ANALYSING A MUSIC VIDEO Bad Blood Taylor Swift

ANALYSING A MUSIC VIDEO

Bad Blood – Taylor Swift What key representations feature in the music video? Gender, Age, Ethnicity, Issues… Gender: This music video is female dominant, it focuses on women and their representativeness. Age: Stars who appear in this music video are young adults, part of the younger generation and could be looked upon as adolescents or teenagers. Ethnicity: There is no specific ethnicity as there is a range of white and black people however there is a suggestion of exploitation of women. Issues: The context behind this music video could be a issue as it based on a feud between friend “Katy Perry” and is suggested as a fight back or being sly.

Bad Blood – Taylor Swift Positive and Negative stereotypes/representations… Positive – This music video shows women with independence, status and power. All women in the video are represented as “badass” and increasing the strength of “girl power. ” In particular for Taylor Swift, she shown standing up for herself and going against and rebelling the women stereotype of being weak and obedient. Negative – This music video really sexualises women as the models wear mostly black leather which can connote “sexy” danger and heavy make-up suggesting the women stereotype of self-obsessed and passionate about their appearance or “image” to others.

How has it been constructed? Bad Blood – Taylor Swift This is a combination of performance and narrative music video, this involves Taylor Swift playing a character she has created, and resembles a mini film with a clear linear structure. Characters are introduced throughout the video as their names appear on the screen as they train together before seeking revenge. The use of colours such as black and red connote with danger and fear. It is evident on the characters clothing to communicate bold, brave and fearless attitudes to the audience. Also, the use of weapons in the “training scene” and opening scene is an intertextual reference with “Kill Bill. ” After being betrayed by co-worker “Arsyn”, Taylor Swift called “Catastophe” assembles a gang of “Sin City” characters played by actual friends who have aliases with Catastophe The use of close ups are frequent to show the character’s facial expressions – determination and revenge – to contribute to Taylor Swift’s new star persona, that leaves behind the country music girl of her previous albums. The use of dark lighting and “walking away from the fire” suggests an intertextual reference to “The Hunger Games” and Taylor Swift’s darker and more rebellious star persona, creating mystery and an unsettling atmosphere. Swift plays a central role in the video, which incorporates more traditional conventions as well as illustrates the importance of forming a new “Image” of her star persona as a stand to audiences.

Darker, Sinister, Mysterious, Dangerous Fearless, Strong, Independent Hidden messages, images, lyrics in songs Star Persona New friends, Girl-Power, “Gang”, Standing up for herself Leaving her country music behind, destroying innocence and love stories.

“Feminist Icon” Independent Promotes black women Strong Multifaceted Powerful Sexualised Empowerment of women and African American people Encourages women to stand up for themselves over men Challenges Patriarchy – ideology Formation – Beyoncé Positive body and appearance attitudes Defeats racism - #blacklivesmatter Confident

GENDER Beyoncé's body is a key feature to her identity and star persona. They way in which it relates to her star persona and her African-American identity is an important theme that runs through most of her music videos. Her appearance is often sexualized as she is shown wearing revealing clothing and dancing erotically. In most music videos she is often show "slaying" to audiences, creating a stand embracing as well as breaking the stereotype of women. She shows a lot of individuality as she creates her own fashion and style, encouraging new trends to the audiences. Binary opposites exist with regard to representations of gender in her music videos, as she is represented as strong, empowered woman while simultaneously being sexually objectified though codes of -clothing -narrative situations -provocative dance moves Therefore, she, at times, challenges stereotypical representations of women in music industry while also reinforcing a stereotypical representation of women who are defined by their body image/

ETHNICITY Beyoncé has more than once been at the centre of controversy regarding instances of whitewashing, where her racial identity has been erased to make her more marketable to a white audience. In her music videos, she embraces elements of her culture through the inclusion of iconography and clothing related to her cultural heritage. In formation, she includes the iconography of the antebellum dress worn by white women in the South of America during the slave trade era. In the video, black women are wearing the dresses, reinforcing the political point regarding historical treatment of black people in America.

ISSUES In Formation, Beyoncé refers overtly to the floods in New Orleans in the wake of Hurrian Katrina and suggests racial tensions following the disaster. She also makes political statements about the treatment of black Americans in Formation and references the "Black Lives Matter" campaign by including shot of graffiti and a row of white police officers facing a black child in a hoodie.

FORMATION VS RUN THE WORLD (GIRLS) SIMILARILITIES 1) There is an ongoing theme throughout both music videos of the empowerment of women and emphasis of their strength. In the long shot of Beyoncé and her dancers, they look intimating as it shows their dominance and the use of their straight posture and stiff hand movements display their power. 2) References to gang culture. 3) Black people are represented as exotic with the use of clothing and iconography 4) In both music videos, women are sexually objectified through clothing and provocative dance moves DIFFERENCES 1) There is a difference between the two music videos as they differ in issues and events. 2) Run the World (Girls) focuses on the aggressive message of promoting the empowerment of women and doesn’t discuss a particular issue or event but a major issue of the power men hold against women. 3) In Formation , the music video challenges a few issues and refers to recent events.

Formation Context - A Concert for Hurricane Relief A concert of Hurricane Relief was an hour long, celebrity driven benefit concert broadcasted live on September 2 nd, 2005. Sponsored by NBC Universal Television Group, its purpose was to raise money, relief, and awareness in response to the loss of life and human suffering that resulted from Hurricane Katrina in five southeastern States in the Untied States

Product Context The video is set against the backdrop of the ooding in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina and the associated racial tension in American, and draws historical parallels with references to racism and slavery “George Bush doesn’t care about black people” “I hate the way they portray us in the media. You see a black family, it says ‘they’re looting. ’ You see a white family, it says ‘they’re looking for food. ’ And, you know, its been five days (waiting for federal help) because most of the people are black. ”

Media Language and Intertextuality The music video offers a wealth of - Consider the ways in which factors in the conflicting/contradictory messages and music video contrast and conflict, and possible meanings. whether this creates a confused meaning in audiences or offers a coherent message. Many of the references in the video require an awareness of issues and events, such as - The use of costume is interesting. the flooding in New Orleans and racial Antebellum dresses which seem to tension in America. reference slavery contrast heavily with stereotypical “pop” signifiers such as tight The video also requires a high level of fitting/revealing costume in some of the media literacy to recognise and understand dance sections intertextual references, such as footage taken from a documentary about bounce - Similarly Beyoncé’s performance shifts called That B. E. A. T. and references to news from moments of aggression such as footage of police brutality, such as the lone obscene gestures with her fingers to dancing boy. more culturally recognisable dance This contrasting use of signs leads to possible routines that seem less loaded with political or social messages. readings/meaning of the video. - Is it exploring issues of the Black experience in America? Is it a personal exploration of Beyoncé’s life? Is it attempting to discuss issues of gender and equality? Is it possible for the video to be all of these things?

Beyoncé is inviting audiences to interpret historical circumstances. Beyoncé as a performer has worked within a number of different genres (pop, R&B, dance, hip-hop, etc. ). - These genres are mutable and subject to change and arguably all combine in the genre that is being explored in this music video. Consider Beyoncé the performer as a construct and the ways in which her image is cultivated on screen. Which images/sequences have been selected to construct her on-screen persona? For example, her representation as a person of strength and power: - Beyoncé frequently makes direct address to the audience by gazing directly at us, she stands in strong, powerful stances at the front of groups (of both men and women), and perhaps most iconic is the image of her on top of the police car. • Consider theoretical perspectives…. Semiotics – Roland Barthes The concept of the signifier/signified, using specific signification in the music video and considering how this might be interpreted according to social convention: For example, the use of antebellum era dresses. Beyoncé and a group of other Black women pose in white dresses that appear to reference the antebellum era of American history. Consider the significance of slavery in relation to this sequence and what is being signified. • Postmodernism – Jean Baudrillard The video might offer an interesting challenge to Baudrillard’s ideas that in the modern age of simulacra we are immersed in a world of images which no longer refer to anything ‘real’. - Explore whether this video is in fact a collection of images that refer very specifically to reality and encourage audiences to consider and discuss these issues.