A2 Media Studies - Textual Analysis

1. By Annabelle Peck

2. I have decided to textually analyse
Taylor Swifts video ‘you belong
with me’ as it is in the pop genre
and follows a narrative. By doing
this I will learn how to successfully
construct a storyline to a music
video that is performance based
and appealing to a mass
audience. Although this song is a
lot more upbeat than the one we
have chosen, I still think it will be
interesting to analyse and give me
a better idea of what goes in to a
pop music video. The music video
‘you belong with me’ uses a lot of
different technical aspects and
media concepts to develop the
genre and emphasise Taylor’s
brand identity.

3. The long establishing shot of the two houses has been used to
focus the audiences attention on the two side windows of the
house that are lit up. The natural looking lighting from the sunset
in the background, that is not harshly influenced by any studio
lights sets quite a romantic scene, something that is typical of
the pop genre. The soft lighting and normality of the setting also
familiarises the audience, which is majority of a younger age
group, which then gives them more of a sense of realism.

4. The video then zooms in on the window and fades to a medium
shot of a young boy on the phone. The audience will be able to
see that he is angry and frustrated because of his body language
and facial expressions. The producers of the video decided to
cast a handsome young man, who is also a known Hollywood
actor to attract Taylor’s already predominantly young female
audience and make them more interested in what he is upset
and angry about. The audience can also tell that the boy in the
video must be popular as there is a lot of trophies, a basketball
and bunting from school sports teams in his bedroom. This mise
on scene that is used makes the character even more appealing
to the target audience.

5. The video then cuts to a shot of Taylor through her window. This
is a long shot that is blurred, which represents that Taylor’s
character goes quite unnoticed, where as her neighbour doesn’t,
as he is in the focus. The importance of social hierarchy in young
people’s life is emphasised here, and highlights the issue that
people perceived as ‘geeks’ or ‘nerds’ are often overlooked. This
message is a strong and important one for a lot of younger
teenagers, therefore making the video more important to them,
and attracting a larger target audience and making Taylors
character relatable.

6. The first close up shot we see of Taylor’s character in the
video is her holding up the card below which writes ‘You
OK?’ This will automatically make the audience warm to
her as the first thing we see her do is something kind and
considerate. The audience will most likely already think this
as they are watching her video but it still increases her
likeability. We see the narrative start to develop in this shot
because the audience can tell that she has some type of
feeling towards him as she cares about his feelings.

7. When the two have exchanged three signs between them the
boy gets up and closes the curtains in a close up. This again
emphasises that he is more important than her as he is the one
to end the conversation. The reflection of Taylor on the window
and her holding up a sign that reads ‘I love you’ makes the
audience feel pathos towards her and further highlights the
struggles of being lower on the social hierarchy during high
school. The sign she holds up is quite significant to the narrative
of the video as it confirms what the audience already thought,
that she has feelings towards her neighbour. The reality of
teenage life that is portrayed in this sequence of events makes
Taylor more likeable as an artist as the audience feel like they
can relate their own life to hers.

8. As Taylor has quite a large fan base it is well known that she likes to write
her songs about experiences she has actually faced. Therefore the
audience that is already a part of her fan base can identify the character in
the video as the past Taylor making them warm to her as an artist. The
same message is also portrayed to the audience that isn't already in her
fan base, as the character she is playing seems to be living the lyrics of the
song and lip-syncing them. The series of over the shoulder shots is
synchronous to the non-diegetic lyrics of the song “she wears short shorts,
I wear T-shirts” as she compares herself to different types of people she
goes to school with. Taylor relates to the young audience in her video by
making it clear that she is unhappy with her image, a problem majority of
young people struggle with.

9. After the over the shoulder shots in the mirror there is a cutaway to her
singing the chorus of the song on her bed. This makes it clear to the
audience that she is passionate about the boy and doesn’t want to give
up, a positive message to portray to her audience. She also gives the
audience a sense of realism when she dances round her room singing
into a hairbrush, something which may be relatable to some teenagers.
As well as making her character relatable she also adds humour to the
video, which is emphasised by cutaway close up of the boy watching
her through the curtains and laughing. Although he is laughing at her, it
is made clear that it is not in a malicious way, but that he is laughing
with her, making the audience warm to both characters even more.

10. The audience associate popularity and importance with the boy in the
video as the long shot of him walking towards the bench is in slow
motion. The mise on scene of the shot also emphasises this as Taylor
is seen wearing cover up clothes, has glasses on and is holding a
book, items that are all associated with being ‘geeky’. Taylors body
language also conveys no self-confidence as she has hunched
shoulders. On the other hand the boy in the mid-shot of them has very
confident posture and wears fashionable clothes, making the two
characters look like binary opposites. The shot reverse shot that is
used to show the audience that they are having a flowing conversation,
making them also see how well they get on. This makes the audience
want to continue watching the video so they can see their romance
progress.

11. The romantic atmosphere between both characters is
quickly ruined by the boys girlfriend, a stereotypical
‘popular girl’ who is head of the schools cheerleading team.
The rule of thirds medium shot portrays the girl to be quite
a nasty character. This is again emphasised by the red car,
a colour that connotes danger and lust, and the way that
she holds herself, that makes her seem important and
gives of a cool persona.

12. From inside the car we see a mid-shot of Taylor on the
bench, she waves to them with a sad expression on her
face, making her look like an outsider and making the
audience feel sympathy towards her. There is then a close
up of the boy and his girlfriend kissing after she pulled him
in. This makes the girlfriend seem controlling to the
audience and increases their dislike towards her, it also
unwillingly gives the audience hope for Taylor. The extreme
close up of his girlfriend giving Taylor an evil look also
increases the audiences hate for her and makes Taylor
seem like a better person, there fore increasing her fan
base.

13. The video then cross cuts to a medium shot of the boy that Taylor loves
playing football at a school game. The mise en scene of the boys room
hinted that he played for the school football team, this will give the
audience a sense of accomplishment if it is something that they thought
they already knew about him. The football costume makes him look manly
and attractive, something that will help the audience to understand why
Taylor is in love with him and make her feelings more relatable. The cliché
high school ideas are portrayed in this scene as there is a lot of cross
cutting between the boys girlfriend and Taylor. We can see that they are
binary opposites as his girlfriend looks made up and confident in her
space, where as Taylor is cramped up in the bleachers surrounded by
other people. This juxtaposition suggests that Taylor has no chance with
him.

14. A series of long shots of Taylor and the bleachers performing
and cutaway close up shots of Taylor singing makes it appear
that she is serenading the boy. The low angle close ups of Taylor
opposed to the high angle close ups of the cheerleader make
Taylor appear like a much better role model. Suspense is
created when we see a close up of the boy looking into the
crowd and the audience gain hope for Taylor again. When the
boy makes the winning shot at the game this hope is destroyed
as we once again see the dramatic difference in their social
standing. A low angle medium shot of him being lifted up and
people cheering around him makes the boy appear almost god
like, where as Taylor stays in the same place in the bleachers.

15. The scene at the football game cross cuts back to Taylors
bedroom where she is studying, once again portraying her geeky
persona. The two characters speak about going to prom through
the windows, a tradition that is widely popular in America and
makes the video feel more realistic. The clothes the boy is
wearing are very smart, perhaps suggesting to the audience that
he might win prom king, something normally associated with
popular students. The audience can see that the boy may be
starting to gain feelings for Taylor as he seems upset with the
fact that she is not going, portrayed through his facial
expressions and body language.

16. The close up shot of Taylor taking her glasses off in her room is
significant as is then cross cuts to her fully made over in a long
shot. An intertextuality reference could be made here as the
crowd part when she walks in and all attention is on her, the soft
blue lighting also adds to this. The likeability of this story makes
Taylor even more appealing to her young predominantly female
audience. The facial expression on the boys face as he turns
round and sees her is shock, but also lust, as the audience
finally get what they have been waiting for.

17. As the boy is walking towards Taylor he shakes of his
promiscuous ex-girlfriend who tries to grad him back. His ex
girlfriend is the complete opposite to Taylor in the mise en scene
as she wears red lipstick and cut out dress, connoting danger
and sexuality, where as Taylor is juxtaposed in a white flowing
dress, conveying innocence. The mid reaction shot of the
girlfriends face shows her shock at what has happened and
shows the stereotypical views of teenagers. A sense of finality
and a full circle is established when they both hold up signs that
read ‘I Love you’. This leaves the audience on a high note
believing that the right outcome has happened.