Wednesday, 13 October 2010

Music Video Analysis 1: (Female Power and Icons)

Lady GaGa ‘Alejandro’.

(Time Length: 8 Minutes 44 Seconds.)

The genre of the video is dance due to the use of the track. The representation of Lady Gaga in this video is portrayed in many different ways as she is mimicking the styles of other artists (with the use of intertextual referencing) to give a over all representation of herself. Before we can break down the way in which she if perceived we have to look at the representation of the song as she draws her inspiration for her image from the songs meaning. The song ‘Alejandro’ is a narrative story within itself; telling the story of sexuality and friendship, however GaGa’s character can’t be with the fictional character of Alejandro because of his sexuality. Therefore she adopts the character personas of musical icons/representations of the gay community, such as; Madonna in her Vogue video (the same dance style and the bra) and George Michael. She also uses the video as a way for self promotion for her charity campaign for homosexuality within the Military (Don’t ask, Don’t tell), therefore adopts the character of Joan of Arch as a fictional leader within the video. The artists persona is also based around the idea of homosexuality and homophobia in wider society, she is raising positive awareness in a blunt manner, with the use of mimicking the actions of homosexual sex through the male dancers and also the representation of negative stigma towards religion with the use of the invert cross and the more traditional cross placed within the mise-en-scene. All the aspects of the artists persona suggest the main focus of power and attention is focused of her.


The main aspect of mise-en-scene which is made the focus of the video is the use of monochromic colours in the video such as; black, white and grey. This is also due to the use of low lighting to give a over all feel of darkness and sadness to the video. Giving an over all dull feel to the video however becoming a convention with in its self due to the one of the various themes within the narrative structure of the video, the theme of war/homosexuality in the military is seen as present through out the music video.

This means the artist (Lady GaGa) gains the role of a main lead in the theme through the use of her character of Joan of Arc. In the video we see her in a latex robe of which Joan of Arc would have worn expect it has a modern twist, she is seen as influencing the men as she is surrounded by them as if they are praying to her. Furthermore we also have the presence of the inverted cross (in the colour red symbolising danger) on her robes showing he stance against religious views (we also see this at the beginning of the video when the men are carrying what appears to be a star of David made of metal) again showing how she is seen as a powerful figure in the digesis of the video however she is not only seen as powerful in the video, but also outside of the filmic world as she is back by hundreds of millions of fans due to the way in which she makes her political views relevant in her work. On the other hand GaGa’s use of costume can also be seen as not only a leader but as a icon through the use of mise-en-scene for example we see her replicating the video ‘Vogue’ by Madonna a huge icon within the gay community, again a way in which her female power in presided in the video and in the real world. If we look at the other aspects of mise-en-scen we can see that a pattern begins to form in the ways of which GaGa is represented as a strong woman, especially with the use of the military theme e.g.; the men dresses in military clothes, GaGa’s machine gun bra (Again a intertextual reference to Madonna), we also see this when she is wearing a leather jacket and sun glasses in which she is referencing to George Michael, the use of the screens as he dancers perform show flames and fire giving the impression of danger again a connection to the use of war in the video. However the main reason the artist has chosen to use the Military mise-en-scene is also to help raise awareness of her own charity camping against homophobia in the military, giving self promotion of her work, therefore we she her as a strong character within the context of the video as she is seen to be standing up for a cause. As the main focus of the mise-en-scene is based around the idea of GaGa’s costume she herself has become a iconography of her image and her brand ‘The Haus Of GaGa’ therefore we ever her produce is consumed people automatically know who, what and why they are consuming the produce. Furthermore this is apparent in this video as the use of costume plays a main role in how the artist is perceived.

The cinematography in the video is mainly used through the means of performance videos, whereby the main shots are, long shots and medium shots which show the dancing of the artist and dancers, with the use of the long shots it allows all the elements of mise-en-scene to be seen. The next main use of camera work is the use of tracking shots and crane shots along side the use of the long shots and is matches the beats of the song. As the video is mainly dancing and narrative the main use of shots is focused on the use of long and medium shots with the aid of dolly/tracking shots to enhance movement. On the other hand there is also the use of close ups to give a look of emotion on the artists face and allowing use the audience to know who the artist is.

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