Thursday 30 October 2008

music video analysis 1- Audioslave- Doesn't Remind Me.

The music video is an example of amplification because it was directed by Chris Milk who can be seen as a music video auteur and the video helps to amplify the song's meaning. This music video is narrative-based with a "narrative fuzz" which needs a number of viewings to fully understand the narrative of the video which gives the video repeatability. The video can be seen as successful due to the way in which the relationship between the lyrics and visuals creates feelings in the viewer. The link between the narrative of the video and the lyrics give the video a sad feel to it with the lyrics, "the things that I've lost" and the footage of the young boy's father being shot down in his fighter jet. The young boy's grief creates a feeling of sadness in both the song and the music video. There is another relationship created between the lyrics and visuals in the verses such as the line sung "colourful clothing in the sun". The music video has an element of American national pride in the narrative with the image of the American flag and the poster reading "Your Country Needs You" enhancing the feeling of national pride throughout the video. This shows how the music video reinforces the ideological discourse of national pride in America and the idea of fighting for your country can be seen through both the boy's father and the young boy himself holding aloft the American flag after winning a boxing match.

The narrative in the video has a strong presentation of the dreams of success and the people that the young boy idolises and looks to for support. The shot where he looks at the picture of his father and the jump cuts between him flying his model plane and his father flying the real fighter jet show the viewer how he idolises his father and allows the audience to emphathise with him after his father dies.

Audioslave's video needs to be watched as a focused viewing rather than ambient because there is a strong narrative which, in order to be understood needs to be watched carefully and a viewed a number of times.

Furthermore, this video can be seen as postmodern through the use of bricolage and intertextuality.  There are intertextual references to 'Rocky' in the shots of the young boy running up the steps and then holding his arms aloft in victory.

2 comments:

c_fernandez said...

Andrew - some interesting comments here, but this analysis is incomplete. You need to discuss visual techniques, ideological discourse, representation of band/artist through video, why this would be considered an "auteur" video... more detail for level 4

c_fernandez said...

This is improved - although still some gaps in discussion of mise-en-scene and narrative...

level 4-