Post Modernism Essay on Analysis of Music Video

7/29/2019 Post Modernism Essay on Analysis of Music Video

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Hannah Alley. Media homework essay for Mr Daley.

Analysis of a post-modern music video

Modernism is a movement in the arts that established traditional conventions

concerning the representation of reality. So its response, which is Postmodernity,challenges these conventions in a playful way, as it is a concept characterised by

the distrust of theories. It remixes the idea of representation and makes light of it.

It is the idea that there is no distinction between reality and hyper-reality/what is

fake, due to the distortions the media present to the public. Some people say that

postmodernity has only just come around, whilst others say that postmodernity is

just a way of thinking of media, and that it has always been around.

Robyn Rihanna Fenty (born February 20, 1988), known by her stage

name Rihanna is a Barbadian recording artist, actress, and fashion designer. Born

in Saint Michael, Barbados, her career began when she met record producer Evan

Rogers through mutual friends in late 2003 and recorded demo tapes under

Rogers' guidance. Rihanna is a genius in postmodernity, constantly keeping up

her star image by consistently posting provocative pictures of herself on

Instagram, creating rebellious, crude music videos, and its all mostly for the

shock factor and attention she receives.

A prime example of post modernism is Rihannas music video Rude Boy. Rude

Boy is a song taken from her fourth studio album,Rated R (2009), that was

released as the third single from the album on February 19, 2010, through Def

Jam. The music video was directed byMelina Matsoukas, and it received amixture of different types of views, both positive and negative. Its sexual,

provocative nature definitely provoked a shock factor from the viewers and not

necessarily in a good way.

Firstly, with mise-en-scene, I will start with costume, hair and make-up in the

music video.

On this first shot I am going to talk about, there is a red foreground that states

rude in green and boy in yellow written in a messy fashion on the wall. There

is a green ground, with a set of black and white cut out drums on it. Rihanna

seems to be walking towards these drums, and she is in black and white too. The

idea of whats seen as a conventional female isnt what is portrayed here. All


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features of femininity are absent; - her black, ripped revealing clothing and

massive stilettos shout rebellion and a completely different image of a female that

we are used to.

Here, we are portrayed a very vibrant and unique image of Rihanna. She is

wearing a black crop top and a tethered red, yellow and green skirt, which is quite

quirky. Aswell as that, Rihanna is wearing gold chains and some gold jewellery onher hands and on her chest. This exemplifies money and superficiality, as if her

fame and status is all she cares about. Goodwins theory of star image is

reinforced here;- Rihanna is presenting herself as rich, superior and shallow.

Again, her hair style is quite boyish and quirky, going completely against the

original ideas of a conventional female who has long hair, etc..

In this shot, Rihanna is wearing very vibrant makeup which carries across her

face. This makeup is very different to any other artists we have seen in a music

video, again portraying rebellion and quirkiness, but also bringing out a new side

to Rihannas star image. In previous shots, Rihanna was portrayed as dark and

devious, and now she looks girly and fun. The constant change in star imagecreates inconsistency and unpredictability; - that sense of unfamiliarity and

surprise is what keeps the audience watching. In the foreground we can see

bright, light colours of yellow, pink and green stars in a crayon effect. This relates

to Goodwins idea of iconography as it holds Pop conventions, because the Pop

genre often uses bright colours and elements of happiness & lightheartedness.

Furthermore it also relates to Goodwins idea of a relationship between the music

and the visuals, because the visuals here actually contradict the songs lyrics. The

lyrics are very sexual, devious and mature, whereas the visuals are quite the

opposite of this. Also, it agrees with Goodwins idea that a lot of close-ups are

used in post modern music videos, just like here of Rihannas face.


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Body-language-wise, at this stage in the music video, Rihanna sings tonight Ima

let you be the rider, and as we can see in the image she is literally riding a lion

with a crown drawn onto it. So this shot relates to Goodwins idea of a

relationship between the visuals and lyrics, because this shot literally performes

the lyrics. This shot is very odd but also very ironic. The fact that she is riding an

animal represents wildness.Aswell as this, it is quite intertextual to Lion King,as the lion stands at the top of a cliff, which is ironic because the Lion King is a

film for children, and this music video is clearly not targeted at children.

Rihannas body language here is very sexual and provocative. She is thrusting her

hips forward as she dances, performing a sexual motion with her hands. Most

artists create their music videos targeting them at both a male and female

audience;- however, here, it seems apparent that Rihanna just wants to attract a

male target audience, which is unlike anything weve seen before at this time.

Overall Rihanna comes across as very rebellious, striving to be different. This

emphasises Goodwins idea of voyeurism;- objectifying women as sexual objects.Also, there is an element of an 80s disco vibe in this scene, so we can see there is

another genre merged into this music video.


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Setting, lighting, colours & editing-wise, in this shot there is quite a lot of time

reference to the older times, as the dark colours and setting of Rihanna/men

standing on boxes, portrays an old fashioned vibe about it. This creates the idea

that Rihanna is versatile, moving from different time eras and genres.

In this shot there is intertexuality to cartoons, creating quirkiness in the image.

There are also many different vibrant colours, instantly attracting the audiences

attention. The bright lighting creates a light-heartedness about the shot, which is

ironic because the music video as a whole, aswell as the lyrics, are far from light

hearted and are very sexual. There is an 80s vibe to this shot too. Aswell as this,

there is a large image of lips right in the centre of the screen. This portrays the

idea that seductiveness and sexuality is the focus of the music video.

The extreme effects added to this shot have created a vibrant, retro sort of vibe,

which again is ironic because the music video isnt retro, its Pop. The fact that


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Rihanna has merged different genres into her music video makes it very post

modern.Also, the many different colours and blurred effect represent a drunk,

crazy sort of feeling to it, making it very different to any other.

In this shot there is an abstract collection of images of lips in a college together.The dark blue, purple and red colours used create a sense of almost evilness and

seduction.

Camera work-wise, its ironic here because the camera angle and editing work

hand in hand to create the idea that Rihanna is Queen and superior. The low

angle suggests that the audience should respect Rihanna regardless of her

costume and behaviour, because we are essentially looking up at her.


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The pace ofRude Boy is very fast. There are hundreds of shots used in this music

video and the fact that its combined with many different vibrant colours and

settings, visually it is very overwhelming for the audience which may be its effect.

Some people have said that Rihannas Rude Boy music video imitates/is a copy

ofthe music video Bad Boyz by M.I.Awith its vibrant, African dancehall feelto it. This questions whetherRude Boy is actually an original or not.

Around about the time thatRude Boy came out, it was literally Rihannas

transformation from sweet, girl next door Rihanna to provocative, daring

Rihanna. This music video and the song was a shock to everyone because of her

sexual, provocative dancing, singing and costume, in contrast to her star image

before. This music video actually has a lot of reference to Rihannas image

because her star image literally transformed straight after this music video was

publicised. Rihanna was not a fictional character in this music video; - she was

her transformed-self, and this behaviour of hers stayed consistent ever since the

Rude Boy music video.

Furthermore, it is not just the visuals that portray a sexual vibe, it is the lyrics too.

Rude Boys lyrics have a lot ofsexual innuendo. There is a lot of repetition, such

as boy is you big enough, challenging the male audience. A key element of

postmodernity is engrossing/engaging the audience, and challenging the

audience directly like Rihanna is here, is very post modern; because it adds a

personal feel to the video. There are very crude lyrics used such as can you get it

up, which isbold language that we as an audience are not used to. The fact that

Rihanna is openly talking about her sex life to the audience with no shame, can

both surprise and appal viewers. However, very smartly of Rihanna, this is all

created for shock factor, gaining the star attention and views.

In conclusion, Rihannas music video toRude Boy includes many of Andrew

Goodwins post modernity conventions, and is an extremely shocking, post

modern music video on a whole. Rihanna is continuously developing as a post

modern star, shocking viewers and changing her image constantly.

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Post Modernism Essay on Analysis of Music Video