Theories of music videos.

By Neha Saleem.

There are 6 different theorist that we have studies in our course.

  • Andrew Goodwin
  • Sven E Carlson
  • Micheal Shores
  • Steve Archer
  • John Stewart
  • Laura Malvi.

The song I have chosen for my case study is Animals by Maroon 5.

Andrew Goodwin's theory.

Andrew Goodwin's theory  suggests that there are certain characteristics that are expected out of a video depending on the genre. Maroon 5 is a rock band, and it is expected that the artist have  tough and harsh expressions most of the times. The artist is expected to be least emotional and very serious like Adam Levine is in this video.

This means that the lyrics should be clearly illustrated through the visuals of the video. In this video "Animals" the lyrics are very clearly shown. for example the lyrics,

"Hunt you down, eat you alive. Just like animals" always shows images of animals.

Relation between lyrics and visuals.

also, in the video the lyrics say "Baby you think that you can hide," and the male role is actually always following the woman and always keeps an eye on her. this shows us how the lyrics are related to the video.

This suggests that the tone and atmosphere of the video must match the visuals featured in the video.In this video the beats are very fast and very outrageous. similarly, the colour palette used, the clothes and the narrative is very  dark. The cuts in the video of this song are in sync with the beats of the songs that shows that there is a relation between the music and the visuals.

Relation between music and visuals.

Demands of the record labels.

The lead role in this music video is Adam Levine. He is not just a singer but is also a very big star which is why the record label demands a lot of close ups of him. If there are no close ups of him in the video then the audiences may get disappointed which is why music labels insist that close ups of the artist are necessary.

Emphasis on "looking"

This refers to the voyeuristic treatment of the female body. The male gaze is used in videos to attract the male audiences by focusing on women's body parts using different camera angles and movements to make them look more sensual and appealing. In this video there is a lot of voyeurism. It also includes the star image looking directly at the camera, this helps the audience connect to the character more.

Intertextual references

There are no such intertextual references in this video.

Sven E Carlson.

He believed in binary opposition. he said that everything should be divided into black and white boxes as it helps to drive the narrative forward. There are three main types of characters in a video

  1. Commercial exhibitionist
  2. Televised bard
  3. Electronic shamon​

​Commercial exhibitionist: This says that the artist in the video sells his voice, face or lifestyle to the viewers in order to attract them ad promote the music video. In this video; "Animals", Adam Levine used his face and his voice.

Televised bard: This is when the video uses the location, clothes set etc to tell the story. for example the black jacket with a hood gives a suspicious feel, also, the room wear he has all the pictures of the girl shows his obsession with her. This helps convey the message to the audience in a better way. The story behind this music video is that Adam Levine plays the role of a butcher and is obsessed with a girl and is always following her and keeping an eye on her. The props and lighting etc used helps them tell the narrative.

Electronic shayman is not used in this video anywhere.

Micheal Shores

In this theory Micheal Shores concludes that there are certain things that are used in music videos such as; 

  • recycled styles
  • cliche'd imagery
  • info overload
  • soft core pornography
  • speed, power, girls and wealth
  • adolescent male fantasies

​Out of these, adolescent male fantasies and soft core pornography can be seen in "Animals"

Steve Archer

Steve Archer emphasizes the relation between the narrative and the performance of the star. For example the narrative of the music video "Animals" is that Adam Levine, the lead role is obsessed with a girl. This shows in his performance as well. His expressions, body language, setting and the clothes he is wearing, compliment the narrative and the name of the song. 

John Stewert

John Stewert's theory suggests that every music video has aspects of a tv commercial. the video uses lighting and angles to focus on the star's face in  order to promote the video. There are visual references in the music video, although the 3 most prominent ones are;

  1. Cinema
  2. Fashion
  3. Art photography

​However, this theory doesn't apply completely in this video. The star in the video is not very glamorous and appealing. instead he is playing a role of a guy who is obsessed with a girl and can cross any limit to get her. But using the lights and camera angles his face and body are still focused to attract viewers.

Laura Mulvi

Laura is a feminist who believes that this world is dominated by men. She believes that music videos use women as objects of pleasure and nothing else. They have no major role in the video except to give pleasure to men. She is absolutely right. In this video the female character has no role in the narrative except for as an object of pleasure for the man. She plays the passive role and the man plays the active role. She is objectified using different camera angles, focusing inappropriately on her body parts.