Applying Goodwin’s Theory

Jennifer Lopez- I’m In To YouRecent R’n’B Hit

1. 'Music Videos demonstrate certain genre characteristics'

Goodwin's first point was that the genre of music decides certain aspects in which gets added. Within the R’n’B genre, there are many aspects which generally get used such as:

•Love Story/Romance•Women dressed revealingly•Close-ups on Women (Objectification)•Expression of Rich and Poor•Dance Routines•Warm lighting

Love Story/RomanceThroughout the video, there are sexualized shots of Jennifer Lopez and a man lying on the beach as if she would be singing about him. She sings about how attractive he is, and the two of them together are very intermate which gives the definitive impression that they are in a relationship or soon to be.

Women dressed revealinglyIn this Shot, Jennifer Lopez is lying down in a very glamorous pose wearing a dress which appears to be made of metal strips, but either way, the dress has a clear purpose to dress her revealingly which is definitely a characteristic of R’n’B music videos.

Close-ups on Women (Objectifying)Throughout the video, there are many close-ups in which show Jennifer Lopez in a glamourous way. R’n’B has a tendency to use these a lot as most R’n’B artists appear to be attractive, so they use these shots to magnify this.

Warm LightingIn almost all of the scenes of this music video, we see some kind of warm colouring. A good example of this is the screenshot. Here we can clearly see that the colours have definitely been warmed and amplified. This is a classic characteristic of R’n’B.

Dance RoutinesThroughout the music video, there is rarely any dance routines as such as most of it is Jennifer on her own, but as the upbeat instrumental part of the song appears, we see Jennifer dancing within a routine with two other girls who are also dressed revealingly (Referring back to another characteristic of R’n’B).

Expression of Rich/PoorIn this shot, we see Jennifer Lopez in a very glamourous dress. Also, the choice of camera angle makes this scene signify importance and wealth as the way she is dressed and also the setting. All of these factors make this a ‘Wealthy’ looking shot which is a definite R’n’B video characteristic. The choice of making this scene black and white is interesting as this may also signify importance and glamour.

2. 'There is a link between the lyrics and the visuals'

Throughout the video, there is no specific moment where the visuals show literally what the lyrics are saying which often happens in R’n’B, however throughout the video, she clearly sings about a man in which she is in love with or finds very attractive, and along with these lyrics, we see a very muscular male who is in a way being objectified as he is always topless and is just there to pose with Jennifer. This is a very classic example of a male role in an R’n’B music video with a female solo artist as the majority of songs are about relationships, so the male is needed for parts.

3. 'There is a link between the music and the visuals'

The slow and sensual style of R’n’B being used throughout this song is also represented through the shots of Jennifer acting very seductive. Another way the visuals are linked to the music is because both are very ‘Moody’ in the way that the slow pace of the music works well with the colourization being changed to warmer tones, as well as Jennifer's seductive acting which almost seems like modeling.

4. The Demands of the record label will include the need for lots of close-ups on the artist'

This point is obviously covered through the amount of close ups of Jennifer clearly emphasizing her beauty in order to make her song sell. There are countless close ups within the video, which is a very common trait within a R’n’B music video as a lot of R’n’B songs have glamourous female artists in which sell records because attractive females attract a male audience as well as female aspiring.

5. 'The Artist may develop iconography that recurs across their work'

Jennifer Lopez does not have a certain style or action in which she includes in all her music videos, however one running theme throughout all her R’n’B style songs she has an extensive Dance routine usually with backing dancers which makes this a feature you would commonly recognize as a ‘Jennifer Lopez Music Video’. Another one is that there are a lot of close ups of her face when she if fully made up and looking attractive. This is again not totally recognized, however subconsciously we all notice.

Jennifer Lopez- “On the Floor”

Jennifer Lopez- “I’m Into You”

Jennifer Lopez- “Get It Right”

6. 'There is frequent reference to the notion of looking'

The Notion of looking is apparent as Jennifer clearly looks at the male actor a lot as that is who she appears to be singing about. She also speaks to the camera a lot as this connects us to Jennifer and how she feels about him.

7. 'There are often intertextual references- mostly to film, other music artists,

television and popular culture'In some shots where she is intermate with the male, she almost has recreated a ‘Hollister’ look which is contemporary and on trend, which is very like R’n’B to keep on trend. This is a clear example of a intertextual reference which isn’t completely clear, but if you are familiar with the brand, you would recognize the similarities such as below.

Hollister Advert

Music Video