Textual Analysis -

James Blunt - 1973

Goodwin's Theories 

  • There are many close ups of the artist in the video, which relates to Goodwin's Theory as he believed that record labels use close ups of the artist to promote their music. 
  • There are links between the lyrics and the visuals, although not many; there are images of being in a club which match to the lyrics 'In a club with you in 1973'. Also, some of the video is set in 1973, which links completely with the song. 
  • There is some attention paid to the female body in the video; in the club a woman pulls up her dress to reveal her underwear which puts a focus on her body, and also part of a womans chest is revealed which also contributes to the idea of 'looking' and 'male gaze'. 
  • There is a link between music and visuals, the actual track sounds very classic and funky, and sounds as if it could come from the 70's, and as some of the video is set in the 70's, this is where it links. 
  • The genre of music that James Blunt produces is pop rock/folk rock, I always think of folk music as being quite nostalgic, and this music video certaintly is; although not all of Blunt's videos conform to this style. 
  • There are no real motifs that Blunt uses in his video apart from he is in most of them 

Camera 

  • Mainly close ups are used in this video to show the artist and to show detail of the place, people and objects. Blunt is used in close ups to show his emotion. 
  • Point of View Shots are also used to show whay the artist is seeing, in this case, he is singing about a girl and he is looking around for her; therefore there are shots of him looking around. 
  • Wide Shots are also used when showing the full extent of the image, for example when Blunt is walking along the street, it shows the audience the location he is in and allows them to make assumptions about it. 
  • High Angle Shots are also used of the artist which show him to be vulnerable and powerless whilst walking through the desolate location, on his own. 
  • In contrast, low angle shots are used of him which make him seem powerful and strong. 
  • Overall, it is mainly close ups and extreme close ups that are used. 

Editing 

  • Many action matches are used throughout this video as the audience soon realise the location that Blunt is walking through on his own, is the same location as the one he is in when he is in '1973'. For example, he walks past a destered barber shop and then it switches to the same shop but with people and a different situation. This shows a 'story within a story' situation.
  • Also, jump cuts are used when the people are dancing in the club, this gives a feel to a 'clubbing' lifestyle.
  • Contrary to other music videos about love, there is no real focus on the woman he sings about, the video is mainly focused on him. Blunt has the most prevelance on screen. 
  • A lot of the video is in slow motion, this may be to enhance the idea of nostalgia and the past. 
  • There is a mix of slow and fast paced editing but most of it is slow, this links with the song and its meaning. However as the beat picks up, the editing gets slightly faster e.g. in the club. 

Representation 

  • Gender is represented as a Blunt shows a lot of emotion in this video, this breaks sterotypes as typically males do not show emotion.
  • Location and Place is represented well in this video as there are two locations that are the same but set very differently. One on hand, there is a desolate, deserted, messy street where Blunt is alone. But on the other hand, there is a colourful, happy, filled street with lots of people. I feel that the representation of location refelcts on the feelings of James Blunt in the video. The first is represented as a very sad and lonely place to be in, whereas the other is represented as being enjoyable, normal and happy. I think it is interesting how the same place can be reperesented completely differently and have different conotations. 
  • Age is represented in the sense that there are young people going clubbing which is typical of people that age so fits with stereotype. 

The Video