The 1975 - Girls

1. Detailed Analysis
The 1975 - Girls

2. Institution Responsible…
• The music video was directed by Adam Powell - Powell has
directed a number of other pop music videos including ‘Doing
It’ - Charli xcx & Rita Ora (2015), ‘Changed The Way You
Kissed Me’ - Example (2011) and ‘Help The People’ - Birdy
(2011)
• The label the song was realised under was ‘Dirty Hit’ which is a
British indie record label, representing other bands such as
Wolf Alice, Pale Waves and Superfood.

3. Credits…
• The only credit within the music video is a spelling out of
the word ‘GIRLS’ in flowers, this is repeated at several
points within the music video - this adds to the stereotype
of girls being ‘soft’ and ‘feminine’ in comparison to men.
Feminists would argue that this is a negative stereotype
of females - drawing them closer to the caring and
nurturing domestic role of the housewife and child carer
that society wants them to perform.

4. Key Selling Points…
• The music video features several shots of females in their underwear
- theorist Mulvey would argue that this reflects the ‘male gaze’ in
which women are perceived as ‘objects’ within the media industry that
are ‘gazed’ upon by males. This is a selling point as not only is this
likely to entice male audiences in, it is also scandalous and perhaps
slightly controversial - the song is extremely stereotypical towards
females thus making it slightly shocking within a modern society
where woman are viewed as much more then just their bodies, and
the nurturing roles that society socialises them into performing - unlike
historical media texts suggest, such as fairy liquid advertisements of
the 1960’s.

5. Target Audience…
• Young and Rubicam’s 4 C’s model can help
explain the target audience…

6. Gender…
• Though The 1975 have a large female fan base,
due to the suggestive tones of the music video
(e.g the females in underwear) it could be argued
that the music video is targeted towards a male
audience. This idea is furthered within the tone of
the song and the repetition of the lyric “they’re
just girls” - it sound colloquial and almost
something two male friends could be saying to
each other.

7. Ethnicity…
• The music video features a cast of The 1975
band and 4 female models, 3 that are white and
one that is mixed race. Though there isn't a large
variety of ethnicities represented within the music
video, the misrepresentation of a mixed ethnicity
cast could suggest that The 1975 are aware of
who their target market are - primarily British,
female teenagers and are trying to replicate this
within their chosen cast.

8. Age…
• The target market for this song is youths between
the age of 15-21, the use of lyrics within the song
reflect teenage relationship struggles - however,
due to the suggestive tones of females in
underwear the target market could be no lower
than 15 year olds. Further, the bright colours
used and the ‘fun’ nature of the pop video are a
reflection of youth.

9. Socio-Economic Group…
• As the target age market is teenagers their socio-
economic group is likely to be unemployed
teenager students or teens working in part time
employment alongside schooling - thus making
their economic status fairly low, they are likely to
be reliant on their parents income. This could
reflect Yound and Rubicam’s “The Struggler”
model - a person who lives for today making few
plans for tomorrow, this is likely for youths that are
financially dependent as they lack the freedom that
adults hold to live their lives freely.

10. Narrative…
• The music video follows mainly a performance - The 1975 are
shown lip syncing their song as they play their instruments. The
female actors are also shown to be performing too, holding the
instruments and mimicking The 1975’s performance - this adds
an element of fun to the music video, creating a lighthearted
feel. Further, this ‘comedic’, ‘lighthearted’ sense is furthered in
several other scenes - The 1975 are aware that they are
performing a pop band but want to stick to their monochrome,
indie style - this is juxtaposed with the bright colourful ‘girly’
settings, such as a pool side as they all lip sync the song.

11. Release Dates…
• The music video was released on the 23rd of
October 2013, however, the song itself was
released on the 11th of November 2013 - just
under a month after the music video.
• This shows how music videos act as a way for
artists to advertise and create an interest around
their music to further sell it. This worked for The
1975 as the music video has over 37 million views
proving that the video helped to push the sales of
the single itself.

12. Camera Work…
• As the music video is a performance video, a lot of the shots are
long shots - showing the band performing with instruments
• On certain sections of the song - the camera jumps to close ups of
the band members playing the instruments (e.g a hand playing the
guitar)
• The music video also features several close up shots of the
actors/band members faces - this shows their expressions, creating
a connection between the audience and the musicians.

13. Mise - En - Scene…• The props used within the music video are the instruments used to
perform with, and several other props that relate to the fun youthful
theme of the video - such as, multicoloured cigarettes, a car and a bbq
setting.
• The costume used for the video features the band in completely
monochrome clothing - similar to a ‘rock’ style (leather jackets, doctor
marten shoes) - this contrasts with the underwear that the female actors
are seen to be wearing and makes the band stand out against them.
• The video is set in a studio throughout - although the video is set up in
one scene to appear to be a ‘bbq’ setting it is evident that they are still in
a studio.

14. Theory…
• I believe that this video relates to Ann Gould’s
theory of youth being ‘sexual’ - the use of the
actors in their underwear helps to prove this. As
the band is made of solely male members, this
suggests that either the females are wearing
underwear to impress the males - or is a
reflection of the males interests, and thoughts as
a youth (sexual).

15. Influence On My Work…
• This music video has influenced my work due to some of
the styles of shots that are used - for example, I believe
the multicoloured cigarettes are an interesting reflection
of youths as not only do they portray youths as ‘trouble’
or ‘reckless’ but the fact that they are multicoloured adds
a ‘fun’ side of youth subcultures.
• Also, I think that the style of costume the band are
wearing (‘rock’ style including doctor martens, leather
jackets, ripped jeans etc) could be incorporated into my
music video as I believe this is a realistic refection of
modern fashion trends amongst youths.