Sven Carlson - Theorist 
Sven Carlsson believed that music videos in general fall into 
two groups: 
• Performance Clips: Where the video mostly shows an 
artist (or artists) singing and/or dancing. 
• Conceptual clips: where the video shows something else 
during it duration often for an artistic effect. 
• Music videos are there to communicate the messages of 
the song through visual stimuli. This is debatable whether 
this actually happens.
Sven E Carlsson 
He also said that ‘One of the most common methods of 
analysis is to break up the music video into black and 
white boxes. Almost everything is then perceived as 
opposites – trash or art, commerce or creativity, male or 
female naturalism or antirealism, etc.’ 
This means that what is being said is the common 
approach to music videos in the sense that binary 
opposites drive the narration of the video forward.
Performance 
Carlsson created the theory that most performance videos 
makes the performer not the main protagonist anymore. 
This is means that performers are restricted in the way that they 
can perform as they are being used to sell their voice, face, 
lifestyle etc. Carlsson says that this is down to the artist being a 
seller of their body image. 
Carlsson believes the performer is often made into 
materialization ‘commercial exhibitionist’ and this is basically 
where the performer is made almost into a selling item – 
someone the fans aspire to be.
Lana Del Ray – National 
Anthem - Narrative 
This video is a revisionist version of the special 
relationship between JFK and his wife Jackie Kennedy. 
However this video is also seen as controversial as A$AP 
Rocky plays JFK and he’s black. 
The video tells the story of the JFK, the controversy with 
Marilyn Monroe and his assassination . 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxDdEPED0h8
Black Skinhead - Conceptual 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLx11xq6X7Q
Queen Bohemian Rhapsody 
– Performance and 
Conceptual 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJ9rUzIMcZQ

Sven Carlsson

  • 2.
    Sven Carlson -Theorist Sven Carlsson believed that music videos in general fall into two groups: • Performance Clips: Where the video mostly shows an artist (or artists) singing and/or dancing. • Conceptual clips: where the video shows something else during it duration often for an artistic effect. • Music videos are there to communicate the messages of the song through visual stimuli. This is debatable whether this actually happens.
  • 3.
    Sven E Carlsson He also said that ‘One of the most common methods of analysis is to break up the music video into black and white boxes. Almost everything is then perceived as opposites – trash or art, commerce or creativity, male or female naturalism or antirealism, etc.’ This means that what is being said is the common approach to music videos in the sense that binary opposites drive the narration of the video forward.
  • 4.
    Performance Carlsson createdthe theory that most performance videos makes the performer not the main protagonist anymore. This is means that performers are restricted in the way that they can perform as they are being used to sell their voice, face, lifestyle etc. Carlsson says that this is down to the artist being a seller of their body image. Carlsson believes the performer is often made into materialization ‘commercial exhibitionist’ and this is basically where the performer is made almost into a selling item – someone the fans aspire to be.
  • 5.
    Lana Del Ray– National Anthem - Narrative This video is a revisionist version of the special relationship between JFK and his wife Jackie Kennedy. However this video is also seen as controversial as A$AP Rocky plays JFK and he’s black. The video tells the story of the JFK, the controversy with Marilyn Monroe and his assassination . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxDdEPED0h8
  • 6.
    Black Skinhead -Conceptual https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLx11xq6X7Q
  • 7.
    Queen Bohemian Rhapsody – Performance and Conceptual https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJ9rUzIMcZQ