Explain one way in which music videos use media language to differ from each other. Refer to one example of contrasting media language in two music videos you have studied to support your answer
One way in which music videos can use media language to differ from each other is through performance. For example, in the Wheatus music video for “Teenage Dirtbag”, what is acted out on screen is the narrative of the song. We see a high school boy from a lower social class, admire the popular girl and suffer at the hands of her ‘jock’ boyfriend. At the prom, as he is sitting alone she approaches him with two tickets to see his favourite band in concert. The video is a literal translation of the lyrics.
On the other hand, in the Beyonce music video for “Single Ladies” the video is black and white and the sole focus throughout is Beyonce and two backing dancers doing perfect choreography. The Beyonce video isn’t a literal interpretation of the song. Instead, it demonstrates the theme of female independence through the all-female performers and the attitude of the choreography.
An example of contrasting media language is the use of location in the videos we have studied, which were Wheatus “Teenage Dirtbag” and Avril Lavigne “Sk8r Boi”.
Avril’s video moves from a teen bedroom through to what appears to be an abandoned building. Then outside the building, they burst out of the door to hold a concert on the street against the backdrop of a cityscape.
Wheatus set their video in a typical All-American high school, against the backdrop of the scenery you would expect to see; from the lockers to the cafeteria and to finally, the end of year prom.
Despite both videos featuring high school-age American youth, they both take a very different approach. The street concert in Avril Lavigne’s video displays a theme of rebellion, with her performing on top of a police car, ultimately smashing the windscreen with her guitar. In contrast, the Wheatus video represents an average high school experience in an environment that any teen audience watching would relate to.
