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Just dance lady gaga
- 1. Just Dance –Lady Gaga Nina Piotrowska – Andrew Goodwin
- 2. Demonstrates Genre Conventions • Inthese two shots we see a boom box and a vinyl. As a genre dance pop originates from nightclubs and people dancing. These two props signify the genre as the audience can tell music is going to be played. This along with the dim lighting and mise en scene of a party – the cups, alcohol bottles and costumes – sets up the music video to demonstrate genre conventions of dance pop
- 3. Relationship between lyricsand visuals • This music video is very illustrative as the visuals represents Lady Gaga’s lyrics • In the first medium shot the lyric is “where are my keys? I lost my phone” and the visual corresponds to this as you see Lady Gaga trying to find her keys and phone by throwing everything out of her bag • Similarly, in the second medium shot the lyric is “I love this record baby” and again the audience are shown a record being played • However, as the video continues the lyrics are illustrated less through the visuals are we are shown shots of people dancing and getting more and more tipsy– the lack of illustrative visuals towards the end of the video could represent how intoxicated everyone in the video is getting
- 4. Relationship between Musicand Visuals • The music in this song is very upbeat and made for people to dance – purpose of dance pop genre • In the first long shot we see Lady Gaga and two dancers dancing in time to the music with a pre prepared routine – this is illustrating the music but also amplifying it as it exaggerates the beat of the song and the tempo • In the second medium shot we see a DJ dancing whilst playing music – this again illustrates the music and it is as if he is dancing to the song the audience are listening to
- 5. Demands of therecord label • Lady Gaga’s USP as an artist is her dress sense and wearing crazy and statement pieces • Throughout the music video we see close ups of Lady Gaga and her clothes – this helps the audience identify her clothes with her • In other music videos of Lady Gaga we also see lots of shots of her oufits – for example, in the Poker Face video (shown with two medium shots) • Her record label – RedOne – wanted to create a brand for Lady Gaga around her outifts
- 6. Notion of looking •Lady Gaga repeatedly looks directly into the camera whilst singing – this creates involvement with the audience • The notion of looking along with the voyeurism and sexualisation of female bodies in this music video implies that this music video is seen through the male gaze and this is intentionally done for the involvement of the audience • This is shown through the multiple shots of Lady Gaga’s exposure of skin and direct address
- 7. Intertextual References • Inthis close up you can see a lighting bolt across Lady Gaga’s face – this is very similar to David Bowie’s lighting bolt on his face displayed on his album cover “Aladdin Sane” • Lady Gaga’s love of Bowie began when she saw the Aladdin Sane cover – she said “I was 19 years old, and it just changed my perspective on everything, forever. It was an image that changed my life” • Just Dance was released in 2008 and the music video was released in 2009 – this was after Lady Gaga was 19 and the use of lighting bolt adds to her identity as an artist and create a nostalgia
- 8. Performance, Narrative or Concept •I believe the just dance video portrays all three of these • Firstly, we see narrative as we as an audience follow the events of the evening/ party - the narrative of the party is stereotypical because as the evening unfolds we see people drinking more and kissing and taking part in the party scene • Secondly, we see Lady Gaga singing into a microphone and dancing – this would connote a performance based music video • Lastly, you could argue that Lady Gaga is trying to portray the concept of drinking alcohol and the craziness of parties and intoxication