Genre Characteristics: There are many strong genre characteristics shown in this video. The song is a pop song about a woman who feels a strong sense of control and refers to herself as some sort of super villain. Aguilera is telling the audience about how powerful she believes she is and the many different sides to her personality. The video for this song follows the main characteristics of a pop song. The video is fun, lighthearted and even contains a number of different costumes. The visuals of Aguilera enjoying herself in the video add to the general good mood in pop videos.
This screenshot shows Aguilera riding a bike through a field full of flowers. The feminine style of this shot is common in pop videos.
Relationship Between Music And Visuals: The music and visuals are parallel throughout the video. There is a steady pace of editing throughout the video and the cuts match the beat of the song. Nearer the end of the song there is an effect on the music which sounds like electro-pop and the visuals begin to look almost like an x-ray. Another scene in the video shows Aguilera pressing the buttons on a control pad in time to the beat of the music. At the end of the video Aguilera shuts down the computer screen which she has been using which signal that the song is finished.
The shot to the left shows the visuals at the end of the video, whilst the shot on the right shows the x-ray effect which matches the music in the track.
Relationship Between Lyrics And Visuals:
There is also a strong relationship between lyrics and visuals. Throughout the track Aguilera sings about how powerful she is and how she has a villain in her. There are a large amount of shots showing her controlling things around her using a huge computer screen. She also uses her hands as the controls rather than buttons which represents her power. The lighting throughout the video is low key which reflects Aguilera's persona of a super villain. An obvious example is when Aguilera is speeding in a car and whilst she holds the steering wheel she sings "Hold on" repeatedly. These words are also sung slowly which emphasises them to the audience.
At this shot in the video Aguilera sings "Hold On" whilst holding on to the steering wheel
Intertextual References:
This video is mainly focusing on the artist however there are two intertextual references. The first being Aguilera using a Nokia mobile phone and the second is a Chopper bike.
Are There Close Ups Of The Artist And Star Image Motifs?:
There is a large amount of close ups of Aguilera throughout the video. These help the audience connect with the artist and she is able to put her character across to viewers. In most of these close ups Aguilera is wearing her signature red lipstick which she has become famous for in the passing years.
Is It Performance Based, Narrative Based Or Concept Based?:
The video is a mixture of performance and concept based. Aguilera is constantly posing and singing to the camera throughout the video, however her concept was to build a character in the video of a super villain. She did this through a variety of shots, costumes and locations.
The shot above on the left shows Aguilera performing to the cameras, whilst the shot above on the right shows the concept of her being a super villain in her costume.
Is There Refeference To The Notion Of Looking?:
In the majority of the video Aguilera is sitting at a computer controlling what is happening around her. However she doesn't know that the audience are looking at her in these shots.
Your analysis of Goodwin's theory shows some understanding of the music video theory. You have identified the correct points but you have not discussed the points in enough detail.
ReplyDeleteAlways consider the role of the target audience and of the conventions too.