Music Video Deconstruction: Girlbands for A2 Media Studies course.

1. GIRLBAND MUSIC VIDEO
DECONSTRUCTION(S)
The Saturdays, “What Are You Waiting For?”
Girls Generation, “I Got A Boy”
Little Mix, “Wings”

2. THE MUSIC VIDEOS
The Saturdays, “What Are You Waiting For?”
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahdmNS9Nkm0
Girls Generation, “I Got A Boy”
www.youtube.com/watch?v=wq7ftOZBy0E
Little Mix, “Wings”
www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOQDsmEqVt8

3. CONTEXT
The Saturdays are a girlband formed of five members that were signed to Fascination
Records in 2008, and are still together to this day. The majority of their songs are of the
pop genre and have had several top ten hits in the UK. Their most recent single, “What
Are You Waiting For?” was released this August, with the music video uploaded to
Vevo and YouTube.
Girls Generation are a more unconventional girlband in the sense that there are a
total of eight members (previously nine, however one was dismissed – as in most Asian
countries bands are formed and signed differently than they are here in the UK for
example). Since their formation in 2007, they have had many hit singles throughout
South Korea, and have also been listed at number 1 on the Top Female Singers list in
Korea.
Little Mix, similarly to One Direction, are a girlband that were formed through British
talent show, ‘The X Factor’ in 2011, and are currently still performing together. As of
February 2014, Little Mix have sold over five million records worldwide, three million of
which were singles such as, “Wings” for example. They were also the first girlband since
The Pussycat Dolls to have a top five debut album in the US.

4. GIRLBAND CONVENTIONS
As every audience member would
expect, one of the main
conventions of most girlband
music videos is that there are
several shots of the group together
at the same time, either
performing to the camera,
dancing to the song or enjoying
themselves together. Adding to
this, there are usually many close
ups of each individual member of
the band (sometimes complying
with the rule of thirds) to ensure
that they each get an equal share
of being shown.
“What Are You Waiting For?” by
The Saturdays is a good example
of this, because within just the first
twenty seconds, all of the above
has been implemented in the
music video.
Adding to this, most girlband
videos nearly always include
shots of each band member
singing their part within the
song (whether that be backing
vocals or individual lyrics), and
tend to show each member
enjoying themselves in the
video – linking to the target
audience and how they would
want to see their favourite
members of the band
individually, as well as wanting
to see the band as a whole
group.

5. GOODWIN’S THEORY
Goodwin’s Theory is very much present within each
of the videos in this deconstruction. Not only does the
timing of the editing match the fast paced feel of
each of the songs, but the lyrics tend to match the
visuals as well (for example in “I Got A Boy” the
translation of the lyrics primarily talks about how the
girls have change their ‘styles’ because of “The Boy”
and that they don’t care about what anyone else
thinks – as shown in the screenshot where one of the
band members is getting her nails painted by “The
Boy”).
Adding to this, one of the more pressing ideas of
Goodwin’s Theory that is apparently is all three videos is
the voyeuristic treatment of women, and the notion of
looking at this.
For example, in “Wings”, all four members of Little Mix are
shown to be dancing in shorts or a short skirt at some point
during the video, thus displaying their legs. This appeals to
both areas of their target audience – the males; because
stereotypically they would want to see the band
members’ bodies, and the females; because they may
aspire to have bodies like the artists.

6. STEREOTYPES
All three videos play on the common stereotypes of women, and how they’re
presented in the media at the present time. It’s often said that young females
like to spend time with their friends, go out partying and meet new people (i.e.
boys). One of the main stereotypes is down to a person’s hair colour, and it’s
usually seen that the blonde girl is the one that likes fits this party stereotype
the most.
In the music videos however all the females in the bands are seen to follow this
stereotype, which somewhat subverts some of the conventions that the
audience may have been expecting.

7. RECORD LABEL
Like with any artist, the Record Label need to ensure that
the video presents their band in such a way that the
audience feel they can relate to them and still enjoy their
music; as audience members, we want to see the artist(s)
being themselves and enjoying creating their own music.
All three videos follow this idea; Girls Generation, Little Mix
and The Saturdays are all seen to be friends with each
other and having a good time – something which the
target audience can relate to – and they’ve done so
through the various close ups of all the band members
smiling and laughing with each other (especially Girls
Generation as the music video starts with the shot
below).

8. MISE-EN-SCENE
The Mise-en-Scene for all three videos
connotes the stereotypical ideals of
young females, with the band members
all wearing revealing clothing. Adding to
the costumes, the bands are seen to be in
line with the latest fashion, again
something which would appeal to their
target audience and make them aspire
to be like them – particularly Girls
Generation.
Furthermore, the background scenery in
the majority of shots (both close up and
wide/long shots containing the whole
band) contains bright, vibrant colours that
connote the idea of fun and enjoyment –
linking to the ideas and themes behind
each of the songs.

9. PRODUCTION VALUES
Because of the various locations in each of the videos – particularly “What Are
You Waiting For?” due to the exotic foreign beach location – the videos all
seem to have high production values with large budgets. Adding to this, the
various costume and set changes must mean that the record label had larger
budgets in order to pay for hiring/purchasing them – as well as hiring all the
high-tech equipment and crew to manage them.
Moreover, both Girls Generation and Little Mix had choreography/backing
dancers in the music videos (and extras/actors in The Saturdays’ video),
meaning that there would have been a choreographer, as well as interviews,
auditions etc., all costing the record label more money.
In conclusion, all three videos have something which suggests the high
production values of the planning, filming and editing.