Intertextuality in Afrika Shox

Chris Cunningham, the director of 'Afrika Shox' may have been specifically influenced by the film 'Blade Runner' and the silent masterpiece 'Metropolis'.

In 'Blade Runner' the replicant is portrayed as a slave and alien compared to other people. This is similar because in the black man in 'Afrika Shox' is seen to be alien to white people and someone they are not familiar with. This is also shown with the urban landscape, within both 'Blade Runner' and 'Afrika Shox' there is an urban surrounding which is unfamiliar to both the main characters in the music video and the film. It reinforces the idea that they are both alien to us. The noir lighting throughout 'Blade Runner' has also inspired Chris Cunningham and he has used it in 'Afrika Shox'. This creates unfamiliarity for the slaves and disorientates them along with the audience which makes it seem surreal and like it is a nightmare. There are many identical shots in 'Blade Runner' and 'Afrika Shox, especially the shot of the polive car sirens. This reinforces the electro genre. Along with this there are also many low angle shots in 'Blade Runner' that are also in 'Afrika shox' which shows that people who are different are looked down upon.

'Afrika Shox' also has intertextual references with 'Metropolis'. The workers are slave figures, just like the black man in 'Afrika Shox', they are zombie like which is also similiar to the man. Along with this representation, there is also urban surroundings which is also seen in 'Afrika Shox', disorientating the slave. The low angle shots are also taken from this film and used by Chris Cunningham in 'Afrika Shox' representing the slaves as lower class than everybody else.

Claude Levi Strauss's narrative theory of binary opposites
Within the music video 'Afrika Shox' there are many binary opposites. The black man is represented as a binary opposite to the white people. This is because of the slave reference of the video. Another binary opposite is that the black man is of low class and the white people are higher class. This is shown through the low angle shots of the black man on the floor and also by what he is wearing in the video. Whilst he wears rags, the other people wear upper class clothes that are associated with the higher class.

Treatment

The backline story of my music video is showing a break up. However, because of the upbeat rhythm of the song the concept is to show unity and friendship and how it can strengthen a person by having a group of friends surrounding them. We will do this by interweaving a narrative with a band performance. For most of the music video I will film at the beach which will show the group of friends having fun, playing beach ball and drinking to make their friend feel better about the situation.

In my video, the mise en scene will change frequently. To start with it will be the couple breaking up. There will be many quick cut shots from scene to scene so that it matches the beat of the song. Although the mise en scene will change a lot, there will be many shots of the beach and the tent and all the friends together having a good time. I plan to film at different locations, such as the beach, a car and also a bleak room where the break up will occur at the beginning of the video which will match the mood of the people. Many shots at the beach will be lit by the sun so I will be depending on the weather on the days I choose to shoot scenes of the music video. I want it to be natural lighting at the beach so that it feels like a real situation. However, at the scene at the very start I will use artificial lighting such as strong key lighting to create a contrast to show how the mood changes from the start of the video to the end. In the video costumes need to fit the music genre, the song I am using is of the indie genre therefore the people in the video will have to look like they are a part of this style. The music is very fast paced therefore the whole video will be very fast paced so that it is in time with the music. I will have a lot of close ups throughout which will show the emotion and also mid shots to present the unity of the friendship group.

The target audience for my music video is young people of both genders between the ages of 16 – 21. This concept will appeal to this target audience because the people in the music video are between the ages of this and it will also include both genders. The location I am choosing to shoot at is a place where young people are familiar with, mainly because it is a place where they generally go to party and camp with friends and drink. This means that they will feel comfortable watching my music video. This is important so that the audience can relate to the video and will actually like it. Along with this the narrative in my music video is something that young people can relate to; break ups are something that happens to most young people therefore they understand how it feels and the importance of having a close knit group of friends to get through it. So that my music video will target people who follow the indie/ska genre I will include shots of instruments such as trumpets, drums and guitars that they are familiar with.

Mood Board

My moodboard features pictures of the characters in my music video, settings that I plan to film at, and my ideas that I have to create my music video.  The people that appear in my moodboard are people I am likely to use in my actual film. A couple, arguing and then making up. They will be dressed to suit the indie/ska genre that the music belongs to. The settings I am filming at are a beach, demonstrating freedom and in contrast I am also filming in an confined room which will create discomfort during the arguement. The beach will be deserted as I want my main focus on the people in my video. In my video I am having both narrative and performance. The performance will be of the band because ska music is focussed on the use of jazz instruments such as trumpets.

Goodwin's music video analysis

Applying Goodwin's Theory to "Africa Shox" by Leftfield

The music video for ‘Leftfield – Afrika Shox’ demonstrates many characteristics for the techno electronic genre. The mise en scene of the tall buildings and urban landscape represents the roots of the genre. Also, there are many shots of something incredible; however the camera is generally shooting the building through barbed wire. This suggests the roots of the man in the music video and connotes what his ancestors have been through. It represents imprisonment and the slavery. Along with this there is a drained pallet which connotes the grey technology. The flashing lights and police sirens in the video also demonstrate the techno electronic genre.

Throughout the video there is a relationship between the lyrics and the visuals. The words in the song ‘Africa’ suggests that the man in the video is a slave and has travelled forward in time and people still don’t care for him. Also the lyrics ‘let’s get electrified’ are said when the black man has his hand on the barbed wire. This suggests that there is an electric fence which is either keeping someone out, or someone in. They would have had this electric wiring to stop slaves from running away which relates back to the video.

In the music video the editing is in time with the beat of the music. We see that the underground is separate from the real world and the video shows the world that the music originally came from. The break dancing shows that the whites colonised dances which originally came from people of the black origin. The mise en scene and noir lighting gives an image of where the music comes from originally and the zombie like image shows that it is still alive within the people who brought it to America.

The music video has many intertextual references with the poem ‘Limbo’. It signifies how the slaves arrived in America, bare foot and in rags. He is classed as the dispossessed so he is invisible to the people surrounding him. There are mant low angle shots of the white middle class who turns away from the black man as he stumbles before him.

Narrative structure within music videos

The video ‘Rabbit in your headlights’ by Unkle follows Tzetvan Todorov equilibrium theory on narrative structure and accepts the narrative expectations. The start of the equilibrium is the man walking down the road in the night. There is no clear reason why he is walking down the road which creates an enigma which the audience are keen to see answered. The disequilibrium is the when the man starts to get hit by cars. This is when the narrative changes. It disorientates the audience because even though the man has been hit by several cars he is still all in tact and alive. The new equilibrium is when the man takes his jacket off and smashes a car that hits him rather than it smashing him. This creates an action because once the jacket is taken off it drives the events along and everything changes.

                                                                                             

The video ‘Grapevine fires’ by Death cab for cutie also follows this theory on narrative structure. There is the narrative expectation of equilibrium – disequilibrium – new equilibrium. The narrative is told in a non linear way from the protagonist’s point of view. Throughout the video there are flashbacks which tell the story of the family that are in the fire and trying to escape. The use of pictures to tell the story allows the audience to make a connection with the people in the music video and to create a sense of sympathy towards them for losing everything they have.

The video ‘Stan’ by Eminem is told from two character’s point of view, the man and the woman. Along with the narrative structure there is also use of flashbacks which help tell the story and link with the lyrics of the song. This makes the audience sympathise with the man in the video. The music video has the narrative structure of Tzetvan Todorov’s theory. There is a clear structure of equilibrium – disequilibrium – new equilibrium which helps tell the story of the video. The car accident at the end of the video creates a sense of sympathy for the pregnant woman because she is now on her own and it alienates the man in the video from everyone else because of his obsession with ‘Eminem’.

Music Videos

This music video is the song 'Telephone' by Lady Gaga ft. Beyonce. It is an unconvential music video as it has a predominant story which doesn't fit to the lyrics. However, it does use some typical conventions of music videos such as the singer is miming the words of the song during the video. There is a narrative structure of equilibrium - disequilibrium - new equilibrium and is in a linear structure from the protagonist's point of view.



I like this video because it is quite comedic. There are pictures which help the tell the narrative. It has many conventions of a music video such as the shots of the singer.



I like this video because the narrative encourages us to watch it through to the end. It has an ambiguous story as it increases throughout the video. There are also some conventional shots of the singers, and the fact that it doesn't have a predominant story makes it a conventional music video.

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