The document outlines objectives and concepts for understanding music videos, including: - Analyzing how meaning is created through intertextuality, genre conventions, and micro-level elements. - Exploring how media representations convey values and position audiences. - Common characteristics of mainstream music videos include relationships between lyrics/music/visuals, voyeurism, intertextual references, and developing an artist's star iconography. - Intertextuality refers to influences from other media and genres, as well as techniques like parody, pastiche, referencing, and paying homage.

2. OBJECTIVES FOR
RIPTIDE
• To understand the processes through which meanings are
established through intertextuality
• To analyse how audiences respond to this aspect of media language
• To analyse the way meaning is created through micro elements
• To know the codes and conventions of music video and how genre develops over
time
• To explore the significance of challenging or subverting genre conventions
MEDIA LANGUAGE:
REPRESENTATION:
■ To analyse the way media constructs versions of reality
■ To explore how and why stereotypes can be used positively and
negatively
■ To analyse how media representations convey values, attitudes, and
beliefs about the world
■ How the audience are positioned by the music video
Van Zoonen: Feminist theory
Roland Barthes: Semiotics
David Gauntlett: Identity theory
Claude Levi-Strauss:
Structuralism
Tzvetan Todorov: Narratology
Andrew Goodwin: Genre theory
Steve Neal: Genre theory

3. STARTER
• View these mainstream ‘pop’ music videos
• What might be some characteristics of mainstream music videos?
• Can you spot any commonalities?

4. ANDREW GOODWIN
• A relationship between the lyrics and visuals (illustrating, amplifying or
contradicting the lyrics)
• A relationship between music and visuals
• Particular genres may have their own video style and iconography
• A demand from the record company for lots of close-ups of the main
artist
• Artist develops their own star iconography in and out of their videos
• Intertextual references
• Reference to voyeurism (screen within screen, binoculars, cameras…)

5. A RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE LYRICS AND
VISUALS (ILLUSTRATING, AMPLIFYING OR
CONTRADICTING THE LYRICS)

6. A RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MUSIC AND
VISUALS

7. REFERENCE TO VOYEURISM (SCREEN
WITHIN SCREEN, BINOCULARS, CAMERAS…)
• The notion of looking or being looked at
• Women often subjected to voyeuristic treatment
• Sense of watching someone

8. INTERTEXTUAL REFERENCES
• Influences mainly from fashion, film and art photography
• Specific catwalk references
• Now video games to appeal to a younger demographic

9. INTERTEXUALITY IN MORE DETAIL
• Parody
• Pastiche
• Referencing
• Homage

10. PASTICHE
• Pastiche is the imitation of a text’s features by another text.
• It could be in the same style or feature similar motifs or even be a copy of
the original.
• Sometimes a pastiche copies the style from a period in time.

11. PARODY
• Parody is pretty much the same but is
a comic version of the original.
• Parody often exaggerates features of
the original.
• Anything that takes itself too seriously
is up for parody.
• Can be used to present a viewpoint

12. HOMAGE
• This is when the video pays tribute to another media text

13. REFERENCING
• This is when particular elements of the video borrow from other texts
• This could be a prop, costume, or hair style.

14. AUDIENCE
• The referential code used will depend on the audience
• Mainstream artists tend to use well known references
• Alternative or niche artists tend to use more sophisticated references