This document discusses different types of representations commonly seen in music videos, including locations, gender, age, costume, class, and ethnicity. Locations like London, Miami, and Ibiza are often depicted in stereotypical ways based on their climates and reputations. Gender, age, and ethnicity stereotypes also frequently appear in music videos. Class is commonly represented through displays of wealth or poverty. Costumes usually reflect the genre and location of each video.

1. REPRESENTATION
WITHIN MUSIC VIDEOS
By Louise Mcneish

2. TASK
This animation is going to show the different types of representations
that you would normally see in a music video, I am then going to go
into detail about each of these representations and explain how they
are presented in a music video. The representations are:
 Locations
 Gender
 Age
 Costume
 Class
 Ethnicity

3. LOCATIONS- LONDON
 Many music videos that have been presented in London are often set there as it
is seen as a gloomy and sad setting. The reason for this is because of the weather
normally as London is always seen to be rainy and gloomy which sets the depressing
mood. An example of what type of music videos are set in London is Adele’s songs
such as ‘Someone like you’. This is set here because the song is a depressing break
up song and the location reflects this in the music video. This is a negative
representation because with the song being a sad song this reflects on the Location
and almost shows that London is also a depressing place.

4. MIAMI
 Miami represents wealth and good weather. Because of this normally the types of
music videos that are set in Miami are mainly all about showing money off, this is through
many different ways and also because the of the weather Miami has in the video you
expect to see women half dressed in bikinis or short dresses etc… Men normally wear
suits that fit them perfectly and look expensive so that it shows they are rich. An example
of a music video that has been set in Miami is Pitbulls song ‘ Hotel Room Service’. In this
song Pitbull is wearing an expensive suit and is in a lavish and luxury hotel showing that
he is wealthy. Another thing is that the songs that are normally set in Miami are party
anthems and the reason for this is because they can be set on the beach and Miami is
known to have a good vibe and be somewhere upbeat.

5. IBIZA
 Another location where music videos are set is in Ibiza. Normally the song that are
presented here are all upbeat and the reason for this is because Ibiza is seen as a party
island where people go to unwind, get drunk and most of all have fun. Typically in a
music video that is set in Ibiza is: Sex, Drugs, Money, Parties, Wealth, Dancing, Alcohol,
Raving, Women and the beach. An example of a music video that was set in Ibiza is by
Mike Posners song ‘I took a pill in Ibiza’. In the video for this song all you see is clubs,
sex and people taking pills which represents sex and drugs. This representation is negative
and the reason for this is because its showing that Ibiza is a bad place and that the people
that go there only care about doing drugs and having sex.

6. BERLIN
 In a music video that represented Berlin you are expected to see its iconic
history. The reason for this is because Berlin can represent freedom and equality.
The reason this can be shown through the history is because if the Berlin wall is
shown this could to be to show that the song is about breaking down inequality and
embracing diversity. But in a music video that is located in Berlin you would also be
expected to see young people going out clubbing and partying as this is a good place
to go because of the cultural diversity. An example of a music video that is set in
Berlin is Alanis Morsette's song ‘Guardian’.

7. MANSIONS
 In a music video a mansion represents wealth. The reason for this is because
mansions are used to show the persons wealth as they can afford things that other people
wouldn’t be able to. Also they can afford materialistic items that are not necessarily
needed but are desired anyway. Normally music videos that are represented in mansions
are dance numbers and up to beat songs. The reason for this is because the video will
include up to beat dancing through the rooms or party's happening outside in the
swimming pool. However, you may also see a break up that is located in mansion and to
show the wealth they could be breaking objects that are expensive. An example of a song
that is a dance number and has been set in a mansion is ‘Best Song Ever’ by One
Direction.

8. GENDER
 Normally males and females are represented in music videos through stereotypes. For
example normally men are seen as the dominant gender in a music video whereas females
are seen as the weaker sex who has no control. Other stereotypes are shown as well such
as if a man is feminine then they are labelled as ‘gay’. Whereas if a woman is dressed in a
more masculine way in a music video she is suddenly seen as a ‘lesbian’. Other
stereotypes that happen are things such as women being objectified and seen as sex
objects whereas men normally are perceived to have the ‘perfect body’. An example of a
song that uses some of these stereotypes in Nicki Minaj ‘Superbass’. This representation
of gender is negative as both men and women are portrayed as sex objects.

9. CLASS
 In music videos Class is normally shown through materialistic items and clothing. For example
normally the upper class is represented in music videos through a big house with expensive paintings or
cars etc outside and inside. This is to show their status and proves that they can afford random items
that aren't particularly needed but are desired anyway. An example of a music video that represents
upper class is Taylor Swifts song 'Blank Space'. It does this because as an establishing shot you see that
the music video is set in a mansion and that their is an expensive car in the drive that someone from a
lower class wouldn't be able to afford. Also in the halls you see expensive paintings hung up on the wall.
Lower classes aren't normally shown in music videos and I think the reason for this is because lower
class has a negative representation normally. For example Ed Sheerans song 'A- Team' shows a drug user
who is a prostitute and she is also homeless which shows the lower class in a negative way because it's
almost showing that they have negative behaviour and don't care as much in life about how they should
treat their body and what is right and wrong.

10. AGE
 In music videos the younger generation are normally shown as being rebellious and
party animals. This is because the teenagers are represented as being immature and only
wanting to go out and have a good time. An example of a music video that is like this is
Kesha’s song Tik Tok. The reason for this is because in the video Kesha is waking up from
the previous night with a hangover and then not showing her parents any respect and then
getting drunk again. This is a negative representation as it is showing that teenagers only
care about one thing and don’t have respect for anyone else. The older generation in music
videos are normally shown as being more work and family orientated and most of the
time are shown to be rich. This is a positive representation of adults as adults are shown
to not be all about partying and instead are more grounded about work and family.

11. ETHNICITY
 Ethnicity in music videos are stereotypically shown through the genre of the song. For
example normally coloured people are known to do rap songs and in these songs you are
expected to see 'gangs' and 'drugs'. I think this is a bad representation of ethnicity because it's
almost telling the audience that all coloured people are 'thugs' and break the law which is
completely not true. Whereas, normally a white person in a music video is perceived as rich
compared to a coloured person. However, when it comes to this barrier Eminem has broke the
stereotype as he is white but known as one of the most famous rappers in the world. I think this
is good because it's showing that not all rappers are black or 'thugs' and it breaks the stereotypes
that are being shown to younger kids. Another artist who has broken a ethnicity stereotype is
Maclemore. The way that he has done this is that in some of his videos he hasn't shown that he
is rich. For example his song 'Thrift Shop' this video consists of him dressing up in second hand
clothes and showing the audience that not everyone is rich and that this is okay.

12. COSTUMES
 Costumes in a music video normally depend on what genre the song is. For
example if the song is a rap song you expect to see baggy clothes, snapbacks, chains
and trainers. Also if you see teenagers in a music video you expect to see teenagers
dressed in revealing outfits and tight dresses as they are represented as party
animals. Costumes can also vary depending on the location of the music video. For
example if a music video is set in a hot country such as LA you wouldn’t see people
wearing ski suits instead they would be wearing short shorts, Bikinis and if it’s a guy
you would expect them to be topless.