The dictionary reference defines the term “Music Video” a commercial videotape featuring a performance of a popular song, often used through the dramatization by the performers and lip synching and special effects. A music video is a short film integrating a combination of video and imagery, produced for artistic purposes. Music videos use a variety of conventions making new techniques, including animation, narrative and composition sometimes including abstract expressionism. Some music videos also tend to use post modernism which applies non traditional philosophical movement away from the viewpoint of modernism. More specifically, post modernism is a tendency towards culture characterized by the objective truth and obligation through narrative and purpose. Its roles consist of language, relationship and motivations it particular challenges the use of stereotypical classifications such as the conflict between men and women and white verses black. It attempts to become problematic over the confidence of contrasting differences. Postmodernism has also influenced many cultural groups such as religion, sociology, literacy, visual arts and language. Two music videos have particularly applied this theory which are “Video killed the radio star” produced in 1979 by the Buggles whereas the next music video “Take on Me” by A-HA released in 1985 these show allot of post modernism therefore creating a futuristic and cultural media product.
Video Killed the radio star’s intro consists of an extreme close ups and close up of the band from the group, however the media imagery shows a contrast between light and darkness in order to make it more mysterious and showing a lot of evolution of postmodernism and abstract expressionism. The characters such as the singer show a graphical contrast showing allot of difference and in the past times the audience would felt amazed and intrigues over the use of graphical imagery compared to the present time, due to the use of abstract and simplicity. This shows a change of technological and representational meanings. Also the music product shows a lot of Todorov's theory of equilibrium that during the beginning the girl is younger but as the disequilbrium builds the person becomes more isolated and growing through an evolutionary timeline. Whereas the music video Take on me has used the theorist in terms of conflict and suspense that the young women had once a normal lifestyle but has been now been threatened by the supernatural form of events occurring. This has also used graphical imagery however in different style through the use of montage of artistic drawings to describe and relate to the storyline for the audience to have anticipation and enthusiasm over the character of the grand storyline. During the past times, the older audience members would be surprised of the controversial imagery used to detail the protagonist’s background. This has allowed the radio to become represented as alienated and different to the human child allowing to create a sense of a futuristic atmosphere. This therefore links to the post modernistic theme to allow an overlapping differential change of developing technologies. The camera angle of the video are only constricted to close ups, medium shots and zoom. The little girl has also shown change from youth to adulthood making it very evolutionally and develops time showing allot of ideology over development of human species and technology enthusing the futuristic theme. This also links to the theorist Levi Strauss's theory of binary oppositions that there is a contrast between life and death in terms of biological development. With the woman pointing towards the audience, this represents speciation which has made everyone feel encouraged about becoming reborn and revived through the astronomical depth of time. However Take on Me challenges this through the classic 80’s style consisting of the protagonist becoming a stereotypical Manhattan biker boy with the black leather jacket and jeans which structures his masculinity and strength. Also the media product has used the theorist Levi Strauss in terms of black and white also good and evil in order to represent the endorsement of the informal bikers's redemption. After the race transitional montage, the background is in a traditional American diner making it link to historical reference similar to Video killed the radio star through different aspects. However the different timelines draw different transitions and hegemony. But Take on Me refers mostly to the post modernistic style showing a contrast between the two videos through their presentable themes of timelines. The woman is particularly linked to the theme as with a bird’s eye view shot looking down the comic strip shows her hobbies and stereotypical diner customer. And finally the use of the medium shot between the male’s comical hand and woman shows a relationship and the woman’s reaction over the impossibility of events. This makes the audience surprised and unsuspected over the object becoming alive which shows shock factor and challenges the post modernism theory in order to evolve challenge and make it a different aspect of opinions. Video killed the radio star shows that the actors are wearing metallic and aluminium suits with sunglasses which seem intertexual to the stereotypical view of scientist in an different form to the audience and other scientific groups. It also links to a futuristic background allowing to create a scientific culture for the audience to consume and preserve. This is linked to the uses and gratifications model, that the audience members absorb and consume the media product for escapism to a new textual world that allows them to become more intellectual and synoptic of knowledge. The character has also been represented as a stereotypical scientist allowing himself to show knowledge and understanding over the woman making her represented as a new individual of the species. The woman character has pink highlights to make her seem extraordinary, abstract, similar to Take on me through abstract conventions by the use an artistic point of view.Therefore, this has created a variation of different personalities between the groups. The two shot between the man and woman show a relationship between creator and specimen making the woman represented as stereotypically feeble and passive with the glass barrier surrounding her making it very claustrophobic and shows the character’s isolation of thoughts. This also applies between the young girl and woman that the young girl is being represented as the human’s fascination over the diversity of life and space in the universe showing development of research and technology. In contrast, Take on me, after the transition editing, shows a linear and artistic background making it create a new universe for the audience allowing building up the endless possibilities of life. Also similar to video killed the radio star, the music video has provided escapism and a catalyst to the audience. that the audience feel more encouraged to escape reality to become more suitable to the abstract artistic world. But however with no aesthetic e.g. colour and graphics this has removed all development allowing it to maintain the past conceptual timeline. The flipbook editing technique makes it more classical and reformed, linked to video killed the radio star’s use of science culture. So therefore take on me uses an artistic culture to enthesise its past timeline without the use of traditional film aesthetics e.g. colour. Video killed the radio star has also shown the use of technical sounds which enthuses the dialogue and script such as “You were the last one” and “And now I understand the problems you can see” showing his philosophical ideas linking to the scientist’s role and allowing a breadth of perception over scientific research. The video also shows focus in the foreground of contrast of lights and reflection of the singer’s sunglasses giving a sense of discovery and creates fascination for the audience to wonder to the audiences the music video would have been more productive and fascinating. This makes us think that the current time of the video was shot the audience were purposefully made to look disinterested giving lots of expectation. Similarly, take on me creates that atmospheric expectation through the use of parallel worlds that during the mirror scene it shows a relationship between cartoon and human allowing it to philosopherical questions the remaining possibilities explored by humans. Also take on me applies the similar audience background by using the band members to draw attention and create new discoveries and allow the audience to become drenched over amazing ideas and the theme. Therefore video killed the radio star also uses the women back singers to represent as sexual and more passive to audience members, specifically to masculine members therefore building the uses and gratifications. The women are dressed in short and metallic dresses consisting of silver, red and white. White represents purity and virginity whilst the red shows passion and trust and metallic links to futurism and generation. This is done initially as the stereotype for beautiful women of skinny figure and bruntnette. However take on me does apply few stereotypical conventions of gender representations, the blonde woman is represented as a figure of grace, beauty and creation linking to becoming a sexual appeal to the male audience. The male protagonist is also represented as a typical masculine male through the use of dark and hard clothing making him intelligent and strong linking to the stereotypical male characteristics most people would expect. The woman also is represented as weak and passive, through the scene transition between the diner and comic strip. As the man looks down on the girl, this shows his superiority over her allowing more control and dominance over the female gender. And after the non diegetic window sound, this shows the relationship between the male and female to become disrupted and threatened by the corrupted bikers. As the music changes towards a dramatic and technically tempo, the women is caught linking to her passive characteristic. And after the man saves her, this also shows a classical stereotypical hero/damsel relationship motives making it very epic and cliché. However video killed the radio star also uses gender representation, but mostly the scientists are represented as antagonistic and the audience feels sympathy over the enclosed alienated woman. This can link to Vladimir prop's character type theory that the woman represents as the princess whereas the scientists are represented as the villains. But the false hero is claimed to be the audience, due to the woman and the scientists reference to the globalised audience through facial expressions. Also video killed the radio star shows the singer not making any dramatist movements and in fact showing not much motive. This fits in with the theme in the video, the futuristic and space theme. This interacts with the audience and gains their attention. In difference, take on me using a chase sequence between the bikers and couple while using fast and linear editing making it represent the entrapment of the couple. This is also enthesised through the tempo and pitch of the soundtrack showing a continuous theme making it dramatic and creating sympathy for the couple’s fate. The close up between the woman and the biker shows different binary opposites making the biker represent as strong and horrific towards the woman. This is also linked to the reaction shot after the camera shot creating etherise and drama over the couple’s fate while sticking to gender representations. Also the music video has applied the theorist Vladimir prop in order to build the narrative and acquisition of characteristic types. By using the woman as the princess and the stereotypical biker man as the hero also the bikers as the villains, this has represented a typical and stereotypical storyline of conflict, fantasy and thriller genres. The ending sequence of Take on Me definitely applies the contrast of post modernism and realism by using a mixture of jump cuts and medium shots of the illustrated male; this allows the audience to see him escaping from his isolation of the medium. This allows him to challenge the post modernism that he was represented allowing the audience to feel free from the restrictions of the media that to feel very emotional and expressive. To conclude, video killed the radio star shows graphical elements that would have been unsuspected due to the amount of people amazed by the elements as it would be something they would have never seen in their entire lifestyle. This video is intertextual and based around the themes of futurism and technology. Audiences in the present timeline would have been critising the video challenging and showing an alternative futuristic timeline allowing fascination and ideal opportunities that humans will experience over the peripheral space and time of the universe. And Take on me shows different contrast of two different worlds, cartoon and reality creating a relationship. The cartoon imagery world would have the theme linked to the past allowing a transition somewhere in the 1980’s, this would allow the thrills and adventure to be shown to the audience allowing them to feel and experience the true potential back in the past. Many audience members would believe this creates fascination for other people allowing them a possibility of questions of the past timeline and allow to demonstrate the dangers e.g. Bikers and violence. Overall both videos show allot of similar conventions and characteristics but however they show a different contrast of themes between the future and past making both create allot of philosphorical background and historical reference. Therefore both these videos would demonstrate that post modernism can show allot of initial and scientific reasons for explaining the future. But however the audience would feel very intrigued and show allot of initiative over the possibilities of the abstract movement.
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