Music Video Analysis

1. Melanie Martinez Dollhouse Music Video Analysis
Thisfirstshot of a dollhousewould suggest
innocence andfun,thuscreatingan illusion
that the song andvideoare goingto be
reflectiveof that.Itis a good shotto open
withbecause itislinkedin withthe title of
the song,Dollhouse,andIthinkthat
because the dooris openonthe house then
it wouldmeanthatwe are goingto be
takinga lookinside the house.
Howeverina subsequentshotof,whatissupposed
to be a doll inthe dollhouse,we see thatthere isa
pile of severeddoll headsnexttoherwithblacked
out eyes,whichshowsthatthere isamore sinister
meaningtothe song. Melanie Martinez’slookis
veryunique andherimage isveryrecognisable in
the video.Thisisa commontrait in pop singerswho
wantto stand out andit isverytypical to see quirky
aestheticswithinpopmusicvideos.
Thisshot of the mother’shandclapsinga
bottle of redwine wouldbe suggestive of
alcoholismandrepresentsthe harsher
realitiesof familiesthatoutsidersdon’tsee.
Thisis where itbecomesapparentthata
dollhouse isametaphorof a familythatis
happyand perfectonthe outside butbehind
closeddoorshave a troubled life.Inthis
instance the motherhasresortedtoalcohol
because herhusbamdishavingan affair,this
isindicatedbythe lyrics,“Whenyouturn yourback she pullsouta flask,andforgetshisinfidelity”.
Thisshot showsthe familyactingproperand
perfectfora photoor infrontof others. Theyall
lookunhappybutthen smile whenthe camera
flashesforthe photo. Thisseemstohave a deeper
meaningof onlylettingpeople seeacertainaltered
side of youto avoidjudgement.Ithinkthatany
audience couldrelate tothisanditmakesthe video
veryinteresting.

2. The kisson the father’snecksymbolisespromiscuityand
couldpossiblybe representingmeninanegative lightas
cheats.The shot of the motherwashingdishesisto
representhersupposedroleinthe family;thisisa
traditional stereotype of womenand especiallymothers,
but I thinkthe shotiseffective intryingtoconveyhow
the dysfunctional familyare tryingtoseemnormal.
Thisfinal shotof the doorto the dollhouse
closingisveryeffective asitseemstobe
like we are leavingthe house and we have
seenthe ‘real’familywithin.It’sapparent
by the endof the videothat“Dollhouse”is
a metaphorfor the twosidesof a person;
the side that isreal and complicated,and
thenthe perfected side thatyouwant
people toseee