1. ANDREW GOODWIN AND
LAURA MULVEY MUSIC
VIDEO THEORIES

2. • “Music videos ignore common
narrative as they are essentially
advertisements. As consumers,
we make up our own meaning of
a song in our minds: a music
video can anchor meaning and
gives the record company/artist a
method of anchoring meaning”

3. Goodwin states that there are six different
Conventions within a music video

4. A RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE LYRICS AND THE VISUALS,
WHICH ILLUSTRATE, AMPLIFY OR CONTRADICT THE LYRICS
This is how Goodwin
noticed a music video’s
similarity or direct
contrast to the lyric of the
song.
For example in Jessie J’s ‘Price Tag’
the lyrics of the song say “its not
about the money” and in the music
video the artist is stood in front of a
tree with money and jewellery which
suggests money isn’t a problem for
her. In this video the lyrics contradict
the lyrics
An example of when the visuals
amplify the lyrics is in Adele’s
‘Someone like you’ where in the
music video the lyrics say “for me
it isn’t over” and Adele is seen to
be looking very emotional which
makes her emotion connect to the
lyrics of the song. This will make
the audience sympathetic towards
her which would have been the
directors intentions.

5. THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MUSIC AND VISUALS
Goodwin identified that the visuals within a music video may be edited in
time to the lyrics or the change in the pace of the song. He also stated
that these visuals are commonly repeated within a chorus to emphasise
the repetition in the lyrics and beat.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ooZwmeUfuXg
An example of
this is ‘Bounce’
by Calvin Harris

6. ICONOGRAPHY AND THE DEMANDS OF RECORD LABELS WILL
INCLUDE THE NEEDS FOR LOTS OF CLOSE UPS OF THE ARTISTS
AND THEY MAY DEVELOP MOTIFS WHICH RECUR ACROSS
THEIR WORK
Goodwin recognized that most artists have a trend of repeating certain actions within their music videos in
order to establish this as their ‘trademark’ action and therefore make their songs recognizable due to it
reoccurring often. This represents the style of the music the artist is representing and is a marketing
strategy in order to be remembered in later years. Genre is also shown by location, for example, songs
within the rock genre are often filmed near a stage to convey a gig. Evidence of this is seen in Kiss’ song ‘I
Was Made For Loving You’
Example of iconography is with Amy Winehouse’s iconic hair that still remains remembered even after her death.

7. MULTIPLE CLOSE-UPS OF THE MAIN ARTIST OR
VOCALIST: CREATION OF STAR IMAGE
Goodwin identified that it is a common feature for record labels to use close ups
of the artist in order to promote the sales in the single. This convention is used
in order to show the artist throughout the video but is most common with
female artists as provocative angles are often used to sexualize the artist
following Laura Mulley's Male Gaze.
The example I have chosen to show this is Britney Spears’ “My Prerogative” which is shown below

8. FREQUENTLY REFERENCE TO NOTION OF LOOKING,
PARTICULARLY VOYEURISTIC TREATMENT OF FEMALE BODY
Goodwin recognized that many music videos include voyeuristic angles of women in order to entice a
male audiences interests in the artist and also the lyrics to which these shots represent. This is used to
sexualize the artist and cause a connection for the male audience.
In this example e can see that Rihanna is walking into
a supermarket. The shot is taken of her from behind
while she is wearing shorts, by her face not being
shown it makes her a sexual object. In the shot her
legs are the main focus which is something that will
be appealing to male viewers. Also the fact that there
is a man looking at her encourages the male audience
to do so aswell, this removes the guilt they might have
felt by viewing her as a sexual object.

9. INTERTEXTUAL REFERENCES TO OTHER MEDIA TEXTS
MAY BE PRESENT.
• Goodwin recognized that it was not uncommon to recognize either the visuals or lyrics of a song to be a
direct reference to another media text. This is used to engage the audiences and provide them gratification
if they recognize the link.
The example I have chosen to use is Madonna – Material Girl which relates to Gentlemen Prefers blondes, the 1953 film starring
Marliyn Monroe.
A representation of

10. LAURA MULVEY – THE
MALE GAZE “VISUAL
PLEASURE AND
NARRATIVE CINEMA”

11. WHAT IS THE GAZE?
• The male gaze occurs when the audience is put into the perspective of a
heterosexual man. A scene may focus on the curves of a woman's body,
putting the viewer into the eyes of a male.
• The theory suggests that the male gaze denies women human identity,
relegating them to the status of objects to be admired for physical
appearance.
• This theory also suggests woman can watch a film from a secondary
perspective and only view themselves from a mans perspective

13. VISUAL PLEASURE
• Mulvey states that the role of a female character in a narrative has
two functions:
• 1) as an erotic object for the characters within the narrative to
view
• 2) as an erotic object for the spectators within the cinema to view

14. GENDER ROLES IN A FILM
• The characters that look at others are seen as the active role (male)
• The characters that are to be looked at are passive (female). They are under
control of the males gaze and only exist for visual pleasure
• Females often slow the narrative down, they act as inspiration for men to act
• Males on the other hand, push the narrative forward and make things happen
and are seen as active