Timed Essay 2
Explain how media language in music video incorporates viewpoints and ideologies. Refer to one of the music videos you have studied to support your answer.
Musical artists will often incorporate media language in their music videos to represent their viewpoint and ideologies. In this essay, I will explore how Corrine Bailey Rae’s ‘Stop Where You Are’ music video reflects her viewpoint on stereotypes within society.
Corrine Bailey Rae’s contemporary soul ‘Stop Where You Are’ music video combines both narrative and performance genres, which allows her to focus her audience on the message she is trying to represent. Within the music video, mise-en-scene is used to represent many marginalised sub-groups, focussing on social judgement and unjust stereotyping. The actors range from approximately 12–40-year-old, implying that Corrine Bailey Rae believes that anyone can become subject to injustices in society and face problems. However, the overall focus of the video appears to be concerned with stereotypes of the youth, challenging the ideology that they are a threat to society. The video uses a wide-angle shot to show an isolated, young girl, suggesting that Corrine Bailey Rae feels that teenagers are often lonely and misunderstood in the media. The girl wears a blue costume, which connotes her sadness. Later on in the music video, a young black male stands close to the edge of a building with his arms spread wide, which indicates he may be struggling with his mental health and possibly be considering committing suicide. Corrine Bailey Rae uses these young actors to represent neglected mental health issues in teenagers.
Another aspect of mise-en-scene that is incorporated in the music video is setting, which has direct links to Corrine Bailey Rae’s viewpoint on class. The video uses an Extreme Long Shot to establish the urban city setting, which is an implied council estate – this is where the marginalised subgroups represented in the video are stereotypically found, so it is established that Corrine Bailey Rae is focussing on negative representations of the lower class. The setting is very dull and bland, creating a prison-like atmosphere which suggests that people can feel trapped by their class. The video uses a high angle shot to look down at a homeless woman, making her appear inferior, communicating how society often thinks less of the homeless. Corrine Bailey Rae challenges this viewpoint a few shots later, as the Medium Close-Up of the homeless woman and businessman settles back to eye-level, establishing them as equals. This use of angling indicates that Corrine Bailey Rae believes that everyone should be treated equally, no matter their class.
Later on in the video, Corrine Bailey Rae brushes past a hooded black man around a corner and turns back to look at him wearily. This plays into Gilroy’s theory of ethnicity and post-colonialism, and how ethnic minorities are portrayed negatively in the media; Gilroy explores how colonial discourses constructed racial hierarchies and set up binary oppositions based on the notions of ‘otherness’. In the media, black men are often associated with gang culture and violence. However, Corrine Bailey Rae’s character turns around and dances with him, challenging these racial injustices. The initial negative representation also relates to Gerbner’s cultivation theory, as repeated exposure to this negative ideology in the media over an extended period of time will slowly condition an audience to believe this racial stereotype. In regard to Stuart Hall’s reception theory, Corrine Bailey Rae’s fans are likely to agree with her viewpoint, have a positive reading of the text, and therefore seek out other texts that represent the same ideology. However, the music video may also be met with negotiated and oppositional readings, by people who agree and enforce the negative representations within the music video.
In conclusion, Corrine Bailey Rae accuses society of choosing the easy option of accepting stereotypes rather than judging someone based off their character, using mise-en-scene to challenge the many negative representations of marginalised sub-groups in the media.
Musical artists will often incorporate media language in their music videos to represent their viewpoint and ideologies. In this essay, I will explore how Corrine Bailey Rae’s ‘Stop Where You Are’ music video reflects her viewpoint on stereotypes within society.
Corrine Bailey Rae’s contemporary soul ‘Stop Where You Are’ music video combines both narrative and performance genres, which allows her to focus her audience on the message she is trying to represent. Within the music video, mise-en-scene is used to represent many marginalised sub-groups, focussing on social judgement and unjust stereotyping. The actors range from approximately 12–40-year-old, implying that Corrine Bailey Rae believes that anyone can become subject to injustices in society and face problems. However, the overall focus of the video appears to be concerned with stereotypes of the youth, challenging the ideology that they are a threat to society. The video uses a wide-angle shot to show an isolated, young girl, suggesting that Corrine Bailey Rae feels that teenagers are often lonely and misunderstood in the media. The girl wears a blue costume, which connotes her sadness. Later on in the music video, a young black male stands close to the edge of a building with his arms spread wide, which indicates he may be struggling with his mental health and possibly be considering committing suicide. Corrine Bailey Rae uses these young actors to represent neglected mental health issues in teenagers.
Another aspect of mise-en-scene that is incorporated in the music video is setting, which has direct links to Corrine Bailey Rae’s viewpoint on class. The video uses an Extreme Long Shot to establish the urban city setting, which is an implied council estate – this is where the marginalised subgroups represented in the video are stereotypically found, so it is established that Corrine Bailey Rae is focussing on negative representations of the lower class. The setting is very dull and bland, creating a prison-like atmosphere which suggests that people can feel trapped by their class. The video uses a high angle shot to look down at a homeless woman, making her appear inferior, communicating how society often thinks less of the homeless. Corrine Bailey Rae challenges this viewpoint a few shots later, as the Medium Close-Up of the homeless woman and businessman settles back to eye-level, establishing them as equals. This use of angling indicates that Corrine Bailey Rae believes that everyone should be treated equally, no matter their class.
Later on in the video, Corrine Bailey Rae brushes past a hooded black man around a corner and turns back to look at him wearily. This plays into Gilroy’s theory of ethnicity and post-colonialism, and how ethnic minorities are portrayed negatively in the media; Gilroy explores how colonial discourses constructed racial hierarchies and set up binary oppositions based on the notions of ‘otherness’. In the media, black men are often associated with gang culture and violence. However, Corrine Bailey Rae’s character turns around and dances with him, challenging these racial injustices. The initial negative representation also relates to Gerbner’s cultivation theory, as repeated exposure to this negative ideology in the media over an extended period of time will slowly condition an audience to believe this racial stereotype. In regard to Stuart Hall’s reception theory, Corrine Bailey Rae’s fans are likely to agree with her viewpoint, have a positive reading of the text, and therefore seek out other texts that represent the same ideology. However, the music video may also be met with negotiated and oppositional readings, by people who agree and enforce the negative representations within the music video.
In conclusion, Corrine Bailey Rae accuses society of choosing the easy option of accepting stereotypes rather than judging someone based off their character, using mise-en-scene to challenge the many negative representations of marginalised sub-groups in the media.
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