Estelle Naughton Tuesday 23rd September 2014 Due on Thursday 2nd October 2014

Media Homework – Music Video Analysis

Analyse a music video in terms of genre theorist Lacey and his idea repertoire of elements, including characters, narrative events, iconography, setting and technical/audio scores.

Lacey, a genre theorist, devised a concept called repertoire of elements where there

are multiple sections in which can be analysed in regards to music videos, films and TV shows. I am going to analyse a music video called ‘Fancy’ by Iggy Azalea featuring Charlie XCX in the style of Lacey’s repertoire of elements. This song is very

popular and is known universally for the video, as it parodies and has some elements of pastiche to a classic 90’s film. Iggy Azalea is a female songwriter/rapper

from Australia and her most recent album is entitled ‘The New Classic’ which indicates that by parodying a well known film she will become ‘The New Classic’ of this generation as the music video to ‘Fancy’ is a replica of the film ‘Clueless’ which

is a classic 90’s film, this could a coincidence but all evidence points to how she’s trying to up the previous classic things.

In regards to Lacey and the genre elements, the characters are a clear cut copy or parody of those demonstrated in the film as Iggy Azalea is dressed and has the

same mannerisms as the main character from ‘Clueless’ called Cher. This is apparent by Iggy having long blonde hair which Cher flicks in the film and Iggy does

the same throughout the music video, wearing similar clothes worn in the 90’s with tartan creating a sense of bricolage due to the crossover of eras, with the 90’s clothing, style and props with the upbeat music of today’s generation. One

stereotype which is broken throughout both the film and the video is that Cher and Iggy is both blonde, stereotypically blondes are meant to be dumb and ditsy whereas

in film Cher is having an intelligent debate with another character called Amber and this is recreated and parodied in ‘Fancy’. This scene is clearly mimicked as shown throughout the mise en scene and the copying of the original characters, it could also

indicate that despite being blonde, both women are strong, independent women and don’t conform to stereotypes. The secondary artist of the song, Charlie XCX is

parodying a character from the film called Tai, who originally is an outcast and stays close to Cher during the film which is then mirrored in the music video as Iggy and Charlie XCX are seen to be together throughout the music video or not far from each

other. Other characters are duplicated from the film and are present in the music video, such as Amber in the debating scene, Dee who is Cher’s best friend, and

Murray who is Dee’s boyfriend and these characters are used in corresponding scenes in the music video. The characters parody and copy the actions of the actors from the film such as walking down the corridor confidently, on the phone to Dee

even though they’re not far from each other and the iconic car scene where Dee is overpowered by a truck on the motorway.

The characters within the video are more or less identical to the characters within the original film, with hardly any alterations.

Iggy Azalea/Cher:

The outfits are similar as in the original film, Cher is wearing the same outfit except she has removed her tartan jacket in this scene, but is wearing the same outfit. The

scene is duplicated as in the film, this screen grab is taken from a scene in which Cher and another character called Amber are debating, which is recreated in the ‘Fancy’ music video with the podium, body language and the board behind Iggy,

however the board behind Iggy is more updated as it is a whiteboard with the names of rappers whereas in the film it is a black board with political issues displayed which

the debate is about. The scene had been adapted since the film was made due to the school being in use therefore having a newer version of a blackboard but the school used for the music video is the same school which was used for the film,

which allows most scenes to be mirrored in the video. Even the layout of the classroom and the attitude of the students are of a similar nature, due to the teacher

being on the left in the video and film and the students being reluctant to learning by throwing things and not paying much attention in both the music video and film.

Due to copyright, the screen grab (and the link below) from the original film is reversed but in the original film the positioning of the characters are the same as the

characters in the music video, which has taken clear inspiration from the film. Amber’s character in the music video is represented in the same way in which she is

represented in the film, with red bobbed hair, furry jacket or coat and the same sort of attitude. Also, the character’s mannerisms are the same, for example in the same scene an actress who is trying to play the character of Amber from the original film

gestures a ‘W’ with her hands which Amber does in the original scene and throughout the film.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-zpOMYRi0w ‘Fancy’ 0.27 seconds https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yf7MT1p1VNI ‘Clueless’ 1.34 seconds

Charlie XCX/Tai:

Dee:

The most obvious representation of a character apart from Cher’s character is Dee’s character perpetrated by an actress in the music video who looks similar to Dee’s character, by having a black actress play Dee’s character. Additionally having a

similar hair style with the braids or cornrows, it allows the actress to portray the same image as Dee’s character, as well as wear similar clothing as Dee and also Cher’s

character with the checked skirts, blazers but in alternate colours.

As you can see, there are clear similarities with the

characters in the music video and in the film. The most obvious copy is Tai’s

character played by Charlie XCX, this representation was

emphasised more than any others due to the fact people may not understand which

character she is playing because Tai in the film takes a

back seat whereas Cher and Dee are the main characters. The representation of Tai’s

character is shown by Charlie XCX wearing similar clothing

of the same colour so the audience will understand who’s role in ‘Clueless’ she is

playing. Within this scene of the video, Dee and her boyfriend Murray are

represented by the actors to the left of Charlie XCX.

Due to copyright,

the image from the original film has been flipped but

the placements of the characters are

the same if the original image was available.

Murray:

Again the representation of Murray’s character in the music video is aided by the

black actor playing his character as it may have impacted the way the music video had an effect on the audience if the actor wasn’t black, despite the scene displayed above being iconic, they audience may have been unaware of who the actor was

trying to represent. To also represent Murray’s character, the actor in the video has had braces put on to emphasise the character he will be playing as shown above.

This is the main scene in the music video in which Murray’s character is represented apart and his character is also shown in the lunch table scene shown previously, but the main focus wasn’t on him at that time. The original scene in the film features a

close up of Murray’s face when a lorry is behind the car on the motorway showing the fear in his face, which is duplicated in the music video both the scene and facial expression on the actor’s face. Additionally, the actor is wearing similar head wear to

the original character but isn’t wearing similar clothing as the actor is wearing a tracksuit which could be conforming to a black male stereotype.

Christian:

The narrative events of the music video unfold in a way in which is similar to those in the film, all iconic scenes and events from the film are featured in the music video, again making the music video a parody of the film. The music video cuts down the

script of ‘Clueless’ to around 3 minutes, including memorable and symbolic scenes

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box.] Christian’s character from the film is represented by being seated behind Iggy

like he is in the film. Also, by wearing similar clothing and sunglasses it suggests Christian’s character as he

wears sunglasses in other scenes within the film. Other characters are being

represented in this scene, such as Cher, Tai and Amber. However Tai isn’t featured in this scene in the film.

from the film and replaced the original actors with Iggy Azalea, Charlie XCX and extras, therefore producing the music video for ‘Fancy’. The events of the film are

displayed in a same, if not similar arrangement of those in the music video making the events indistinguishable. Additionally, someone off the internet played the song

‘Fancy’ over the order of the events of the film and it is almost identical to the video to ‘Fancy’.

As mentioned earlier, someone on the internet has picked the same scenes shown in the ‘Fancy’ video from the original film and has put them in a similar order as the

music video and has played ‘Fancy’ over the clips, indicating the similarities between the two. There isn’t much variation between the two which points out the clear influence from ‘Clueless’ and interpreted in the ‘Fancy’ music video, which could be

seen as a pastiche to the film and how it’s a 90’s classic.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-zpOMYRi0w ‘Fancy’ music video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjocVP88nMk ‘Clueless’ scenes with ‘Fancy’

Iconography is used to create the sense of the 90’s, which as mentioned before

creates an element bricolage as everything apart from the music and actors/actresses connote the 90’s era. The opening scene of the music video is in the same manner as the opening scene to the film ‘Clueless’, this iconic to the 90’s

and the film due to the bright, vibrant colours and the font used for the text as it is comparable to the one used for the text in the opening scene of the film. Additionally,

iconic 90’s props are used to suggest the era and the strong influence of ‘Clueless’ such as the dress sense with the tartan skirts, high waisted items of clothing and the 90’s style of phone which is used to call Dee.

To get a real feel for the 90’s and the film, the music video school scenes were

filmed at the same school as the film which could be seen as paying homage to the film and its success. Every scene within the music video has been made to look

exactly like the scenes in the film even when outside of the school setting, such as at the beginning where Iggy is in a teenage girl’s bedroom picking out her outfit, this happens in the film. The driving scene has been made to look the same as it is a

memorable scene within the film, despite having different actors and actresses the mise en scene looks identical and not just in the particular scene but in every scene

represented in the music video. One scene that doesn’t look twin like to the film would have to be the party scene, for obvious reasons it looks different due to the era, characters and the ‘rolling with the homies’ scene isn’t featured. This scene is

different as the mise en scene is different, characters are wearing clothing that isn’t too similar to the characters in the film and there’s evidently dancing; it could suggest

how Iggy is influenced from popular things in the past and then adds her input to make them her own, such as the different party scene which doesn’t entirely make the video idea her own but is demonstrated in another scene. Another scene in

which this is demonstrated is the debating scene, although most elements are copied from the original scene the words on the board behind Iggy are different as it

is names of rappers and artists which in turn, could inspire Iggy due to their past or present fame, fortune and popularity.

Some settings through the music video relate to those in the original film, such as the scene in the teenage girl’s bedroom, classroom scenes, hall scenes and party scene

is similar but not exactly the same.

Iggy promotes her collection at

‘REVOLVE’ clothing by looking on that site and having it displayed on the screen on her iPad when

choosing clothes in the style in which Cher does in the film. Also,

there are blocks behind her head in the picture above which say ‘REVOLVE’, again promoting her

clothing line.

All scenes filmed at the school, are identical to the scenes within the original film, due to the way they are directed but also because the school used for the music

video is the exact same school used for the film.

The original scene is a classic scene known as ‘rolling with the homies’ scene, but as you can see in the ‘Fancy’ video, it isn’t duplicated in a way in which is identical but having a party scene is replicated. The characters are continued throughout the

whole video, so the characters are continuous but this scene isn’t as similar to the scenes in ‘Clueless’

High key lighting is used to get the youthful look which is achieved within the original film, as Iggy Azalea is older than the original character Cher and she wants to

replicate the look of Cher. Tracking shots are used more or less throughout the whole video to follow the main characters represented in the video, for example

when Iggy is walking down the corridor and the similar camera technique is used in the original film. Additionally, she walks down the corridor to the beat of the music which is within the non diagetic sound, following the camera down the corridor, low

angle and medium shots are used to suggest Iggy is of importance within the video and in music.

The audio for the music video is within the non diagetic sound and that is the only sound within the music video, there is no diagetic sound such as speech. Tracking is

used throughout the music video to follow the characters and the events of which are happening, close up are used often especially within the first few scenes.

http://38.media.tumblr.com/2428e1846ed2da86c8f94cd7451ed616/tumblr_n4bfp59G0G1t0jev2o1_400.gif Tracking when walking down the hall in ‘Fancy’ music video

The arrow indicates which way

the camera is tracking, the same camera technique is

used in another hall scene where the characters are walking, but I was unable to

find a picture of it.

Overall, I believe that by using Lacey’s repertoire of elements it has allowed me to gain insight on the ideas behind my chosen music video and has given me some

inspiration for my music video. I believe the music video for ‘Fancy’ is a performance and narrative video as it narrates the story of ‘Clueless’ and is a performance video

due to the performance given by Iggy Azalea and Charlie XCX. The music video features various post modern features, one being intertextuality with clear references to the classic 90’s film ‘Clueless’. This video can also be labelled a parody or

pastiche; it can be labelled a parody due to the comedic value of how strongly ‘Clueless’ has influenced the video but a pastiche to the characters, the success of

the film and to the 90’s era.