The music video for Radiohead's "Just" follows conventions of alternative rock. It features frequent close-ups of the lead singer Thom Yorke wearing casual clothes while performing. The narrative parts show people in suits commuting to work. Visual elements relate to the lyrics, such as a man shouting "Don't touch me" as Yorke sings "You do it to yourself." The music speeds up as the man lays on the floor and slows during a conversation. High camera angles and close-ups represent themes of caring and being overwhelmed.
2. Genre characteristics
The genre is alternative/experimental rock.
One convention of alternative rock is that the performers
often wear smart-casual clothing. In this music video that is
exactly what the performance part of the music video is
wearing.
The people in the narrative part of the video are wearing
suits and ties because they are on the way from or to work.
Another convention of this genre are frequent close ups of
band members, and mainly the lead singer. This video
follows closely to this convention with a lot of close ups of
the lead singer Thom Yorke.
3. Visual/Lyrical Relationship
One visual/lyrical relationship within the video is when the
lead singer sings the lyric “You do it to yourself, you do”. He
sings this as the protagonist in the narrative section of the
video is laying on the floor shouting “Don’t touch me” at
people trying to help him to his feet. This is a relationship that
has many interpretations but could possibly mean that the
mans problems are caused by him and only him.
Another visual relationship is when Thom sings “and that’s
what really hurts”. This is just after he sings the first lyric, but in
a previous verse. The relationship is seen in the protagonists
face and emotions. It looks like a realization that they are
doing it themselves and this is what causes him to lay on the
pavement.
4. Visual/musical relationship
The music is slow at the beginning when it is the start of the
day in the video. The man gets into a bath as the main
singer sings “Can’t get the stink off”. This is a visual/lyrical
relationship.
The music starts picking up and getting a lot faster as the
man lays on the floor and another man trips over him. The
man slowly gets up and talks to the man laying on the floor
and this is when the music slows down during the
conversation.
Another visual/musical relationship is it gets very fast and the
guitar makes a very high pitched noise as the crowd of
people surround him.
5. The notion of looking
The notion of looking is pointed out by the Theorist
Andrew Goodwin.
The notion of looking is represented in this video a lot of
times such as when the performers are looking at the
man and crowd from a window, or when the crowd is
looking at the man.
6. Representation
Some of the shots in this video are significant and link to
the wider theme of representation. An example is the
high angle at 1:32 of the man that is asking to help the
man on the floor. This represents the theme of caring but
also superiority. It also has connotations of fear and
intimidation.
Another example of representation is the close up shot at
2:50. This can represent the man being overwhelmed
because the camera is so close to him and you can see
a lot of things surround him.