Essay about Stan and Last Friday Night

1. Task 3
‘Stan’ by Eminem
The song ‘Stan’ is about an obsessed fan named Stanley Mitchell. He writes a few letters to
Eminem which express his feelings. He looks up to Eminem as an idol and in doing so tries to
replicate him in every way. He does not pay attention to his girlfriend as he is so obsessed
with Eminem he has no time to focus on her. Near the end of the music video his girlfriend
walks into the basement filled with merchandise. Stan then vigorously grabs his girlfriend.
The scene cuts to Stan driving down a freeway with his girlfriend tied up in the boot of the
car driving kill himself and his girlfriend’s whilst recording a tape for Eminem to hear. In the
final scene we see Eminem replying to stans letters and stans family standing by his
tombstone and the last words are Eminem saying “Come to think about, his name was, it
was you”
The first example we see of Stan trying to replicate Eminem is when he dyes his hair blonde
to match Eminem.
More examples of him replicating Eminem is that Stan wears the same clothes as Eminem,
he does this to feel as similar as Eminem as possible.

2. Another way Stan shows his love for Eminem is when he gets a tattoo of Eminem’s
nickname (Slim Shady) across the left side of his chest.
Throughout this song we also can that Stan is depriving his girlfriend of the attention she
deserves, considering that she is pregnant he should be looking after her although Stans
obsession with Eminem is clouding his duty to his partner.
The music video for Stan is very unconventional compared to your typical hip-hop songs.
The main reason why the music video for Stan is unconventional is due to the fact that it's
purpose is to send a message to the audience instead of just another video for a song.
Another way in which the video is unconventional is that the lighting of the video is dark and
the feeling of it is dull. Typically, hip hop videos would be lively and bright as the video is
supposed to make the audience want to be that way. With Stan this is not the case as they
want the audience to do the opposite from the main character.
It is also unconventional as there is no male gaze during the video, this is because the song
is sad, it is sending a message to Eminem's fans that they should not obsess over him to the
point where they could hurt themselves. Another reason why there is no male gaze is
because it would distract people from the actual message of the song.
Another way in which it is unconventional is there is no dance choreography, this is due to
the fact that it would take the focus of the main message and the focus would be on the
dancing. Another way it is unconventional is because it features a pop artist, typical you
would not find this as it is seen as lowering your popularity.
There is usually lip synching in hip hop videos so this is conventional, although what is
unconventional about the lip synching in this video is that usually just the star who is doing
it. During the music video we can see both Stan and Eminem doing it. Stan is also lip
synching in the music video to make you really feel the lyrics and to make you feel as if Stan
is real and actually saying it.

3. There are many codes used in the music video for ‘Stan’ the main one we can see
throughout the video is through the clothes worn by the characters in the video. Stan wears
the same baggy trousers and white top. With the colour white it can also be seen as
representing lunacy. This would fit with Stan as we can see his over obsessions with
Eminem. Whereas his girlfriend is always wearing blue, this could be interpreted as his
girlfriend being loyal as blue represents loyalty. The video backs this up as his girlfriend stays
with him throughout, even until the end.
We also see a pathetic fallacy in the music video. We can tell this from the first few scenes
in the video. It is raining and there is thunder and lightning continuously. This whether
represents the feeling of the song. It is dull and gloomy and this is done to show that the
message is serious. This can also be used in another part in the video. The only part in the
video where it is light is when Stan meets Eminem in person. This is the only scene in the
video where it is light.
Close ups on the artist- This is difficult to portray in this music video as through most of it,
Stan, not Eminem, is narrating the events however due to this, Stan takes place of the artist
and close-ups are seen, a specific example being at the beginning of the music video where
he is looking in the mirror, he is clearly shown to the audience. Throughout the rest of the
video, whenever Stan is at his desk, he is always placed in centre frame and if not, the shot
is from behind or the side. The camera privileges Stan throughout the music video but still
shows cuts of Eminem to re-assure the viewer that it is still his rap.
There is also an extreme close up on the envelope addressed to Eminem, because the song
is about how annoyed he is that his idol has ignored him.

4. Andrew Goodwin’s theory
1) Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics
It demonstrates genre characteristics because at one point we see Eminem performing on
stage with Stan watching him from the crowd.
2) There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals
The lyrics act as a narrative device. For example, when he mentions him and his brother
waiting out in the cold for 4 hours, it shows them stood outside the venue.
3) There is a relationship between music and visuals
As the music starts to become more intense Stan becomes increasingly angry.
4) The demands of the record label will include the need for lots of close ups
There are many close ups of both Stan and Eminem lip-syncing to the song
Last Friday Night – Katy Perry
The song Last Friday Night is about a geeky girl named Kathy who is working in her house,
across the street there is a house party and the noise is distracting her. She then goes to the
house and knocks on the door and asks the person whose party it is to turn down the music.
Rebecca Black then pulls her into the party as she sees her as a project that she can work
on. In the beginning of the part nobody gives her any attention apart from a fellow geeky
boy that she knows. This all changes when Rebecca Black gives her a makeover. We then see
some events of the night and then we see that the jock who paid her not attention earlier
now wants her. It then cuts to part of the video where the jock grabs Kathy’s bum, the geeky
kid then grabs him and then punches him and is like a knight in shining armour from the
view of Kathy. The video ends with Kathy waking up the next day to the realisation that her
house is messy and her parents have returned.
This music video is conventional for typical pop music videos. We can tell this by the bright
and lively mood and the upbeat tempo of the song. Although in some ways the video is
unconventional. One way in which it is unconventional is that there is a mini story within the
actual story. This is between the geeky guy named Everett and Kathy, it is mainly focused on
Everett’s battle for Kathy. A way in which it is conventional is that it focuses a lot on the star,
in this case it is Katy Perry.

5. We also see some synergy in the video, this can be seen in the scene where Kathy and other
members of the part are playing ‘Just Dance’. This helps raise awareness of the game and
also boosts Katy Perry’s popularity as she has a few songs that feature in the game.
There are also many codes and conventions during the music video, for example we have a
few symbolic codes, one of these are the clothes we see the people wearing. We see your
typical jock outfit and we also see Kathy wearing pink. We can take Kathy wearing pink and
say that pink is sometimes used to represent femininity.
Another symbolic code we can see is the body language of the people, for example in the
first few scenes we can see Kathy and Everett having very closed body’s. we can see that
Everett is sitting alone all by himself.

6. We can also see some of the male gaze. We can see this when the jock is not interested in
Kathy but when she has a makeover and comes out with no braces, no glasses and a short
skirt the jock then pays attention.
Another code we can see is the whole style of the video. It has an 80’s style about it the way
the video starts the clothes that are being worn and the dancing that is going on.

7. Above we can see that at the end of the video they have credits in a movie form, this just
further backs up the point that it is unconventional to a normal pop video as it is set out like
a film.
A way in which it is unconventional is through the non-linear story line. This means that the
story is not going in chronological order. We know this as the video cuts back and forth from
the future and the past frequently. This is very unconventional with typical pop videos as
they are mostly in chronological order.
Beginning Middle
End
The type of camera shots in the video are interesting. Throughout the video we can see
many close ups on the main star Kathy. This is to establish the star of the video. There are
close ups on certain facial expressions due to the fact that this video is more film-like than
many music videos. Another way we focus on the character of Kathy is by using the other
character’s clothes, we can see Kathy’s clothes are bright and vibrant whereas everyone
else’s are not; this is to draw attention to Kathy.

8. As we can see here Kathy is wearing the brightest clothes and is clearly standing out the most,
this is being done so that the star can be established.
Andrew Goodwin’s Theory
1.Relationship between the visuals and the lyrics
At the beginning of the song it says “There's a stranger in my bed” we then see a random
person in Kathy’s bed.
2. Genre and style
There are many codes that are typical with the pop genre e.g. bright colours and lively
theme.
3. Voyeurism
We see Kathy after her transformation from the view of the jock.
4. Intertextual references
Rebecca black features in the song and she also has a song about Friday.
The morale of the story for last Friday night is that you should not judge someone on how
they look it’s about how they are on the inside as well.
The difference between Eminem’s ‘Stan’ and Katy Perry’s ‘Last Friday Night’ is that Stan in
unconventional and Last Friday Night is conventional. Also the music video for Stan has been

9. made to send a specific message aimed at the audience whereas Katy Perry’s video was just
a video to match the song.
We can also see how they are completely different videos for example the lighting. The
lighting in Stan is dark whereas in Last Friday Night it is nearly always bright. We can also tell
that the video for Stan is dark and it is sending an important message whereas Last Friday
Night is bright and lively and is sending a much happier message. Also they two genres are
completely different; even though Stan features a pop artist it is much more different to
your typical song.