MUSIC VIDEO DECONSTRUCTION

The Ramones – Pet Sematary

Goodwin’s Features

As mentioned in my previous deconstruction, Goodwin’s features of music videos are as follows;

Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics There is a relationship between visuals and lyrics There is a relationship between music and visuals Due to the demands of the record label, there will be

close-ups of the artists and possible reoccurring motifs There are frequent references to the notion of looking,

including voyeuristic treatment of the female body There are often intertextual references

The First Rule

The video demonstrates genre characteristics in that there are elements of performance as is the norm with punk-rock band videos.

When only the band are in shot, video is in black and white, indicating a darker theme, common with punk bands and especially The Ramones.

The Second Rule

The visuals contain links to the lyrics, although not exactly. The whole video works to the theme of the song, it is set in a cemetery, and the clips we get of the band outside of the video are also of them walking through a cemetery.

The main line of the chorus is ‘I don’t wanna be buried in a pet cemetery’, and the visuals show the band gradually being buried as they play.

The Third Rule

As with the previously deconstructed Clash video, the main relationship between the music and visuals are the band playing, and also, unlike the other, there are also members of the video singing. Aside from that, the music is rather soft for a punk song, and doesn’t lend itself to any on-beat shots.

The Fourth Rule

In compliance with this role there are many close-ups of the band both playing and not. There is little in the way of a motif, as with the previous deconstruction, save for the band themselves. However, the way they dress almost makes the band a motif in itself, as they all have longish hair and wear leather jackets.

The Fifth Rule

The references to looking mostly lie with the band on their own exploring an empty graveyard, and the crowd that assembles for their ‘burial’.

There is nothing in the way of voyeurism of the female body, as the females are dressed traditionally gothic.

The Sixth Rule

The whole reason for the song is an intertextual reference. It was written for the movie adaptation of the Stephen King novel ‘Pet Sematary’. The video contains sequences related to the film throughout.

Overview

The video follows many of Goodwin’s features, there are close-up shots of the band, both performing and not, showing a live-action element common to this genre.

There are two colour schemes to the video, both of which remain somewhat dark, mirroring the style of the band and genre.