his teddy bear, he threw it behind him. This may be inferring that the boy is ‘throwing’ away his childhood and has begun to realise the real life world. Furthermore, the solar system is displayed in the background. This may infer that the boy believes interested in sci-fi and has wished for something to help him ‘stand’ out or be recognised. He may have wished for this as throughout the video, he is portrayed to be alone and secluded from everyone else. Furthermore, he is shown to be a threat, causing him to isolate himself even more.

The music video ‘Stop Where You Are’ is a video displaying the typical stereotypes of society as a whole, by showing you perspectives of what teens, homeless people, ‘gangsters’ and adults experience from a day to day basis. The music video purposely makes you judge a book by its cover, but then makes you second guess your judgement seconds after through the use of cuts, camera angles and shot types. One shot displays a teenager being portrayed as the typical stereotype; lonely, unknown identity, typical clothing, hood up etc. The unidentified person’s body language is slouched and backed up into a wall. This could suggest they need support and is using the wall to aid them. The blue hoodie infers a symbol of sadness, whilst covering her identity simultaneously, suggesting her sadness is overpowering her true emotions. Then, a sudden jump cut is used to surprise audiences the gender of the teen. Previous shot displayed an unidentified teen with their hood up, and immediately audiences typically assume the teen is male due to stereotypes. Shot displays the girl looking behind her shoulder. This could suggest she's running away from her troubles and constantly has to watch her back. She is using the hoodie as a shield to hide her identity from her troubles.