RC - Video analysis: representation and ideological discourse

For this area of analysis I have chosen to go back to a song track that, as a class, we have already looked at, this track being 'Karen' by the band Chew Lips. The reason for why I'm doing this is because I really like this video, due to it being very aesthetically pleasing because of the use of very effective visual techniques but also because this band is of a similar genre of the band whose song track we are using for our video. When analysing this video before it was my group's role to only analyse the visual techniques, therfore I feel that I would like to look deeper into this video and to discover what issues, social groups, etc. are being represented but also the many ideological discourses to this video.

Looking at the band it is clear that they are of an indie genre; the video is out of the mainstream and has a strong authentic, indie feel to it, however, there is a sense of the video being slightly unconventional of the indie genre.
It is apparent that star persona is being constructed through the use of the performance scenes, where these scenes provide us with the identification of who the band are. It seems that the lead singer of the band is singer retrospectively, because through the use of visual techniques you get the impression that the story being narrated by the singer is one about herself, adding to the meta-narrative of this band. The video appears to be very personal to the singer; with her performance adding strong emotion to the storyline, this supports the theory of indie being the antithesis of manufactured pop, where the music is more important than capitalism or materialism. This also helps to portray the band as more appealing artists, at the representation of themselves through this video conveys them as human beings similar to everyone else, and not stars who have diva like traits, where the use of first person mode of address allows the audience to engage with the band and their song. It is because of the audience being able to relate to this video that helps the band to sell their product.

The cult of youth is one group being represented in this video, where it appears that a love story between a young couple is in action. There are elements of rebellion motifs and playful mannerisms, which supports this representation, this is evident when we see both the boy and girl in one part sticking out their tongues in a child-like manner. However, although there is an image of immaturity being conveyed through this playfulness, the sticking out of the tongue actions also suggests other things, such as the taking of drugs, where this action could be percieved as them proving to each other that they have swallowed the pill(s). This then supports the dominant belief of the cult of youth being rebellious, which is being reinforced in this video.

In this video gender is being represented both conventionally and unconventionally. At the very beginning we are introduced to two characters, but it is unclear if one of them is a boy or a girl, this is due to this character having long hair, which in this society suggests femininity. This uncertrainity challenges the residual belief that men are to look masculine, but supports the emerging belief that males are allowed to look feminine. As the video continues it is then apparent that the character is infact a male, as we come to understand that this is a love story between a boy and a girl but we also realise that this character is not wearing a shirt and does not appear to have any breasts; a clear indication that he is not female. His actions later on in this video also give evidence of his male status, as we watch him play the protective role; a role which is dominantally perceived as being one a male should undertake. This protectiveness is clear when the male character is seen to be embracing his female lover in a hug from behind whilst sitting in a bath. It is also at this point that we see the the female playing the role of a vulnerable girl, where she is being conveyed as weak and inferior to the male, as she allows him to take control of the situation. and be the one to comfort her. This particular scene between the couple heavily supports the residual belief of males being superior to females, a value which is now perceived as fading, due to the emerging, dominant belief of each gender being equal to one another.