textual analysis of music videos

Textual analysis of music videos



According to Andrew Goodwin’s analysis ‘Dancing in the distraction factory’ 6 point theory, all music videos can be distinguished into these 6 points. The first point of this theory being music videos demonstrates genre characteristics.

I am analysing Beyoncé’s Single Ladies video which was directed by Jake Nava. The music video is performance based as you see 3 dancers throughout, of that including the main artist. The genre of this song is R&B, Dance, Pop. It is very upbeat and has a bounce based hand clap beat throughout. The beat for this song was influenced by dancehall (Jamaican popular music) and bounce which is an energetic style of New Orleans hip hop.

The second point being, the main relationship between the lyrics and the visuals is the roboglove she wear on her hand. Whenever she sings about ‘Put a ring on it’, she points to her ring finger. The roboglove is also worn to compliment Beyonce’s alto ego, Sasha Fierce. The visuals have been kept very simple to emphasize solely on the performance. The video has been kept so simple that it is very effective. It is all filmed in black and white with very few camera shots and cuts. The director deliberately used lengthy shots so that viewers "would connect with the human endeavor of Beyonce’s awe-inspiring dance".



The third point is the relationship between the music and visuals can be seen clearly as the three women are dancing in time to the beat of the music. Also throughout the choreography they clap along with the beat which emphasises the hand-clap beat of the song. The cuts of the video are quick paced but not very regular. Between 2.47 -2.50 minutes and again at 2.59, there are some very quick cuts that fit in time with the fast paced beats.

The fourth point is generally to do with the demands of the record label. Throughout the whole 3 minutes of the video the artist, being Beyonce, is featured. Only 3 people feature in this video and the camera is on them at all times. Beyonce remains in the middle of the dancers through the entire song as the director wants her to be the focus. It is shot in black and white to focus on the complex choreography. Also as the video is shot fully in black and white and without a major background or setting, the dancers become the only thing to focus on as there are no other distractions for the viewer. This video is quite different to Beyonce’s other videos as they usually tell a story or at least feature a large setting and surroundings, whereas this video focuses only on the choreography.



This video is influenced by a 1969 Bob Fosse routine called "Mexican Breakfast", shown on the Ed Sullivan Show, which featured Fosse's wife, Gwen Verdon, dancing with two other women. This is an example of an intertextual reference. Beyonce wanted to attempt a similar dance and eventually, the choreography of "Single Ladies" was adapted from "Mexican Breakfast". Some of the fosse choreography was kept and urban choreography was added called J-Setting, where one person does something and the next person follows. This made the video very modern yet very vintage.

I think that there is a slight sense that the artist is on sexual display because the is simply a high cut leotard and high heels with her hair and makeup done influenced by a vogue shoot alongside two look-alike dancers. In terms of the dancing, the artist can be seen to be on sexual display as it includes a lot of leg and hip shaking while wearing high heels. However, the main intention is to attract the viewers' attention towards their hands and ring fingers.