Goodwin's Theory analysing Justin Beiber 'What Do You Mean?'

1. Goodwin’s Theory applied to
the genre of R&B/Pop
Goodwin’s Theory is based on 8 principles :
1) Links between the lyrics of the song and the visuals within the music video
2) Links between the music and the visuals
3) Genre characteristics
4) Intertextual reference
5) Is the music video Performance based, Narrative based or Concept based
6) Voyeurism (E.g. directly gazing at the camera, other people within the music video concentrating
on the artist and a vague representation of the artist’s lifestyle.
7) Record label demands – Representation of the artist
8) Notions of looking

2. Justin Bieber – What Do You Mean?

3. Lyrics + Visuals
According to Goodwin’s theory, the lyrics of a song should link and make references to what happens on-
screen. In other words, the visuals will make sense with the lyrics of the song. One music video that
supports Goodwin’s theory is Justin Beiber – What Do You Mean? The song is about Justin’s opinion on
girls and their personalities. Justin quotes on the website RapGenius that ‘Girls are often flip-floppy. They
say something, and then they mean something else. “What do you mean?“ … I don’t really know, that’s
why I’m asking. Continuing on from this quote, Justin is simply saying that the majority of girls have
difficult personalities which boys find hard to understand. In the first three frames we can see that Justin
and the female performer are loving each other unconditionally but within a thirty seconds or so the
scenario changes to a representation of confusion and ‘What Do You Mean?
“You’re so indecisive, what I’m
saying
Tryna catch the beat, make up
your heart
Don’t know if you’re happy or
complaining
Don’t want for us to end, where
do I start?”

4. Genre Characteristics
Genre characteristics are depictions of specific representations conveyed in a particular music genre.
What I mean by this is, in a Rock music video you would expect to see lots of close-ups of the
musical instruments, dark colours and a live performance of the band whilst in a Grime or Rap music
video you would expect to see many other characters surrounding the main artist/group. In ‘What Do
You Mean?’ which is a pop genre song you would expect to see an attractive female, performance of
the artist, bright vibrant lights and occasionally an ideal body representing how a man or woman
should look in society.

5. Notions of looking
Notions of looking is based around the idea of gaze and the way in which somebody is being
represented. In music videos the notions of looking can end up portraying a specific person or gender as
a specific thing. For example, in ‘What Do You Mean?’ we can see that in the music video the main
woman who is found in most of the music video is first portrayed as an object for use but later on in the
music video is conveyed as something more than an object. The woman is portrayed as an object in the
bed because we can see that Justin Beiber totally forgets about her when he doesn’t get what he wants
however, as the video progresses we can see that the woman is portrayed as more of a girlfriend and
soul mate because not only does the location change from a bed to a hideout also she is more dressed
which conveys she isn't being used.

6. Demands of the Record Label
Demands of the record label can be very specific when it comes to music artists. Record labels have
a huge amount of control over artists in today’s music industry. All in all they basically own the
artist. They decide where the artist will tour, whether or not they will sell merchandise and where
they will share their music. Record labels demand an artist to come across in a specific way. When it
comes to Justin Beiber, the main representation that the record label want is for him to come across
as ‘sexy’ and the ‘perfect body’ for young males to have. This is important because young teenage
girls who are interested in R&B/Pop music will find themselves more drawn into artists who have
that ‘perfect body’ on show.

7. Narrative Based
Being part of genre characteristics is the job of the narrative but it also falls within its own category. The
significance of the narrative is that it allows the lyrics of the song to form a story. Most music videos use
a linear format which goes from point A to point B however music videos tend to be fragmented as well
when it comes to the chorus of the song which breaks the journey between point A to point B. R&B
genre music videos tend to do this because it gives the lyrics of the song a narrative but it also breaks up
the story so the visuals are more attractive to the eye.
POINT A ---------------------------------- POINT B