Case study on Sigur ros

1. THE USE OF MEDIA LANGUAGE
IN SIGUR RὉS “HOPPΊPOLLA
By Sorrel Grundy

2. GENRE CHARACTERISTICS
 Sigur Ros is a post-rock band from Reykjavik. Post-rock is a sub genre of rock
characterised by the influence and use of instruments associated with rock but
using rhythms not traditionally found in rock. Post-rock traditionally has no or
little vocals. Another characteristic of this genre is the use of repetition of music
motifs and subtle changes with an extremely wide range of dynamics. Typically,
post-rock pieces are lengthy and instrumental, containing repetitive build-ups of
timbre, dynamics and texture.
 “Hoppipolla” reinforces the characteristics of the post-rock genre as it a very
instrumental piece which has minimal vocals. It also repeats motifs of the music
and has many build-ups and crescendo which creates an emotional and powerful
piece of music.

3. RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LYRICS AND
VISUALS
 Smiling
Spinning 'round and 'round
Holding hands
The whole world a blur
But you are standing
Soaked
Completely drenched
No rubber boots
Running in us
Want to erupt from a shell
The wind
And outdoor smell of your hair
I breathe as hard as I can
With my nose
Hopping in puddles
Completely drenched
Soaked
With no boots on
And I get nosebleed
But I always get up
[Hopelandic]
These are the lyrics which have been translated into English as they
are originally in Icelandic. There are many links between the lyrics
and the visuals in this music video. For example there is a line “No
rubber boots” but the characters in the video are wearing rubber
boots.
Also the lines “Soaked” “Completely drenched” the link with these
lines are many shots of the characters jumping into puddles. This
also relates to the line “Hopping in puddles”
The final lines which are repeated a few time “And I get nosebleed
but I always get up” has a strong relation to some of the final shots in
this video.
The majority of shots in this music video have a relationship to the
lyrics which has helped this music video be as powerful as it is.

4. RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MUSIC AND
VISUALS
 There is a close relationship between the music and the
visuals in this music video as the majority of the song is
instrumental. The music video has been edited to the beat of
the song and when there is a crescendo in the music the
visuals mirror this by having a big bit of action happening.
 For example the screen shot on the right is of the first
crescendo in the song and as this happens the characters
throw an exploding firework near s youth.
 Another example of this is when another crescendo and the
lyrics come, this time they have used puddles to embellish
the part in the music. They have the characters jumping in
puddles and at the crescendo the biggest jump happens.

5. VISUAL STYLE
 The visual style used in this music video is vintage. The music
video has a frame which is common of vintage films from the
1920’s till 1940’s. The video also has a slightly rose tinted edit on
it which contrasts with the action happening on the screen.
 This music video has a different visual style to most music videos
due to the cast. The cast in most music videos will be young
attractive people and usually members of the band or the artist.
In this music video the cast is made up of elderly people who are
acting in stereotypically teenageish ways which challenges the
stereotype of elderly people and music video casts. Also non of
the members of Sigur Ros make an appearance in this music
video which is uncommon of a group which has had as much
success.

6. VOYEURISM (LOOKING)
 Due to things such as the visual style of this music video the
traditional use of voyeurism (sexual pleasure) is not used in this
music video but the idea of looking is still used as it is in most
music videos according to Goodwin. They have used lots of close
ups which makes the audience watch the action more closely
and draws them in by spiking their interest. They have also used
the rule of thirds to bring the audiences attention to the action
that is happening.

7. INTERTEXTUALITY
 There is intertextuality in this music video to the film RED (Retired
Extremely Dangerous) as the characters in this music video are
elderly. In both pieces of media they are trying to prove that it
doesn’t matter how old you are but how old you feel. And how you
act because of this.
 This music video is the binary opposite of the film Bugsy Malone as
in this film the characters are children acting like adults whereas in
this music video there are elderly people acting like children.
 Gangster Granny is another intertextual reference as it is again
about defying what it means to be elderly. This music video and the
book Gangster Granny have similar themes, these themes include
challenging the stereotypes of elderly people and showing that
elderly people can do what people of any other age can do.