An analysis of Seafret's Oceans music video.

1. Withinthe extract,the theme of escapismisexploredthroughthe representationof the youngfemale
character being‘othered’throughthe unusualmise-en-scene.The use of the maskandthe cape is
suggestive of childhood,implyingthatshe wantsindependence fromherparentsanddoesn’tfeartobe
differentfromothers.Throughthe initial closeupshotof the hand writtennote,the audienceinterprets
the lack of parental care and closenessasthe girl islefttomake herown dinner.Whenthe girl isinthe
house,low-keylightinghasbeenusedpossiblytosuggestthatshe isrepressedandunable toexpress
hertrue self whenathome.However,whenshe is wearinghercostume andentersthe forest,ambient
lightingcanbe seenwhichimpliesasense of freedomandherhappinesscomesfrombeingdressesas
thisunusual character.There isa clearsense of juxtapositionshownthroughthe lighting,which
ultimatelyreflectsheremotionsandfurtherreinforcesthe theme of escapismthroughbeingwhoshe
trulywantsto be. Thisconformsto Strauss’theorythatwithinmusicvideosbinaryoppositesare always
apparent;withinthe Oceansmusicvideobinaryopposites are seenboththroughaparental
relationship,andthe differencesbetweenthe female protagonistandthe bulliesthatsurroundher.The
use of the rapidcuttingbetweenthe close upof the female protagonistandthe bulliesallow the
audience toidentify the theme of separationasherdifferencescause hertobe isolatedandtargeted.
Arguably,howeverthe ideaof vulnerabilityissubvertedwhenthe girl appearstohave superpowers;the
use of post-productioneditingtechniquesallowedforthe special effectstosubvertthe stereotypical
viewthatwomenandchildrenare vulnerableandweak.The use of brightcoloursseenthroughthe
costumesusedcreatesasense of nostalgia,playfulnessandinnocence withinthe piece,howeverthe
shallowdepthof fielduse juxtaposesthis,suggestingthatinfactshe is isolatedandsingledoutdue to
herunique differences. Lyrically,the videoissuggestive of change andgrowth, asseenthroughthe
stronglexical fieldof oceanssuchas ‘drown’,whichimpliesthatshe isovercominghertroublesand
demonsthatonce hung overher.Thisconformsto Goodwin’stheorythatthe lyricsandvisualsare
closelyrelatedandlinkedtoone anotheraswithinthe Oceansmusicvideo,despitebeingknockeddown
the female prevailsandstaystrue to herself despitejudgmentfromthe bullies.Itisidentifiable thatthe
genre of indie pophasbeenconformedtowithinthe piece,asthe quirkythemes andemotional
underlyingmessage canbe seeninothermusicvideosof the genre suggestingthatresilience and
independenceiskey. Furthermore,the female isseenasthe outsider,whichissomewhatcommonof
the indie genre,howeverthe piece followsTodrov’snarrative theoryasthere isaresolutiontothe
problemsthatthe female characterfaces;she defeatsthe bulliesandamaternal relationshipisbuilt
upon.