Analysis of a music video

1. ANALYSIS OF A MUSIC
VIDEO
Becca Fry

2. GOODWIN’S THEORY
Goodwin's theory states that there are six key features in a music
video:
•Music videos represent genre characters (stereotypes)
•Lyrics are represented with images
•The tone and atmosphere of the visuals reflect that of the music
•The demands of the record label
•Frequent reference to the notion of looking
•Intertextual references to other media
The music video I will analyse is 'Hideaway‘ by Kiesza.

3. MUSIC VIDEOS REPRESENT GENRE CHARACTERS
(STEREOTYPES)
One stereotype within society is that women are dependent on men.
Although this stereotype is being broken as women are develop
increasing levels of independence due to movements in society (the
waves of feminism), it could be argued that it is still a dominate
ideology within society. This characteristics of women could be seen
to be reflected within this video during a simple dance move when
the female dancer is lifted up by the male. Additionally, a stereotype
of males is that they are strong. This is also represented in this
screenshot of the music video as the female is positioned being lifted
up by the male.

4. MUSIC VIDEOS REPRESENT GENRE
CHARACTERS (STEREOTYPES)
A second stereotype is that women are flirtatious, and although it is
not so evident now, media (such as film) within previous decades
suggests women have the sole purpose of acting as sexual objects
and pleasing men. These screenshots show two occasions where the
female actor tried to seduce/flirt with the male actor.

5. LYRICS ARE REPRESENTED WITH IMAGES
An example of where the lyrics are directly related to the visuals is
when she says “Cover my head into the clouds I'm going home”. At
this point the lead female throws her hands up to the air to point to
the clouds. Apart from these lyrics there are minimal examples of
where she relates her movement to the lyrics as the entire video is
predominately a dance sequence.

6. THE TONE AND ATMOSPHERE OF THE VISUALS
REFLECT THAT OF THE MUSIC
• Initially, there is no music to introduce
the song until the artist begins singing.
During this silence the female lead gets
out the taxi and begins walking. Due to
the lack of interesting music/lyrics, the
visuals reflect this by having the female
walk instead of a more exciting actions
(for example running or dancing instead
of simply walking).
• However, when the beat drops and the
tempo of the music becomes much more
upbeat the actors begin a dance routine.
These visuals do reflect the music as
they both become much more exciting at
the same time.

7. THE DEMANDS OF THE RECORD LABEL
This suggests that a video will include the need for lots of close ups
of the artist and the artist may develop motifs which recur across
their work. This may be used in order to promote the video/song if
an audience is likely to be attracted by a certain artist. This video is
shot in one shot only therefore it would be difficult to have lots of
close ups unless the actor deliberately positons themselves very close
to the camera. These screenshots demonstrate how the actor stays at
a similar distance away from the camera throughout the video.

8. FREQUENT REFERENCE TO THE NOTION OF
LOOKING
This refers to actors looking in mirrors/their reflection throughout
the video and also the ‘male gaze’ is often used to attract a male
audience by presenting things which appeal to men, for example
voyeuristic treatment of the female body. Additionally, the female
lead is dressed in revealing clothes such as a crop top, which could
be seen to be superfluous to the narrative (and for the male gaze) or
it may just signify her dress sense. This screenshot is an example of
the female looking at her reflection and also demonstrates her dress
code.

9. INTERTEXTUAL REFERENCES TO OTHER MEDIA
I do not believe that there are any obvious intertextual references to
other media products. This is because throughout the film the female
lead simply performs a dance routine with a number of other actors
and there is no clear narrative.