This document summarizes and analyzes the music video for "Summer of '69" by Bryan Adams. It discusses several music video and narrative theories and how they are applied in this video. The video uses a narrative/performance structure common to pop rock videos, telling the story of the artist's past through black and white scenes while also showing him performing with his band. It emphasizes connections between the lyrics and visuals to effectively communicate the song's message.

1. “Summer of ‘69” by Bryan Adams Analysis
SHANNON FOWKES

2. Theorists:
Andrew Goodwin:
Andrew Goodwin's theory is
that there are three different
ways a music video can link
back to the song. Theses
ways are illustration,
amplification and disjuncture.
Todorov:
Todorov's theory is that all
stories follow the same narrative
structure:
1) Equilibrium
2) Disruption of equilibrium
3) Recognition of disruption
4) An attempt to repair the
damage
5) New equilibrium
Propp:
Propp's character theory is
the argument that the
same type of characters
appear in nearly all stories.
These characters are:
1) The hero
2) The villain
3) The princess
4) The helper
5) The dispatcher
6) The false hero
7) The dispatcher
Strauss:
Strauss believed that they way
we understand words is by
understanding the difference
between the word and it's
"opposite". Strauss liked to call
this "binary opposites". Binary
opposites are used a lot in the
media. The most obvious and
most common binary opposite is
good vs evil. The binary
opposites are becoming less
obvious over time.

3. Genre Characteristics:
Live performance is used in the music video. The live
performance is the band in a broken garage, which links to
how most pop rock bands start. Live performance is also a
common convention of the pop rock genre, especially
during the 80s.
The black and white parts of the video represent what they
used to do when they were young. This visual shows them
breaking in to a workshop and breaking the objects inside.
Wreaking havoc is a common characteristic of the pop rock
genre, which is why the genre has a lot of negative
stereotypes attached to it.

4. Relationship between lyrics and visuals:
“We had a band and we tried real hard”. This lyric is paired with
the visual a band practising in a broken garage. Most bands get
started in a garage, which links with the lyric as the lyric is
reminiscing the start of the band.
“Joey got married”. This lyric is paired with the image of a just
married couple driving off after being married. This image shows
the end of the band and is a literal representation of the lyric.

5. “Sometimes when I play that old six string”. This lyric is paired with
the visual of the artist catching a guitar that has been thrown to
him. He then uses the guitar to perform the song. This action
happens a lot in pop rock videos and adds to the live performance
convention.
“Spent my evenings down at the drive in and that’s where I met you”.
This lyric is paired with the visual of the artist asleep at the drive in
and a woman who climbs up to wake him. It is very literal to the lyric.
The visuals are literal representations of the lyrics, which is
not that common in the pop rock genre.

6. Relationship between music and visuals:
The visual style stays constant until the end of the second verse.
During the first verse, first chorus and second verse the pace of editing
does not really alter, but many cuts are used in each section. The
colour and black and white parts of the video are separated and do not
mingle until the end of second verse. The artist breaks from the black
and white scene to perform and then the scene is in colour.
During the bridge of the song, the pace of the cuts and transitions
from colour to black and white quicken. The transitions from colour to
black and white are also more subtle as the performance and narrative
merge.
The montage editing stays in time with the beat to help the visuals flow
well with the music.

7. Selling the artist:
In order to sell the artist, many
close ups have to be used to
create a bond between the artist
and their audience. This is what
makes the audience dedicated
to the artist as it creates an
ideal version of the artist that
the audience feel like they
know. This method is also used
in this music video. Many close-
ups of Bryan Adams are used
throughout the video.
These close ups are used during the performance. They show the
artist in a good light and these shots help sell the idealistic version of
him. He doesn’t look in the camera a lot, which will make his audience
think he his mysterious, so they would want to know more about him.
These close ups are used during the narrative. These show a more
naturalistic version of the artist. This helps sell the artist as the audience
will view him as a normal person who does silly things and doesn’t always
look perfect. This makes the audience love the artist more than they do.

8. Notion of looking:
The notion of looking is present in most music videos, including this music video.
The first obvious notion of looking is used on the
first chorus. A close up is used of the artists face
when he sings while looking off into the distance.
This links to the reminiscent feeling to the song
as it implies he is daydreaming about his past.
This notion also appeals to the audience as it
looks good and gives the video a dreamy feel to
it.
Here the female love interest is looking at the
artist during the second verse where he sings
about meeting a girl. The close up of her eyes
being fixed on him implies that he is someone
to be fixated on. This makes the audience
connect with the artist as the video makes him
look like someone to admire.
Here the artist is singing to the camera
while walking forward. Looking at the
camera creates a connection between the
artist and their audience as it makes the
audience feel like he is looking at them.

9. Primary structure:
The structure for this video is narrative and
performance based. This is a common feature of the
pop rock genre. The performance is mainly Bryan
singing on his own because he is a solo artist.
However, at the end of the video he is performing with a
band as a live band performance is common within this
genre, so they were reinforcing conventions. Musical
instruments are also present during the performance;
another common feature of the pop rock genre.
The narrative part of the video is in black and white as it
is representing the artists past. This helps the audience
tell the difference between the past and present. It also
helps the audience know that the narrative is taking
place in the past.

10. Narrative:
Each section of the narrative have
their own equilibrium and disruption,
but do not follow the complete
narrative theory structure. There is not
one complete narrative as the song
mentions different points in the artists
life, so each section is a different
narrative.
Equilibrium
Disruption
The new equilibrium is the artist performing
with his band as a solo artist after singing
about his old band not making it far.

11. Characters:
There does not seem to be any
characters that follow the character
theory. It could be argued that the
love interest plays the role of the
princess as the princess is usually
the protagonist’s love interest.
However, there is no more evidence
to prove that she is the princess.

12. Binary opposites:
The only binary opposite present in the video
is past vs present. The opposites are easy to
spot as the past is in black and white and the
present is in colour. All of the videos I have
analysed have binary opposites present in
the video, which links to the theory that binary
opposites are used in most media forms
today.

13. Codes:
The song is about the artist
reminiscing his past. The
close up of him staring into
the distance connotes
nostalgia. This is reinforced
by the narrative being in
black and white. The black
and white creates a
nostalgic atmosphere,
which matches the overall
message of the song and
video.
The artist can be seen kicking down a
door as part of his past narrative. This
connotes recklessness and implies
that the artist is a rulebreaker and
often gets into trouble. This is common
for the pop rock genre.