Bob Dylan : Subterranean Homesick Blues (1965)
- SUMMARY : Bob Dylan’s music video for 60s song ‘Subterranean Homesick Blues’ consists of a woman standing in what looks like a city backdrop. As the song progresses, the woman is seen to display the lyrics of the song alongside.
- Considered one of the first music videos incorporated with the lyrics
- Fulfils Andrew Goodwin’s points for amplifying the relationship between the visuals and the lyrics.
- The single one take shot, combined with the mundane mis-en-scene arguably emphasizes the lyrics.
Stormzy : Know me from
- SUMMARY: With only a single cut, the music video is mostly a single cut featuring Stormzy performing and rapping to the camera with the assistance of different pictures and objects that are reflective of the lyrics.
- - This can possibly be seen as a modern day adaptation of Bob Dylan’s 1960s music video, with more zeitgeist references to current pop culture and media.
o Intertextuality, a key convention of music videos as proposed by Goodwin, is present in this music video with a scene cut from the British soap opera ‘Eastenders’. Fitting with the target demographic and interests of Stormzy fans, this intertextual reference can make audiences feel more fulfilled when understanding the reference, creating a sense of comedy in the mostly gritty music. It is also culturally reflective of Stormzy who is a British artist.
- - This video clearly has a well-choreographed performance that makes the song have a more of an impact on audiences who will be astounded by this. Stormzy has had different actors directed to do new actions, sometimes changing costumes and wardrobe.
- - The mis-en-scene is identifiable as a mundane council estate. Interestingly, despite Stormzy’s large popularity and ability to make a studio music video, he has purposely chose a low-budget music video set in a casual/ordinary place. Possibly because this fits with the generic conventions of grime music inheriting the causality of neighbourhoods in places such as South London which is not high-class. Another possibility could be that it is a display of Stormzy’s humility, wanting to ‘connect with his roots’ and pay tribute to the kind of place he grew up in. The fact that he included his mum in the video, also supports this point.
Ariana Grande – Thank U, Next
- Ariana Grande’s social-media-breaking music video is the greatest example of intertextuality The entirety of the video has references to iconic coming-of-age films, cliches and famous, recognisable figures. Early 2000 films such as Bring It On and Mean Girls and 90s classics such as Clueless, all have clear references in the music video. Grande made the great choice of also including recognisable cultural icons such as Kris Jenner and her co-stars from her hit tv show Victorious which would make fans and the target demographic very happy upon seeing their reunion.
o Postmodernism and Irony are also explored in the music video such as when Ariana is performing the Jingle Bell scene from Mean Girls and Kris Jenner is filming extravagantly on a camcorder. Kris Jenner is a reality tv show icon who has had the most part of her life filmed. By having her be the one who is now filming is not only ironic but also humorous.
