analysis of malibu by miley cyrus

1. ‘MALIBU’ MUSIC VIDEO
ANALYSIS
Faith Lovell

2. WHY I CHOSE THIS SONG
AND VIDEO...
I have chosen to analyse this music video because personally I really
like the aesthetics it has, and how the locations really fit the theme of
the song and genre. It also helps add meaning to the song a lot as it
is simple, yet effective and very different as to what Miley Cyrus has
done recently in the past. I enjoy watching how easily the editing and
camerawork flows easily against the lyrics and the tempo of the song,
this has helped the group and I conclude for our ideas of a song and
get a general idea of what our chosen genre and song will be.

3. LYRIC'S
Music videos can illustrate the meaning of lyrics and genre, providing a sometimes
over literal set of images. Here, then, is the most straightforward technique and the
classic example of visualisation, with everything in the music video based on the
source of the pop song. The lyrics create the meaning, and with the music video
representing what the artist is singing or what the song means gives texture to the
video. The first image above is shown in the video as Cyrus sings “I never came to the
beach or stood by the ocean” therefore using a moving image of her by the beach, it
relates to the lyrics. As well as the second image of her has she couches to sit down,
she sings “I never sat by the shore under the sun with my feet in the sand” as she
sings “sat by the shore” she sits down, again relating to the lyrics. The third image
she is smiling and frolicking around the beach as she sings “and I'm happy that you
did”.
The images on the below, when moving it shows her hair slightly swaying in the wind
as she sings “now I’m as free as birds catch in the wind” portraying how the film
represents the lyrics she is singing, matching the two together.

4. TEMPO AND INSTRUMENTS
The song ‘Malibu’ itself has quite a slow tempo, usually with music
video’s the tempo of the song is what drives the pace of the editing.
Therefore with this video particularly the editing is quite slow, there
are no beat drops, it is a soothing and calming song, this is also
represented in the video itself as the cuts between clips last around 2
– 4 seconds whereas if it were a faster song the cuts would be quicker
and snappier.
Throughout the duration of the song the main instrument is the
electric guitar and to seed up the tempo a percussion drum is used to
vary the pace throughout the song. Later on during the song the
tempo does pick up, with her vocals as well and also an acoustic
guitar is also used here to enhance the sound, sided by quicker paced
editing of images also, showing more evidence that a handheld
camera is being used here, making the video look messy, natural and

5. GENRE / MIS-EN-SCENE
The genre of the this is ‘Pop’ the mis-en-scene used to support in
presenting what type of genre the song is. Generally pop music tends to use
current and popular locations due to the fact this type of music likes to keep
updated with everything. In this case the main location and setting used is a
beach, a singular waterfall, clifftops and wildflower fields. We see Miley
running with a dog, bubbles and a bunch of colourful balloons all while
dressed in various different outfits in all different scenes. All of these
locations and props have a sense of freedom and free spirit about them and
being very aesthetically pleasing to the eye, colours such as light purples
and blues in the dusk times of the video and also bright blue skies and
lushes greens in the day time sections, suggesting the natural beauty of the
world around us, how she adores the place ‘Malibu’. The locations are
perfectly and precisely chosen to suit the lyrics and meaning of the song, it
also suggests how natural it was for Cyrus and Hemsworth to fall back in
love.

6. CAMERAWORK
Camerawork proposes various techniques, shots and angles that are
used in the music video to make it interesting and eye-catching. The
techniques used in this music video fits very well and helps Miley in
portraying the meaning of the song. This is done by using close ups
when she sings directly towards the camera to really suggest she
means what she is saying.
There is use of a variety of different angles so there will always be
something knew to see and the video does not get boring and
repetitive even though it does go back and forth from locations.

7. EDITING
As previously discussed in the ‘tempo and instruments’ page, the
editing is influenced by the beat and tempo of the song. The faster
the song, the quicker the cuts will be in the video and vice versa. This
is because what we hear and what we see connects and works
together to fit each other like a jigsaw puzzle, both parts of our body
simultaneously listening and watching the same product, therefore
linking these two aspects together works very well with each other.
Another editing technique that is used in the video illustrated by the
images above where two images are crossing over each other so each
are a little transparent in order for both images to be seen. This could
suggest that when she refers ack to this song she may not actually be
where she ‘sings’ she is but looking back on the memory in
happiness and content.

8. NARRATIVE / PERFORMANCE
/ CONCEPTS
The narrative of the song is about Miley falling back in love,
rekindling an old flame Liam Hemsworth. She sings “I never would’ve
believed you if three years ago you told me I’d be here writing this
song” here she is clearly singing directly to Liam as their relationship
has been through many ups and downs or as you could say, a roller
coaster ride.
The music video brings a gentle, sunny groove to this celebration of
love.

9. STAR IMAGE / BRAND
The song discusses Cyrus' relationship with current fiancé Liam
Hemsworth. Critics viewed "Malibu" as indicative of Cyrus' transition
into becoming a more mellow artist, and more removed from her
previously controversial image.
In the video she shows off her engagement ring to show her audience
what the song is about and so they know what is going on in her life
in a lovely and subtle way.
Having Miley as the only viewed person in the video shows that her
song is very personal and meaningful portraying how much this song
means to her not just as an artist but as a person.

10. VOYEURISM
A part of this video has aspects of voyeurism entangled within it.
Voyeurism is something that an audience shouldn’t really be looking
at although it makes them look even more because it feels like they
should not really be watching. Some parts of the video have more of
Miley’s skin revealed than other parts, particularly when the lighting
is darker suggesting sexual connotations. As shown in the images
above here are the voyeuristic examples used in the video. Clips like
biting onto her jumper and winking towards the camera can also be
seen as something quite sexual and seductive, by doing this it makes
Miley look like a cheeky yet sexy woman encouraging Laura Mulvey’s
male gaze theory, which could add potential peripheral audiences of
men watching the video, by listening to the song and hopefully music
becoming more popular.

11. INTERTEXTUALITY
Intertextuality is things that are inserted in the video representing
popular things or happenings at the time of its release. For example
during the time of ‘Malibu’s’ release in May 2017 summer was right
around the corner, and when audiences watched the video it could
perhaps make them excited for their summer ahead, especially as
Miley’s target audience ranging from 11-25 year old girls. It was
spring at he time and the video includes images of beautiful flowers
and destinations in which people get excited about during this time
of year.