Music Video introduction blog task

This week's work requires Media Factsheet #69: Music Video. You'll need to log in to Google using your Greenford Google account to access this. Read the factsheet and answer the following 10 questions:

1) What is the purpose of a music video?

To sell products and the song which features in the music video. 

2) How has the digital age changed the production and distribution of music videos?

They have become more easily accessible and can get a lot more coverage as social media is free. Production is a lot quicker and therefore more music videos are being made.

3) Which three major record labels are behind VEVO? What is VEVO and why was it created?

Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group and Abu Dhabi Music Group. It is supposed to be a joint initiative to create YouTube music videos for the UK. They make their money from advertising and royalties.

4) What are the key conventions of a music video?

Movement, a narrative, the artist/s and sometimes intertextuality. 

5) How can narrative be used in music video? Give an example of a music video that uses a narrative.

Narrative can be used to tell a story that is close to the artists heart or just a gripping story to couple the music well.

In Avicii's Levels, we see how a typical office worker gets admitted to a hospital with an infectious disease (not COVID-19) and then when he wakes up he has infected all the hospital workers with a dancing virus. Strange but good.

6) What examples are provided in the factsheet for intertextuality in music videos?

Blink 182 - All the small things 
Christina Aguilera - Genie in a bottle

7) Why do audiences enjoy intertextual references in media products?

It could provide nostalgia from their past, they could find a personal relationship with them or see them reflected with that intertextuality.

8) Read the music video example analysis on page 3 of the factsheet. Select a music video of your own choice and write your own analysis using the following headings:

Music Video  - please don't ask how I found this...

• Conventions (movement/narrative/artist)

There is movement everywhere, with a narrative about these fans who are so dedicated to an athlete, they've made a music video about him. The video features the artists in quite orange clothing. The use of go-karts enhances the movement as well as the pounding, fast beat which is very prominent.

• Intertextuality

It refers to a driver of course and then wearing the team apparel makes it more obvious that they are in TOTAL support of. They also use the Dutch flag. 

• Representation

This video represents the Dutch as quite passionate and loyal to their local fanbase. They also represent how F1 fans support their fans through the form of music. The video only features men which could pose the question, do women have enough say in sport fanbases?

• Audience

They are making this to please F1 fans and the audience also feel a sense of nostalgia when they see the f1 cars and logos. Dutch people can see themselves reflected in this as they see their flag. 

• Institution

They are singing about a sport, so there aren't really any conventions. The artists are wearing merch, not theirs but have linked their iTunes song in the description. 

9) Watch the video for Ice Cube's It Was A Good Day (1993). How did this video set the conventions for later hip-hop music videos?


It has a tracking shot, which is featured in most hip-hop videos. It has cars, death, money and a narrative. The police at the end also show that there is a hint of crime here too. Movement is also very prominent here with the narrative this follows. 

Final question - your own opinion

10) How important do you think music videos are in the marketing and promotion of music artists in 2018? Are music videos essential to a band or artist's success?

I think music videos are a great way to interact with fans as it gives them a chance to consume and purchase their products. Videos are a good way to promote merch as well because it would be seen by their fans.  I think music videos are a good way to make a breakthrough in the music industry as they can feature dances or famous characters. Music videos like PSY's Gangnam Style have that famous dance which is only famous because there was a video. Videos give a chance to let the fans see the artists creativity.

TV: End of unit index

1) Introduction to TV Drama

2) Capital: Case study and analysis

3) Capital: Marxism and Hegemony

4) Deutschland 83: Case study and analysis

5) Deutschland 83: Postmodernism

6) Industries: The rise of foreign-language TV dramas

7) Industries: The impact of new/digital media on television

8) Assessment: 750-word exam question

TV: Assessment

Question 1
“Realism is a vital component of television drama”. To what extent does an analysis of your television close-study products support this view? [25 marks]

Reaslim is, according to litnotes.com, 'when an audience is able to recognise and identify with a media text so that connections can be made with their personal lives'. Our close-study products also incorporate some interesting aspects of realism that are there for either historical accuracy or to have a certain effect on the audience. Capital, a show produced by the BBC which is a major PSB in the media landscape, portrays a balanced view of both left and right-wing views. Capital also evokes an argument about whether PSBs like the BBC are actively constructing our perception of society and asks if we are being kept in line by an elite-all powerful group. On the other hand, Deutschland 83, a costume drama about the Able Archer crisis during the Cold War, manages to be gripping to an audience despite it being a foreign-language drama and it also needs to be historically accurate as it's documenting a real-life event albeit featuring a fictionalised storyline between characters.

Capital explores some interesting aspects of realism where we don't really realise that we may be being forced to agree with the inner workings of a capitalist society, according to Gramsci's hegemony theory. The BBC is a publicly owned PSB where the public pay a licence fee of £154.50 to access their multitude of channels and other media platforms. The BBC has been subject to a lot of criticism as they have been known to twist meanings to their own agenda, to fit their remit. This suggests that an elite rich controls the production of shows like Capital so their idea of 'realism' may be skewed due to their beliefs. Capital reinforces both left and right-wing ideologies, despite the BBCs neutral stance, via Roger who represents the upper-middle class and owns a rather luxurious house and additional luxuries including a hot room and a summer house. This shows a sense of realism as many people living in London and who work in Canary Wharf would be able to sustain a grand life like Roger's. However, realism is probably more accurately represented through people like the Kamal family and Quentina as they are the working class/less celebrated members of society who in reality work harder. The producers of Capital expertly depict the rather tragic life of Quentina who is an asylum seeker from Zimbabwe working illegally as a traffic warden to barely make ends meet. In addition to Quentina's struggle in the UK, she also gets abused by her 'boss' who is most likely a human trafficker. More left-wing ideologies are exerted via the Kamal family who, in one scene, live and eat in peace. They have regular family meals with an almost entirely happy atmosphere. This accurate representation of the working class raises the question if Capital is leaning towards left-wing ideas as they arguably fetischise the working class. So realism in Capital is a vital component when it comes to representing the different parts of society. Petunia's appearance as an empty pensioner who only has her home, further shows how accurate the realism is in Capital as this reinforces the dire situation for OAPs that is taking place across the UK. Capital also does a great job capturing the situation the UK was in the 2007-08 economical crisis. This state-of-the-nation drama perfectly shows how the staggering house prices brutally affected the London population. The economic crisis only highlighted just how much of a divide there was between the working and upper class which is represented through Roger vs Quentina.

Deutschland 83 however is a completely different ballgame when it comes to realism. Unlike Capital not that many people remember and have experienced the communist regime in East Germany throughout the 1980s. The 2007 economic crisis was worldwide but Able Archer is less known to those who were alive during the Cold War. The Cuban Missile crisis of 1963 was a more prominent issue so Able Archer wasn't seen as really dangerous. Despite its popularity, the producers of the show, Walter Presents and UFA Fiction, still had to make sure that every detail was as historically accurate as it could be. Due to the Able Archer files and documents being released for public viewing in 2013, the producers of D83 used copies of these documents in the briefcase scene where Martin takes pictures of the real documents used in the Able Archer reports. The briefcase scene is also an example of intertextuality as this has a spy movie feel to it, a cliche almost. This is a clear example of pastiche, which is where products that refer to a specific time period, person or event are imitated or used. This is portrayed in the opening sequence of D83 as there is archived footage as well as bricolage and hyperreality as shown by the text on the screen when introducing a new location in the 8-part drama. Intertextuality is an area where the producers of the show didn't skimp on. When Martin is taken to Bonn, many products are referred to such as Puma and Der Spiegel, a West German newspaper. Nostalgia is also a key player in the realism effect D83 has on its viewers. Songs like 99 Luftballons, an example of Pastiche as it uses footage from Nena's concert in Hungary 1983, and Sweet Dreams, coupled with 80s-esque font on brands and colours, act as an audience pleasure which accurately represents the time period the drama is set in. The supermarket scene also features an excellent mid shot with Martin amongst shelved packed full of stuff, the arrangement of the colours are a nod to the Andy Warhol Tin art which enhances D83's postmodern aspect. As this is also a costume drama, the costumes that everyone wears have to be accurate to that specific time period. In the West we see more colour and variety in clothing and general props whereas in the East, more drab and muted colours are present - making the Eastern half of Germany seem deprived of any joy. D83 does an excellent job in representing the differences between life in the East as opposed to the West. This also, much like Capital, fetischises the working-class as it pritrays the East as much more happier with their lives despite the general conditions being quite bad. In the West, many of the people at the garden party are far apart and some are quite unfriendly, such as Yvonne and Alex fighting even though they're siblings. So for a drama that has to portray a historical event that isn't that widely known, I'd say that Deutschland 83 ticks a lot of boxes for realism. Another Postmodern element to D83 is that, during the introduction to Martin, Shakespeare is referred to. This is an example of intertextuality and reinforces Strinati's theory that Postmodernism features a breakdown between high and low class culture. But can they really recreate the events leading up to Able Archer without a few mistakes in historical representation? I think they aren't 100% accurate but it still doesn't take away from the fact that realism is a major if not the most important aspect that the producers considered whilst making D83. 

When comparing D83 with Capital, some points can be used from both Marxism and Postmodernism to show just how much each show values realism. In D83, we see how the Able Archer documents and some of the press reels were from the American Government. This is a clear example of Jamesons idea of historical deafness as he argues that the mediasation of history meant that we only understand historical events through their media representation. The documents and speeches made by Reagan emphasise that history is written by the winners and that this may have then included some bias that may have tainted the believability of D83's use of realism. In Capital, the choice of the story lines pushes a social realist agenda as it realistically represents social problems. The identity tensions in the Kamal family and the terrible living conditions in which the Polish builders live, highlight Capital's social realist view on the world. This is why many think that this show is controversial as it explores and criticizes both sides of the political and social spectrum. D83 also illustrates that, like the Marxist theories suggest in Capital, East Germany is an example of an elite, single-class group that controls society. D83 also features some Ostalgie (not sure if this fits in?) which the sense of nostalgia about East German aspects of life such as Trabants and the food they had. This is another example of how D83 has represented East Germany well. Through Tischbier and Lenora's motivation concern for the safety of the DDR we see how the DDR cared more for its inhabitants communally, unlike Capital. An interesting point is that D83 is produced by an Western society which in return makes the idea of Communism seem weak and inferior. Capital uses pastiche to refer to the 2007 crisis and rising house prices as well as selective representation because Capital makes it seem that London is a carbon copy of what the rest of the UK is like - which is the opposite as London is another world compared to the rest of the UK. Capital also opposes Strinati's fifth point about Postmodernism where he states "there is a decline of meta narratives or grand narrative". This is shown by Quentina and how she finds her 'family' in the Church, which is proof that grand narratives still exist in a postmodern world, even though there isn't much about Capital that's postmodern.

To summarise, I wholeheartedly agree with this statement and would say that, to an extent, realism is what makes or breaks a show. Because the producers of Capital want to emphasise that they are not attacking the idea of capitalism despite the drama taking place just after a huge financial crash. Valid representations of Capital's cast add to the value of realism. Quentina is represented as hardworking but doesn't get paid for how hard she works whereas people like Roger get infuriated at the fact that his bonus is JUST £30,000 to which he replies "what good is 30k to anyone?". Capital does a great job to pinpoint societal issues that were present in 2007 London and are still relevant today. Deutschland 83 is set in a very tense era for the Western world and precisely depicts how East and West Germany reacted to the Able Archer incident through various aspects using mise-en-scene, the colours present in both sides, the way West Germans reject traditional German culture and opt for a Westernised lifestyle and with props like the documents and setting, such as Bonn and Kleinmachnow. So I think that realism is a VERY important part of television drama, as without it, there isn't really much to grip audiences or to make it a meaningful media product.

(this was very long and I think I need a lie down after writing this)