LS - Deconstruction of a music video

Deconstruction of Taylor Swift's music video for 'Mine'



Institution and audience

How might this video be consumed?
This video would be consumed through focused viewing because the video is visually interesting by the shots between the narrative and the performance. Also as the music video has a storyline that the audience need to follow in order to understand the video, ambient viewing could lead to confusion. Ambient viewing however, may take place if the video comes on a music channel in a bar or another public area. The genre of this music video means it would be shown music channels such as ‘Smash Hits’ or ‘The Box’ and because of the international fame Taylor Swift has, it would also possibly be shown on MTV.

Institutional context of this video
The record label would have played an important role in creating this video. They would have had a big say in the type of storyline involved and how to artist should be represented. This is because they want to maximise the amount of selling potential the artist can achieve in order to make the largest profit and raise the awareness of the artist's talent in music. The record label would not want the artist to be seen as concentrating on one type of audience member so insured that a range of ages and both genders were included in the video so that no one felt that they couldn't relate to the artist and as a result would not be inspired to go buy the artist's products.


Genre and Narrative

What are the forms and conventions evident in the video?
Using Goodwin's theory there are many forms and conventions evident in the music video. The video is both performance based and narrative based. One characteristic that is evident of the genre this music video fits it into is the use of performance. This is cut with a concept of a love story which illustrates the lyrics of the song. The cuts between the performance and the story are illustrative as well as the cutting rate speeds up when the music speeds up and slows down when the music slows. Meat shots are used when there are cuts to Taylor Swift performing and this is a characteristic of the genre as the voice is seen as the most important part of music in this genre. Close ups of Taylor Swift are also used when it cuts to the love story as it shows the emotion of the song and the character. When Taylor Swift is performing in the woods, there are photos hanging down around her, which are of her and the male character and this creates the notion of looking. An intertexual reference in this video is the fairytale concept of ‘A happily ever after’.

Is this an example of illustration, amplification or disjuncture?
This video is an example of illustration both through the relationship between the lyrics and visuals and between the music and visuals. The lyrics are illustrated by the cuts to the love story emerging between the female singer and the male character. The music is illustrated by the visuals as the cutting rate speeds up when the tempo speeds up and slows down when the tempo slows down.

Could this video be considered art?
This video does not present any challenging ideas or involve postmodern techniques. The video could, however be considered a short movie as there is concept involved within the illustration of the lyrics and this concept is a lot like most films in the chick flick genre as there is a love story involved, with a disagreement and a happy ending. However, most of all the video is an advert, advertising the artist's songs and musical ability.


Media Language

What is the ‘message’ or purpose of the video?
The video does not include any social messages. The main purpose of the music video is to attract the attention of the music video by making them have to concentrate on the video in order to understand the storyline. Adorno would argue that this makes the music video act as an advertisement for Taylor Swift and generates the desire, if the audience like the song, to purchase the single or album that the song features one and this creates false needs as it is not necessarily something the audience need to purchase. I also believe that the video also acts as an advertisement for the artist as it raises the awareness of the artist’s current song. By using a range of different aged characters and different genders in the video, the artist is showing that the music they are creating is for everyone and not a specific age or gender.

What visual techniques are used to do this and why?
The use of the cutting rate and cutting to different parts in the storyline draws the audience in as they want to watch the video to see what happens next in the story and to see how it ends. This acts as an advert, as if the audience are drawn into the video they may decide to buy other songs by Taylor Swift in order to see if there are any other songs which link to this story. The use of different camera angles also makes the music video more visually interesting and the use of different lighting: brighter when she is performing and darker when the story is running helps to distinguish between the two parts and creates the fact that the love story is a memory. Also as there is so much going on in the video, in regards to the performance and the storyline, the audience may choose to watch the video again in order to see things that they have missed.

Is there any intertextuality/references to popular culture?
The love story feature involved in the music video is a lot like most films in the chick flick genre such as 'The Prince and Me' and 'Happily ever after' as there is a love story involved, with a disagreement and a happy ending.


Representation

How are the band/artist represented?
The artists is represented as very feminine due to her costumes. Most of the costumes she wears are dresses or skirts which connote femininity. Also by having her perform in a woods with flowers, femininity is also connoted as flowers are thought to be for females. The artist is also represented as making music for all age groups as the range of different ages and the use of both male and female characters connotes that all types of people can relate to her music, even though she is a young, female artist.

How are different social groups represented through the video?
The social group of children is represented as vulnerable and as distant from the adult world. This is shown by detaching the young girl from the argument her parents are having by having her in the foreground of the shot. Also the close ups of the girl show her vulnerability as the audience can see her worried facial expressions.

What is the ideological discourse?
One ideological discourse that is being represented is men being the dominant gender. In most clips when the male character and Taylor Swift are together, the male character has his arm round her, connoting being protective and having control over her. Also when both couples (her 'parents' and Taylor Swift and the male character) are fighting, the male always aggressive out of the two genders. The artist may have reinforced this ideological discourse because she believes that this is reinforces her femininity by making her seem weaker and more vulnerable. The feminists Goffman, Jhally and Kilbourne would argue that by reinforcing men being the dominant gender, the video is also reinforcing sexism.

Dyer's Theory
Dyer's first key paradox is that the artist is both seen as ordinary and extraordinary and I believe that Taylor Swift's video displays evidence of this paradox. With the storyline, Taylor Swift is seen as experiencing events in her life. that most ordinary people experience, including getting married, fighting with loved ones and having children. The use of an ordinary costume of jeans and t-shirts also reinforces this part of the paradox. In comparison, Taylor Swift is also represented as being extraordinary as when she is performing, she is dressed in white and the lighting creates a type of golden glow around her. This makes the artists appear as if she's some kind of angel and therefore reinforces her being represented as extraordinary.

Dyer's second paradox is that the artist is both present and absent. I don't think that the artist in this video reinforces this paradox as she is present in all parts of the music video, both for the storyline and the performance. This could be because the record label want her to be present all the time because people may be more likely to watch the video and buy the music if they can relate to the artist and this may not be possible if the artist if not continuously present.