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How does media language communicate meaning in riptide and either formation or dream
1. How doesmedialanguage communicate meaninginRiptideandeitherFormationorDream?
The periodsettingof the sittingroomisestablishedthroughthe mise-en-scèneof the striped
wallpaper,floral curtainsandgrandpiano,connotingamiddle-classenvironmentthatcontrasts
dramaticallywiththe contemporarysettingof the narrative.The stereotypicallysociallydeprived,
inner-cityenvironmentisconstructedthroughthe setandpropson the piano.Dizzee Rascal begins
to use the microphone propat the pointwhere he talksaboutdiscoveringmusicandgainingair
time.The microphone connotespower –Dizzee Rascal’svoice cannow be heard (literallyand
metaphorically),andthissignifiesamove awayfromdeprivationandrebelliontowardsachievinghis
dreamand becomingarespectedmemberof society.The use of simplepropsandiconographysuch
as the nightclubsignifiedbythe discoball anddimmedlights,constructsdistinctandrecognisable
settingstoillustrate the lyricsandcommunicate meanings.
The videofeaturesmanypostmodernelements,juxtaposing1950s children’stelevisioncharacters
withfamiliarcontemporaryiconographysuchasthe nightcluband off-licence,andamatriarchal
olderfemale withayoungmale grime artist.Thiscreatesafable-like qualitytothe video,asDizzee
Rascal tellsthe storyof the developmentof asuccessful career.The narrative islinear,featuring
disruptionsandaresolutionthatreflectsthe dominantmessageof triumphoveradversitythrough
commitmenttoa dream.
The videomakesintertextual referencestodifferentmediaforms andoffersawide varietyof
seeminglydisparate elements.itisaconventionof the music videoformtohave songlyrics
interpretedonscreen,the overtanddeliberatewaythe lyricsare interpretedinthismusicvideo
mightbe subvertingthisconvention:The openingline“Iwasscaredof dentistsandthe dark” is
interpretedexplicitlywith ashotof a female looking“scared”withametalliccontraptioninher
mouththat suggestsshe isina dentist’schairandfollowedbyashotof a lightswingingina
darkenedroom.Thisovertgraphical representationof the lyricsislargelyrepeatedthroughoutthe
video.