2. Andrew Goodwin's theory
• Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics.
There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals.
• There is a relationship between music and visuals.
• The demands of the record label will include the
need for lots of close ups of the artist so that the
artist may develop motifs.
• There is frequent reference to the notion of
looking (screens within screens, telescopes etc.)
and particularly the voyeuristic treatment of
women’s bodies.
•There are often intertextual references to films, TV
programmes, other music videos etc.
3. “Music videos demonstrate genre
characteristics.”
The genre that this music video falls under is hip hop. The three main
things that music videos in this genre tend to focus on is money,
wealth and power. Common aspects in hip hop videos include fancy
cars, reference to the artists wealth, showing the artists ‘posse’
connoting power, crowds of people/parties and dancing girls dressed
in revealing clothing. The video for Fancy complies to and sometimes
opposes the characteristics for the hip hop genre. The majority of hip
hop videos show males having the power and present women as
disposable, but in this video Iggy holds all the power. However the
video still follows the characteristics of hip hop videos as there is
reference to Azalea’s wealth by showing her in an expensive car;
common in hip hop videos. Power is shown when Iggy is walking in
the hallway with her clique following, being in the middle shows the
power that she has over them.
4.
5. “There is a relationship between lyrics
and visuals.”
The lyrics to the song Fancy boast of Iggy Azalea’s wealth;
“Film star, yeah I'm deluxe Classic, expensive, you don't
get to touch”. This is illustrated in the video by seeing
Azalea in an expensive car and by other props such as the
iPad at the beginning and the use of her mobile phone. In
addition to this we see her show up at a house where
there’s a party and it is made obvious by the establishing
shot of the house, whether it is Azalea’s home or one of
her friends, of which is not made clear, the owner is
wealthy. We also denote from the lyrics that Azalea also
has some social power which is show by the attention she
receives by both males and females in the video.
6.
7. “There is a relationship between
music and visuals.”
The music is quite simple with a strong beat
running through so noticing the shots in the
video cut to the beat is quite obvious to the
viewer making it interesting and pleasing to
watch. There are also a few dance routines to go
along to the music where shots cut to the claps
and clicks in the song helping to move the dance
scenes along with the rest of the video. The beat
of the song goes well with the dance routines
that are displayed.
8.
9. “The demands of the record label will include
the need for lots of close ups of the artist so that
the artist may develop motifs”
The main focus in the majority of the scenes is Iggy
Azalea with some focus on the feature artist Charli
XCX. The shots of Azalea vary but the majority are
close ups and long shots. The long shots show
Azalea’s outfits which usually consist of shorts and
mini skirts which will attract the interest of males
for the artist. There are also many shots showing
Azalea dancing which shows off the other talents of
the artist. People see her develop as a performer
and not just a singer and are more likely to want to
go to one of her concerts.
10.
11. “There is frequent reference to the notion
of looking and particularly the voyeuristic
treatment of women’s bodies.”
The notion of looking in introduced within the first few shots of
the video. We can see Iggy Azalea on an iPad looking at clothes.
Throughout the video we also see lots of different people
looking at phone screens. Laura Mulvey’s male gaze theory can
be seen clearly in the Fancy video. Every girl in the video is
wearing a short skirt; this attracts males attention as their eyes
are drawn to the women’s legs. The majority of clothing worn by
women in the video is also tight showing off their figure which
catches the eyes of male viewers and also the males in the video.
Azalea’s power in the video is presented as mainly sexual
whereas it should be because of her talent. There are also many
camera angles that intentionally draw our attention to a
woman’s body.
12.
13. “There are often intertextual references to films,
TV programmes, other music videos etc.”
The main intertextual reference in the video is to
the film Clueless. The video acts almost as a
modern remake of the film featuring Iggy Azalea as
the main character. The props and costumes fit in
with the 90’s style of the movie. Azalea’s yellow
tartan outfit is key to people recognising the
connection between the film Clueless and the
music video. The video opens with a title screen
that mirrors that from Clueless and also establishes
the theme for the video. They also promote
technology like the iPad and iPhones.
