The document analyzes the 1982 music video for "Rock the Casbah" by The Clash according to Andrew Goodwin's six rules for music videos. It finds that the video follows some rules closely, like showing band performances, while ignoring others or following them loosely. Specifically, it matches the lyrics visually at some points but not others. It focuses heavily on close-ups of the band members, especially the lead singer. Overall, the video balances performance footage with a storyline, in keeping with The Clash's less serious punk rock style.

1. Music Video Deconstruction
THE CLASH – ROCK THE CASBAH (1982,
SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT)

2. The First Rule
The first feature of Andrew Goodwin’s rule is that the music video would
demonstrate the characteristics for that genre, ie stage performance in
a metal video.
This video conforms to this rule in as much as it contains scenes in which
the band are playing, as is common in most punk rock videos. However,
this is also linked heavily to the ‘story’, as they’re playing somewhat in
costume and location.
However, there is a small section at the end, interspersed with sections of
the story, which shows them running on stage and performing live.

3. The Second Rule
The second feature is that there is a correlation between the lyrics and the
visuals. This video both obeys and disobeys respectively. Some scenes
match up perfectly with the lyrics of the song, for instance, in the line
‘The king called up his jet fighters’, there is the image of a jet flying
overhead which the band react to.
However, there are also many instances where the visual does not match
up to the video, often narrating a story to do with, but not exact to the
lyrics.

4. The Third Rule
The third rule is that there is a correlation between the music and the
visuals. Much of the video is made up of the band performing, which is
the biggest correlation the visuals have to the music.

5. The Fourth Rule
The forth is that, due to the demands of the record label, there will be lots
of close-ups of the artists, and maybe a reoccurring motif.
For this video, this holds true for the video, there are many shots of the
band and especially Joe Strummer, the front man. Here are some
examples from throughout the video.
However, there isn’t so much a motif in it, as the band themselves.

6. The Fifth Rule
The fifth is that there are many references to looking ie screens, mirrors
ect. And a somewhat voyeuristic treatment of the female body.
As for the female part, there are to women save for the crowd shots at the
end, so the video does not exploit this part of the rule.
However, in reference to looking there are some, for instance the
character at the beginning with a pair of binoculars

7. The Sixth Rule
The last feature states that there is often some form of intertextual
reference. The video itself is low-budget, and doesn’t contain much in
the way of intertextual references.
The hair style Joe Strummer sports during this time was in reference to
the Robert De Niro’s character Travis Bickle, in Martin Scorsese’s Taxi
Driver.

8. Overview
The video to the song Rock the Casbah by The Clash follows many of the
features of Goodwins categories. Although being predominantly
performance-based, the video follows a direct story line.
There are many promotional close-ups of the band, including one of their
performances.
The overall lightness of both the video and the song also help to establish
how The Clash differ from other punk-rock bands, following a more
regge influenced style.