2. Technical Aspects
• The beginning of the music video emphasises the American high school
themed genre, which was largely used in a variety of media platforms such
as: movies and music videos. The use of the setting, of a high school gym,
is used specifically for the audience to decode the reinforced stereotype of
teenage culture: rebellious, reckless, immature and perhaps suggesting that
they are unsophisticated.
• There is a large amount of close up shots and mid shots of the lead singer
Kurt Cobain, the use of these specific shots emphasises the importance and
leadership role of the star figure. The repeated positioning of the lead singer
being centered in a majority of the shots symoblises his importance within
the band, also he is continuously seen playing his guitar representing his
talent as a musician and as a rock star artist/ grunge artist.
• There is the use of direct address from mainly the lead singer who directly
looks at the camera, this creates intimacy between the lead singer and the
audience
• Use of diegetic sound of the live music in the music video and the
screaming of the audience in the video. The music itself the rock and
grunge genre stereotypes of the music being aggressive, up beat, loud and
uses profanity
• The fast paced editing of the video, emphasizes the intense and dramatic
tone of the grunge music.
• The low key lighting and evident smoke machine also add to the dramatic
and intense nature of the expressive rock and roll artists
3. Historical Context
• The music video is shot at a American High School pep rally, the
camera pans from the lead singer multiple times to show high school
cheerleaders. However these cheerleaders appear transgressive
(involving a violation of moral or social boundaries) as on their outfits
is the circle-A, which long preludes, the anarcho-punk movement,
which was part of the punk rock movement of the late 1970's. This
could suggest that the representation of band, and the punk
rock/grunge music of that time, that somewhat of a great deal to
teenagers. It represents the band as influential and powerful as they
influence many teenagers with their music. Throughout the music
video the repetitive image of the Anarchism symbol, ultimately
represents a political philosophy that advocates self-governed
societies based on voluntary institutions. These are often described
as stateless societies, although several authors have defined them
more specifically as institutions based on non-hierarchical or free
associations. Anarchism holds the state to be undesirable,
unnecessary and harmful. During the rising of grunge genre, the
idea of Anarchism became very popular within teenagers. The rise
of grunge genre began in the mid 1980’s.
4. Audiences
• During the time of the video, the audience was directed at teenagers around
16-19. Also it may have been directed at white audiences as most of their
videos no black person is seen, highly dominated by white people. The
niche audience would have been people who enjoyed grunge/punk/rock
genre. However soon after the video was released, it reached 6th of the Bill
Boards. Then soon started to relate to many other audiences. The ideology
behind the music video, as it shows that the band wanted to be represented
as strong and inspire youth with their rebellious nature, this maybe why it
related to mostly younger audiences, despite the mature topics which were
mentions in passed Nirvana music videos.
5. Goodwin
• The music video supports the genres motifs and emphasises the characteristics of
the rock and grunge genre; having an essence of rock and roll stylised performance
• There is a relationship between the lyrics and the images: the repetitive use of the
word “stupid” as said in the video multiple times is supported by the images in the
video of the cast fighting and showing rebellious reckless behavior supporting the
lyrics meaning itself
• The music video is a conventionally a rock genre music video influenced by electric
blues music
• The music video is narrative based symbolising their experiences of live concerts and
how fans act during performances also, their life style in the rock world and the
dramatic nature of fame and popularity
6. Representation
• The cast of the music video are predominantly white, this supports the
ethnocentric attitudes of the 90s where there was a lack of equality of black
people and a lack of representation of of black minorities in society.
• The long hair and the rough look of the band support the stereotypical belief
of rock/grunge artists that are both rebellious and outcasts
• The women are sexualised by wearing skin tight outfits and by moving
sexually and seductively, also there is also women wearing revealing
clothing in the background. This supports the misogynistic beliefs of women
being objects and that they are less than the male sex
