2. BINARY OPPOSITIONS
• Claude Levi-Strauss’ ‘Binary oppositions’ theory is, when in relation to the media, the idea
that there is a portrayal of both negative and positive. E.g. ‘Good vs. Evil’, or, White and
Black.
• This theory is evident in music videos in order to portray to the audience the contrast
between the positive and negative within their video.
• This is an idea we will look to take forward into our video in the making of the two races,
with the use of black and white colors to portray the losing race in comparison with the
winning race, to further emphasis the effort the runner goes through to succeed.
3. 1. MUSIC VIDEOS DEMONSTRATE GENRE
CHARACTERISTICS
• E.g. Dance routines in ‘Pop’ songs, and the ‘gangster’ image in ‘rap’ music.
‘PSY’ dance routine 50 Cent
4. 2. THERE’S A RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LYRICS
AND VISUALS
• The lyrics of the song are often displayed in the music video.
Katy Perry displays this in her video for her song ‘Firework’
5. 3. THERE’S A RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MUSIC
AND VISUALS
• The tone and atmosphere of the visuals in the video reflects that of the song.
Coldplay’s video for their song ‘Yellow’ is unique, and its slow and
simple nature reflects the tone of the song.
6. 4. DEMANDS OF THE RECORD LABEL
• The demands of the record label often interfere with the video as they usually require lots
of close-ups of the artist, and perhaps develop a recurring theme for the artist to use in
future work.
Michael Buble’s videos often include
close-ups of himself, whilst his smart,
slick look if displayed in every piece of
work he does, whether that be posters,
CD covers, or the music video itself.
7. 5. NOTION OF ‘LOOKING’
• Within some video’s there is particular focus on the artist as a ‘sex symbol’, with
voyeuristic treatment of the female body in order to attract an audience through sex
appeal of the artist.
Artists such as Rihanna and Nicki Minaj conform to this ‘notion of looking’ by
attempting to appeal to an audience in their videos through their sex appeal.
8. 6. INTERTEXTUAL REFERENCE
• Within some videos there is clear intertextual references to other forms of media, such as
films, TV, or other music videos.
We see hear how Eminem has used reference to ‘Robin’ from ‘Batman’ in
his music video for ‘Without me’.
