Bad Blood – Taylor Swift Music Video (2015) a Level Media Studies – Set Product Factsheet Bad Blood – Taylor Swift Music Video (2015)
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A Level Media Studies – Set Product Factsheet Bad Blood – Taylor Swift Music Video (2015) A Level Media Studies – Set Product Factsheet Bad Blood – Taylor Swift Music Video (2015) Unit 1: Investigating the Media policy after she refused to allow them to stream Section A: Selling Images her album without payment. She also withdrew – Advertising, Marketing her album from the streaming site Spotify, and Music Video despite being one of their most popular artists, as a protest against payment practices. Focus areas: Media language Consider the use of moving image media Representation language, and codes and conventions: Audiences • The video fits the ‘Pop’ music genre and Media contexts upholds some of the typical conventions. These include focus on the performance of the artist, direct mode of address and the PRODUCT CONTEXT clear representation of Swift’s star image. • The music video accompanied the Taylor Swift • Heavy use of a close up of Swift’s direct single which was released on 17th May 2015. gaze alongside voyeuristic pans and tilts of It was the fourth single to be released from the female body creates a male gaze. This the album 1989. The single was remixed and is stereotypical of modern pop videos. This featured the artist Kendrick Lamar. It was is further reinforced through the sexualised released on the label Republic Records. costume choices of the characters. • The video was directed by Korean • The video challenges the staple high key American, Joseph Kahn who has created choreographed dance moves and love music videos for artists such as Britney story narrative. Instead the narrative has Spears, Eminem and Katy Perry. tropes of the Action/Sci-fi genre. • The video won a Grammy Award for best • The video fits Goodwin’s ‘illustrative’ format music video and features a range of icons where the visuals illustrate the lyrics of the song. from popular culture such as Jessica Alba, Cara Delevingne and Cindy Crawford. Consider how the different elements of media language, and the combination of elements, influence meaning and PART 1: STARTING POINTS – Media language communicate multiple meanings: Industry context: • The codes and conventions are heavily influenced by those of the Superhero and Sci- Taylor Swift is a pop phenomenon worth fi genres. The opening establishing shot of a upwards of $250 million. Forbes included her city scape pays homage to these genres and sets in their list of the 100 Most Influential Women. audience expectations. The mise-en-scène of A recipient of 10 Grammys and an Emmy, the mundane office in the opening sequence Swift has sold over 40 million albums and is juxtaposes the action as Swift and Selena one of the most followed celebrities on social Gomez fight anonymous henchmen for a silver media (83.5 million followers on Twitter). ‘McGuffin’ brief case. This intertextually references many action film narratives. Swift has had a huge impact on the music • The characters are introduced through direct industry. In 2015 Apple changed their music address and graphics that communicate their 1 A Level Media Studies – Set Product Factsheet names using puns and coined words. two characters and their respective ‘teams’. • Iconography of the action genre includes The audience does not see the outcome as the object codes of various weaponry, the the video ends as they strike one another. boxing ring and the CGI explosions. Consider critical perspectives: PART 2: STARTING POINTS – Representation Semiotics – Roland Barthes Social context: • An enigma code is introduced early on in The music industry has long been criticised the video where the audience question why for its narrow representations of gender. The Gomez betrays Swift. The tension is built phrase ‘sex sells’ appears to resonate with record up with a POV shot of Gomez viewing company bosses. Female artists are continually Swift in a compact. The camera cuts to a hypersexualised in their videos, to the point medium shot of Swift dispatching the last where it has become normalised. There are henchman and then arc shots reveal Gomez. countless examples of passive, scantily clad She blows powder in Swift’s face and violently females in the music industry. Laura Mulvey’s kicks her through the high-rise window. concept of the ‘Male Gaze’ dominates videos • The video employs heavy use of Proairetic featuring both female and male artists. Codes due to the Action film nature of the narrative. Key examples are the focus on various elements of weaponry, the training sequences The debate exists that self-objectification is linked and the cross cutting between the two enemies. to female empowerment. Artists like Beyoncé and Rhianna are heralded as strong independent • There are many cultural codes in the music women who are not devalued by their sexuality. video. The use of intertextual references to popular culture targets a wide demographic. Consider how representations are constructed Examples include: Sci-Fi costumes from through processes of selection and combination: Tron (2.49) and The Fifth Element (1.01), • Swift’s representation changes during the video. references to the training centre from The Her dress code in the opening sequence could be Hunger Games and the Hexagon corridors considered to fit the ‘sexy secretary’ stereotype, from the Alien franchise (2.44). whilst Gomez wears tight leather. Both represent Narrative – Tzvetan Todorov femme fatale, male fantasy figures. Their body language and gesture codes show power as • Todorov can be applied easily to the they dispatch the anonymous male henchmen. mini narrative. The disruption to the The power is reinforced through the diegetic equilibrium occurs when Gomez kicks audio codes of amplified kicks and punches. Swift from the window. The narrative then builds to a restoration but the audience is • Intertextuality is used in Swift’s next dress prevented from viewing the resolution. code (1.01). Her costume is inspired by Milla Jovovich’s character in The Fifth Element. Genre Theory – Steve Neale The camera pans Swift’s body which could • The video relies on the audience’s knowledge of be considered to represent a male gaze. film genre conventions to follow the narrative. • The dress codes of the cameos are certainly The narrative uses recognisable tropes of inspired by sadomasochism which points to the Superhero, Action and Sci-Fi genres. objectification. However, the facial expression • Conventions of pop music videos are challenged and body language codes show determination by the narrative, setting and iconography. and empowerment. This is reinforced by the slow motion and low angle shots. Advanced Theory: Structuralism – Claude Lévi-Strauss • Lena Durham’s character, Lucky Fiori (0.54) displays typical masculine traits. Her hair is • The narrative is based around the binary short and she wears a manly black top. The opposition between Swift and Gomez. The object code of the cigar plays to the stereotype conflict is created when the POV, slow motion, of a crime boss. This connotes female power. low angle shot shows Gomez watching Swift fall from the window. The climax to the conflict Consider critical perspectives: occurs with a Mexican stand-off between the • Stuart Hall’s theory of representation – 2 A Level Media Studies – Set Product Factsheet the intertextual references anchor meaning Twitter account. This added to the video’s to the images. The video relies on a ‘shared appeal for audiences who enjoyed the conceptual map’ of popular culture to voyeuristic nature of the controversy. create a relationship with the audience. • The intertextual references create pleasure • David Gauntlett’s theory of identity – for the audience. Additionally, the video the video could be considered to be an uses many tropes from the Superhero/ expression of ‘Girl power’. Gauntlett Sci-Fi genres which would appeal to fans recognised that female pop stars promote of those genres. The repetition of familiar financial and emotional independence. Swift conventions engages the audience. has created a video that presents males as • The video has high production values inconsequential. The ideology of the video which influences audience expectations could be considered ‘popular feminism’. through use of CGI and visual effects. Advanced theory: • According to the Uses and Gratifications • Liesbet Van Zoonen’s feminist theory – the theory the video could offer escapism, video offers juxtaposing representations of entertainment and possibly personal women. The dress codes allow the female identification with the situation. characters to be viewed as products of the Consider critical perspectives: male gaze. However, the narrative represents Reception Theory - Stuart Hall them as powerful and aggressive while • The preferred reading of the video would be the males are passive in the narrative. for the audience to accept the representation of Swift’s star persona. That she is a strong independent female and an influential PART 3: STARTING POINTS – Audiences popular culture icon. A more oppositional Social / cultural context: viewpoint might be that the representations The video has been viewed over a billion times on of females are overly sexualised. YouTube. The primary target audience is 16 -24 • The ideology that Swift wants to present is one year old females. The mode of address is created of girl power, shown through the dominance through the direct gaze and the intertextual of the female characters and their physicality. references to popular culture. The audience However, the video has been criticised for its would be media savvy as the marketing for the superficial understanding of feminism. It still video was largely conducted online from Swift’s supports the body image ideology that beautiful various social media accounts using the hashtag must equal slim, white and full chested. It #BadBloodMusicVideo. She released teaser distorts the image of emancipated femininity posters featuring the cameo stars of the video. and creates something that is unachievable. The inclusion of Cindy Crawford and the nods to Cultivation Theory - George Gerbner ‘Kill Bill’ and ‘Aliens’ suggests that a secondary older audience was also targeted.