4. Andrew Goodwin’s theory main points

The structure of Music Video Rethinking Narrative Analysis

 

• Traditional narrative analyses do not apply to pop videos because they approach narrative from different angle to novels and films.
• The reasons:

1. Pop videos do not pose traditional narrative structures. (They go with recorded songs)
2. The singer is a narrator and a character
3. The singer often looks at the camera to try and involve the viewer

• Intertextuality: The repetition in songs of parts or rhythms of other songs so that we become familiar with the genre and have certain expectations.
• Pop songs have a form of closure and ending.
• A music video may go beyond the original meaning. 
• Sometimes, music videos may promote films.
• There are three types of relations between songs and videos:

Illustration: the video tells the story of the lyric. For example, Blank Space- Tylor Swift. The video shows what the lyrics say. We can see the emotions of the lyrics through the acting of the characters. Tylor Swift plays both participant and narrator.      

Amplification: the video introduces new meanings that do not contradict with the lyrics but add layers of meaning. For example, The heart wants what it wants- Selena Gomez. The video goes with the lyrics and shows Selena with her ‘boyfriend’ in the video. However, there are some bits of the video where she is looking at the camera and is singing as well as crying at the same time. This may indicate she does not feel happy and have to break up even though she does not want to.  At the end of the video, we can see her alone and may connote she has left her fictional boyfriend. Selena plays both participant and narrator.

Disjuncture: there is little connection between the lyric and video or where the video contradicts the lyric. For instance, Somebody That I Used To Know- Gotye. The video is about both artists being painted and sing together. The lyrics are about a break up of a relationship. At the end, Gotye has the paint all over his body and the woman, Kiara, is naked.

• Pop videos often have easily recognisable features.
• The male gaze, where women are represented as objects, is a feature of heavy metal and hip hop videos.
• In some videos, the different instruments in the music are represented by different objects.
• Music videos want to keep their target audience as well as trying to appeal to a wider audience. For example, older bands may show themselves in the 60s or 70s so that they can appeal to an older audience.
• Videos that are from songs written for particular movies often incorporate images from that movie in the video. For example, Celine Dion -My Heart Will Go on- from Titanic.