Diversity Of A Music Video - Miss Miller

There are many different ways in which music videos can be diverse and unique, the main way being if it goes against the generic conventions of its genre. This makes the video obscure and different, providing the audience with a different experience than they have been through before. Diverse and unique music videos tend to engage audiences more from the way they have a hidden concept or they make the audience have to think/work out the video. Many artists have abstract music videos as they happen to be more memorable from their weirdness and obscurity stands out from other standard and typical music videos which can also enable them to attract attention from the media. Although these are seen as advantages, not all types of audience will like music videos that are so diverse due to the fact that they are so unique and different to typical generic conventions they are used to seeing. Therefore, this could act as a disadvantage because it is a risk to release something that may be so controversial or different to the extent that it won't achieve success. Sometimes, it's easier to rely on the artist's popularity in order for it to gain a chance at achieving success as more people are likely to check the video out if it is related to an artist they recognise for good material. 

Chris Cunningham

Chris Cunningham is a music video director that works against the stereotypical conventions of a genre. Cunningham has worked with the likes of Madonna and Aphex Twin, two artists that I will be referring to throughout this post. 

Madonna's 'Frozen' video is abundantly directed by Chris Cunningham from it's diverse features illustrated throughout. Madonna is most known for creating songs from the pop genre which is contrasted through the way this video portrays itself.

Goodwin's theory is displayed in this music video from the way there is a relationship between the music and the visuals. This is shown when on the beat, Madonna transforms into a number of flying birds - which is very abstract in itself:

Having this feature allows for the audience to feel more involved in the video and also emphasises the presence of the birds and the freedom they represent. The diversity of the video is also outlined as Cunningham has chosen to display this movement particularly on beat. Having it on the beat makes the impact more memorable and attracts the attention of the audience to focus onto the birds and maybe the reason for their presence in the scene. Typical of Cunningham going against generic genre conventions, he lives up to expectations in this video. He goes against the pop genre conventions as he decides to put a dark and dreary look on the scenes in the video which creates more of an overall sombre tone. The pop genre associates with happiness, brightness and positivity, which is very much in contrast with this video. Madonna is shown wearing a black cape-like costume:

This creates a scary, mysterious and creepy atmosphere and effect on the video which is unconventional and different to what the audience expects. This creates audience engagement as they are more captivated by the video for, its features are different to what they have seen for in the pop genre. The style of the video is primarily performance based, allowing the audience to connect with the artist as the video becomes more direct. many shots shown of Madonna portray her directly looking into the camera performing to the audience which helps build a relationship between them as a connection is built through the way she expresses her emotion. However, there is a concept in that love can be negative, possessive and consuming reflected through the input of the dark clothing, desolated setting and the raw emotion that Madonna displays. This makes the audience have to think about the video and figure out the concept, making it more intriguing and, interactive in a way. It's also satisfying for the audience as they feel as if the artist is trying to advise them on love and life. Madonna is represented in a creative way but made out to be mysterious from the way she very much hides most of her identity. Her face is often covered with the fabric of her cape which makes her give off a cryptic vibe:

This makes the audience feel weary of her character as she comes across as quite possessive - especially nearer the end of the video when she becomes a lot more direct to the camera. It makes the emotion and expression that she displays a lot more direct and personal to the viewer. 

Aphex Twin's 'Window Licker' is another one of Cunningham's music videos in which he has directed. 

Goodwin's theory is evident in 'Window Licker' through the way that the artist is promoted through the use of his logo on the umbrella in the video. This is shown during the artist's choreography and this symbol helps promote himself and make him recognisable:

This makes the audience feel more familiar with him and allows for them to memorise his logo a lot more easily as they will link it with the obscurity of the video. The way that the logo consists of black and white colours which are very much in contrast to one-another makes the logo more visible and distinct. The techno genre is kept conventional from the input of swearing, dancing and flashing expensive jewellery. The swearing creates a rebellious vibe whilst the flashy expensive jewellery shows arrogance and self-importance. The dancing shows expression and talent within the video, especially as the artist starts to dance in the video also. Although typically Cunningham still goes against the conventions, he does this by having a long dialogue at the beginning that does not involve the artist to start but displays a narrative that supposedly introduces the video. The audience feel more connected with the video from this as they can get into it a lot more easily, however it is quite obscure in the way that it doesn't feature the artist so some audience members may seem it confusing and possibly irrelevant. The style the video is a mix of all 3 types of music video. The narrative displayed shows men going out and deciding to attempt to chat up women which is shown through the dialogue at the beginning: 

Performance is shown through the way the artist dances throughout the video. This shows talent and expression, making the artist seem more appealing and dedicated to the industry. Making him seem multi-talented also gives the audience a possible difference in view of the artist as they may not have associated him with dancing before seeing him dance in the video:

 Finally the concept is that girls are gold-diggers, as, in the video the girls are suddenly attracted to the artist who portrays himself as being wealthy and impressive. The men that try to attract the girls do not show as much wealth, intelligence or flashiness as the artist does which makes the artist seem impressive to the audience as he shows dominance and authority, as well as power. Only when the girls realised the qualities of the artist did they find themselves attracted to him and so this message is displayed throughout because of this.  

The artist is represented as being vain from the way his face replaces the other characters faces: 

Furthermore, he is represented as superior as when he arrives in the limo, the other men are pushed out of the scene in a way as they are no longer relevant and cannot retrieve dominance. This makes the audience feel more attracted to him and makes him more appealing because it suggests that he has quite a luxurious lifestyle.

Aphex Twin has also worked with Cunningham on another one of his music videos 'Come To Daddy'.

In this video Goodwin's theory is demonstrated through the way that there is a relationship between the lyrics and the visual. The lyrics remark 'I will eat your soul' whilst the children are running towards the television in which he is on (which is also intertextual reference):

This makes it look like the artist has power and is controlling and manipulating the way they act. This makes the audience weary of the artist for their knowing of how much power the artist has. Furthermore, the way the children's faces have the artist's face replaced with their own gives off a possessive vibe and a corruption of the innocence idea. The children still have no real and fully developed mindset and so could be viewed as being easily influenced and innocent. 

The genre of electropop is portrayed unconventionally as the main focus is on the old woman, in-particularly at the start. This is unconventional as normally the main focus is the artist in the video as this would be the main interpreter for performing. Again, likewise with the previously discussed Aphex Twin video, there is a mix with all 3 types of music video. The narrative shows how a woman is walking her dog and becomes terrorised, later you see children manipulated and a man also terrorised by the children. The performance side of the video is fairly smaller in terms of feature than the other types but the artist is shown performing on the television in which is manipulating the children. There is a concept that is shown which is, that children nowadays are being manipulated and influence by the television and media. This makes the audience think acknowledge the impact media has on the younger generations.

Michel Gondry

Michel Gondry is another diverse music video director, however, his diveristy is not as extreme as Cunningham's is Gondry has worked with artists such as Kylie Minogue and The White Stripes.

The White Stripes' 'The Hardest Button to Button' is a music video that was directed by Gondry. The White Stripes are a rock band which Gondry doesn't tend to drift too far from conventionality, however, there is no jumping or anger portrayed by the artist that would have been in a typical, generically conventional rock genre music video. Most of the features within however, are conventional but just have the influence of Gondry to give the video a twist. 

Goodwin's theory is found in this music video from the vivid and clear relationship between the music and the visuals. On the majority of every beat, (if not, every beat) there is a change in frame whether that be the drum will move forwards or backwards. This emphasises the rhythm of the song and further emphasises the relevance of the drums especially to the audience. As shown in the screenshot below, each individual drum is placed on the beat, so, another drum is added to the front of the line as the song progresses. This doesn't only emphasise the input of the drum but also ensures that flow is evident throughout and creates a clear link from one shot to the next. The next shots all carry on the line into new scenes and places which are also screenshotted below. 

The genre of rock is displayed fairly conventionally from the way red and black is a common feature in terms of colour throughout which is typically associated with rock for its death and danger connotations. Having the instruments played in the song visually being played onscreen is also conventional, especially as they are drums and guitar. This allows the audience to see the way the music would have been created and the way the instruments would have been played for the recording. It also demonstrates the artist's ability and talent. The style of the video is quite obviously performance based. The artist is somewhere in pretty much every frame, miming or playing an instrument. This builds more of a relationship between the artist and the audience as the way that the artist performs comes across to the audience as more of a live performance - especially as the setting is in public places. The artist is represented as talented, but also quite scruffy. He is wearing black, so makes him seem quite dull and low, which is quite stereotypical for a rock artist. The clothes that rock artists seem to wear reflect a lot of personality and help them portray the mood in their videos in which they hope to apply. The audience feel quite engaged as they feel more familiar with the artist and his style, as well as the type of person he would most likely be like. 

Kylie Minogue has worked with Gondry for the 'Come Into My World' music video.

In this video, Goodwin's theory is shown through the frequent use of close ups to promote the artist:

This makes the audience more familiar with the artist and allows them to more likely remember them as they have seen them so close up. It also allows the artist to express emotion and body language that the audience could relate to and recognise, giving them a better connection with not only the artist but also the song. Close ups help to display more understanding to the audience as they as they reinforce hidden messages that the artist may portray through their facial expressions and body language. The genre of pop is displayed fairly conventionally from the way that there is choreography that would have had to be fully planned and escalated efficiently in order for it to be pulled off. The audience can be familiar with the genre a lot more easily then and can half expect what the video is going to do next. This is quite satisfying for the audience as they can still associate Kylie with being a typical pop artist, but with the video having slight diversity to it, it makes it interesting and engaging as it may not be the style in which the audience are used to seeing from her. 

The style of the music video is primarily performance based as Kylie generally is shown throughout miming to her song. Kylie is represented positively and and happy in her emotions:

 This gives off a positive vibe from the video and helps influence the audience to be happy in themselves. Seeing the artist happy and positive is not only influential, but also satisfying for the audience as it demonstrates passion and contentment. This makes the audience seem happy with the situation that the artist is in within the industry and is more likely for the artist to achieve success as they can provide a positive influence into the industry. 

Although both directors choose to direct very diverse music videos, it is clear that Cunningham goes for a slightly more abstract and diverse style over Gondry's work. Cunningham decides to go for a more mixing of all types of style of music video but he clearly likes having a concept to the videos he directs as it gets the audience thinking. I would say that Gondry goes for more basic creativity which makes his videos also successful as he doesn't seem to go into the deeper meaning of the songs. In addition, Gondry seems to like the theme of repetition and flow, which is a stylistic feature of his work that is frequently noticed throughout his videos. They are similar in the way that their videos can be hard to direct to a niche audience for, not all of the content included within their work would appeal to everyone.

Artists would want to work with these directors as their obscurity and diverse nature of their videos make them memorable. When something is memorable like a music video, the audience are more likely to remember the song that accompanies the video which means more sales and interest for the artist and their record label. I am considering the genre of Indie, pop or soul for my music video and so influence from Cunningham and Gondry's work could influence into my own. If I were to choose one to create a diverse video I think I would choose Gondry as my directing influence for, I think his videos are not too obscene that make them too wide for a specific target audience but still contain a diverse nature that a more mass audience would enjoy and find interesting. However, I think the obscurity is fairly extreme, which may deter the effect I am intending to create in my music video. Therefore, I don't think that I would choose to create a diverse music video as I would find it risky and hard to think of a unique, original and distinctive idea that could be pulled off successfully in order to attract popularity.

Censorship - Miss Miller

Censorship is the restriction of viewing on certain parts or all of any publication that may be seen as offensive or breach the conduct of security. It is used in the media in order to protect audiences, for example, swearing is contained in many songs, especially from the Rap/Hip Hop/R 'n' B genres. Some of the lyrics such as the swearing may have to be censored to prevent the risk of influence onto a younger audience. Lyrics are censored by either, replacing the offensive lyric with something similar but inoffensive, repetition of the lyric before, a 'bleep' sound, silence or a slur. Likewise with artists in music videos, some content may be shown in a sexual nature, not appropriate for the viewing of all audiences. Therefore, this is censored to ensure that offence is not caused and for all audiences to be able to watch the video without any harm or negative influence. Music videos are censored most commonly by blurring the offensive content or by a black box to cover it. The most common use of censorship is carried out before the watershed as it helps to eliminate offence t the younger generation but also allows the more maturer audience a chance to see/listen to what they want, free from censorship.

Ofcom is the regulator and competition authority for UK communications industries. It regulates TV and radio, fixed line telecoms, mobiles, postal services and the airwaves which wireless devices use. They ensure that people who watch television and listen to the radio are protected from harmful or offensive material. They do the same with music videos and songs with their artists, they regulate and analyse the content and decide when to censor particular content in aim to restrict the audience from seeing/hearing offensive material.

Rihanna's 'We Found Love' music video was censored due to its antisocial behaviour in is content including drug use, drinking alcohol, smoking, tattooing, nudity, sexual behaviour and gambling (examples are screenshotted to the left). This type of behaviour featured is seen on a bad influence on younger generations and especially Rihanna's target audience which is a younger one. Parents also would feel concerned that their child could have access to videos that have contents within such as this. Consequently, to stop the influence on younger generations, it was not shown before the watershed. However, Rihanna feels strongly about the fact that she does not agree with censorship and believes that it should be the artist's decision whether they want their work to be censored at certain times or not. Though, Ofcom have a set of regulations that have to be obeyed by in order to make sure everyone is satisfied from television channels to parents. Not just music videos, Rihanna's song lyrics have also been censored at times for example in her song 'Bitch Better Have My Money'. 'Bitch' is silenced in the clean version of the song, so instead of the line 'bitch better have my money' it sounds as 'better have my money'. This is because this is a swear word that would be seen as inappropriate for the use of by someone from a younger age. 

Artist's Point of View - Against Censorship

From an artist's point of view, censorship is seen as restricting them from expressing themselves, whether that be personality or music and their emotion in the song. Rihanna disagrees with the use of censorship, for example, she often wearing minimal clothing in her music videos which could be labelled as nakedness to some extent. She is not ashamed of this and believes that nakedness shows that she is free and not afraid of judgement which also helps to promote a healthy body. With this is mind, she believes that she could be seen as a good role model from this as it promotes an attitude for doing what you want and not letting others affect your decisions/actions. As she is growing older, the audience are too and she believes that in this society and this generation, what she does is not seen as a sin and if it is you don't have to follow her. Even for a child, a parent can take away the access to her videos/songs if they are so worried about the influence on their child. Without censorship, memorable music videos can be made because they become daring and unique, different to most that already exist at the moment. A lack of censorship means that she feels she can attract men and women - men who fancy her and women who are envious and aspire to be like her.  Rihanna openly disagrees with censorship from the way she mocks it in photo shoots and in her music video for 'S & M' she wears a 'censored' bandeau to further mock the issue (both examples shown below). It's as if she is trying to show that it would be censored anyway, so by mocking it beforehand makes it more humorous and puts her view across a lot more vividly and forcefully.

As well as Rihanna, Eminem, another popular artist of today is also against censorship to the extent of which he thinks it should be banned. He believes that the parents are to blame because they should teach their children morals and what they want them to see but not restrict them from seeing the content because they will eventually manage to see it anyway. He believes that some content that you are exposed to will only affect you if you're already crazy because you don't know how to part the good with the bad and the negative influence with the good influence.

Record Label's View - Against Censorship

Rihanna's record label is 'Rock Label' that is very successful and was founded by Jay-Z. They generally manage artists from the majority of the R 'n' B and Hip Hop genre. They disagree that their artists should have particular features of their content censored. The record label believe that is doesn't give the songs, nor music videos justice, and they cannot be fully appreciated to the extent at which they should. Without the 'parental advisory' sticker, a wider audience is attracted which means that more songs are able to be sold. This threat of the sticker puts a contemplation on the audience's  thoughts when they are deciding whether to buy the song or not as they are questioning whether the content will be appropriate for them. Without censorship, the songs and music videos that are supposed to be censored become controversial, gaining more publicity as more people are talking about it. This promotes the song/music video as it is then mentioned in magazines, online articles, newspapers, social media, etc. From this publicity, more people decide to listen/ watch to the song/music video in question and therefore, increases viewings and sales and further increasing profit and turnover. Rihanna has many millions of fans and so the record label believe that if the content she was producing was so harmful, why would so many people like, appreciate and idolise her? Most of what is supposed to be censored of Rihanna's are excerpts of her life. She writes songs about her personal experiences for example, abusive relationships. When this is censored, the audience cannot relate as well and so the meaning and emotion intended for the song cannot be put across. Consequently, this restricts giving the audience what they want. Because of her popularity, she is influencing pop today as it is not the same as it once was, today it is perceived differently and a lot more explicit. Rihanna is a human just like everyone else, and she as an artist should be able to do what she wants and as a record label, they will support her through this.

Parents - For Censorship
There are many parents that are concerned for their child's exposure to content displayed through media in music videos, television programmes, songs, etc. Therefore, they are in favour of censorship which is supported by the following study carried out by Ofcom. They found that on a research of 1,054 parents, all of them agreed on a concern about music videos. They voted on their main concerns: 
- (6%) Sexually explicit content
- (6%) Overly sexual performances
- (5%) Offensive language
- (5%) Nakedness/ nudity
- (4%) Unsuitable content of a sexual nature
The parents for censorship believe that children need a good role model and are likely to copy and receive influence from their favourite artists. If some artists are censored, this prevents any harmful or offensive content to be exposed to the younger generations and allows them to maintain a positive, inspirational role model. Miley Cyrus was a childhood sensation in which many young children loved and aspired to be like. This was because she was in Disney Channel's 'Hannah Montana' displaying a positive attitude to her career, caring for others, politeness and family orientation. She has recently transformed from her previous years where she now has a whole different physical look about her and wears minimal clothing. From the way that she has influenced so many girls from a young age, they are likely to further copy what she does as part of her transformation as this may be seen to young girls as how to 'grow up'. 

By censoring some of her content, parents believe that it shows that it is wrong and immoral for example, in her video 'Wrecking Ball' nudity is displayed which could influence younger girls as because she Miley was such as influential childhood figure, young children may not understand what is wrong about it.


Some of these parents also think that artists should be successful because they are talented, not popular for their sexual appeal which many artists of today seem to use to seek popularity and success. For example, artists such as Rihanna, Miley Cyrus and Iggy Azalea all wear revealing outfits and perform in a sexual manner in some of their videos. Parents put the question forward of, will anyone remember these type of artists like they remember artists such as Whitney Housten and Eva Cassidy? Nowadays, the need for parental guidance has never been greater and children need to be reminded of morals - especially since the advance in technology. Having censorship helps parents from protecting and controlling what their children can see and listen to. Parent's believe that lyrics just as much as visual content need to be censored. Rihanna's 'S & M' is a prime example of this as children are quick to catch onto the memorable melody of the songs of which the lyrics they are oblivious to their meaning. A 10 year old singing lyrics such as 'sex in the air, I don't care I love the smell of it' raises huge concern, not just in the home. At school, children could possibly find themselves in trouble from their reference to this language, influencing others and still feeling innocent as they simple are unknowing as to what the meaning behind the lyrics are. Parents further claim that all songs in the present day seem to be based around sex, alcohol or drugs. For example, there are undertones of drug use in 'Diamonds' by Rihanna and sexual references in 'Rude Boy' and 'What's My Name?' - another two of Rihanna's hits. Younger generations are oblivious to the harmful effects of alcohol and drugs because their favourite artists such as Rihanna rave about how good they are from the temporary happiness in which they supply. Parents find it difficult to see what is wrong with the happiness reflected in The Beatles, The Beach Boys and Take That and why there are not artists such as these around today.

Parents - Against Censorship
Many parents have the opposing view who are against censorship. For example, they don't understand the problem with exposing nudity as they say that it is natural and helps people be aware of their body. Smoking is a common feature in Rihanna's videos as an example, but some parents do not take this as offensive as 10 million people smoke in the UK alone so children will have witnessed this in their day-to-day life and so seeing it in a music video makes no difference. Likewise with drugs being a common feature in music videos, 158.8 million people smoke weed around the world, many of those being younger generations. Having this in music videos makes also no difference because children are adapting to knowing of acts such as this. If this is what an artist wants to do, let them do it, parents say. It promotes values of doing and making decisions in which they want and this therefore is seen as illustrating freedom which is a good influence on children of today. Gambling is also found in many music videos which is not seen as offensive by some parents as they believe that their child needs to be aware of gambling because the outcomes could be negative, but also positive. If they are not somehow made aware of this they will never understand how gambling works. From the age of 16, you can enter the lottery which could be seen as a form of gambling and so from this age, it is expected that they would understand the risks of gambling. Only 2% of 12 - 15 year olds exposure to gambling actually develop an addiction - not many at all. Consumption of alcohol is not only featured in Rihanna's videos but many other artists out there today. Some parents do not see this as harmful to show as the younger generation naturally are experimenting at this time in their life and drinking alcohol is one of these experiences. 30% of 12 year olds have tasted alcohol before and at the age of 7 have had their first sip. Therefore, alcohol is generally a familiar drink in today's society and many parents drink themselves, for example, one glass of red wine a day has been controversially proved to be healthy. This shows that not everything that surrounds alcohol is negative and that alcohol should not necessarily be seen in this tainted light. The anti-social behaviour displayed in some music videos are not seen as a threat to the influence of children from some parents' point of view. The government has implemented that you can go to jail from the age of 10, suggesting that by this age you should take responsibility for your actions, knowing what's right and wrong. Even with lyrics, the amount of people who swear in today's day and age is higher than ever before. It is unlikely that a child has not heard a swear word once in their life and this could even be by a member of the family - including the parents. Because of the advance in technology, it's difficult for parents to restrict what their children see/listen to anyway because they will somehow manage to get hold of what they want to. These parents also believe that if children are being restricted from seeing particular content it draws more attention to it and makes them want to see/listen to it more. Therefore, as a parent they believe censorship as a whole should not be implemented because children of today are aware of the content contained in the videos/songs anyway. 

Fans - Against Censorship
Fans of Rihanna are fans for a reason. They admire her for the way she is and the music in which she produces and releases. They believe that censorship suppresses her freedom and restricts her from showing her true and genuine personality. Fans believe that if you don't like what you are hearing or watching, nobody is forcing you to listen/watch and it is your decision whether you want to listen/watch to a particular song or video. For example, Rihanna crosses into the R 'n' B genre as well as pop and because she is so well-known across the world, her style is abundant and clear. If you feel you wouldn't like this style fans think you shouldn't associate yourself with it but respect others opinions who do like the type of music that you may not. If Rihanna can express herself in a way that the audience can relate or get to know her better, it allows them to feel closer to her as they are more likely to feel empathetic towards her. For example, 'Love The Way You Lie' expresses a common and serious relatable issue of being involved in a violent or abusive relationship. This is an issue in which some of who watch/listen to Rihanna can relate to and Rihanna promotes the message to speak out about the issue, she also helps to raise awareness. If Rihanna's content was so harmful, why would she have so many fans and people who idolise her? She has 81 million likes on Facebook, 47 million followers on Twitter and 21.2 million followers on Instagram so she must be doing something right by feeling the need to express herself without censorship. Rihanna states that 'censorship can get confused in the public eye' and maybe what censorship suggests is wrong, isn't necessarily and it may simply display an expression of emotion. The target audience for Rihanna are majority around 16 years old and so at this age censorship is not needed as they are aware of what influences them, what decisions to make and what is moral and immoral to them. However, not all fans are against censorship as the Mail Online found that Rihanna's fans were her 'Pour It Up' video that was released in October 2013, and branded her as 'obscene', 'vile' and 'pornographic'. However, as a whole, the majority of fans are in disagreement with censorship as they favour their artist Rihanna. 

Music Channels
MTV - For Censorship (to an extent)
MTV is the most successful music channel that exists and was the first ever music channel to ever be created. They believe that it is their role to protect their audiences from the content of some of the artists work in which they broadcast. To help prevent any harm towards audiences, they are very much loyal to the regulations concerning censorship and only broadcast certain videos after the watershed - illustrating that they are for censorship before the watershed but not after. Their channels have quite a wide audience to satisfy and so by doing this, it allows a variety of audience to be able to watch. Technology has advanced so much in the last decade that younger generations are able to get hold of music and music videos a lot more easily than before. They are able to download music illegally through Youtube converters, online websites and particular apps downloadable on smart phones. Most teens spend at least 2 hours a day listening to music and so if the content breaches the extent of security or offence, MTV do not want to contribute. Therefore, they stay with broadcasting their concerning videos after the watershed. Artists such as Lady Gaga and Madonna censor their videos without MTV having to. To MTV, this displays respect to their broadcasting and also to their mass audience. Having artists that censor their own videos saves time for the music channel, gives a good reputation and makes the channel wat to work with the artist more.
AKA - Against Censorship
AKA is a music channel that broadcasts mainly hip hop genres for example from the likes of Kanye West. The aim of the channel is to mainly expose raw and unsigned talent to the music industry to help them boost and gain a career in something they love. Their intentions are to ensure that everyone achieves their ambitions. AKA's view as a channel on censorship is that it takes away the rawness the artist has as they are restricted from their freedom of speech and cannot display their true emotion. They don't believe that they can broadcast an unsigned talent if they are censored because the audience cannot get to know the artist's true self nor flaunt their creativity. For example, Chris Brown's 'Loyal' contains the lyric 'these hoes ain't loyal' but when censored, 'hoes' is replaced with 'girls'. This gives a whole different meaning to the line, as 'hoes' are seen as more of a negative and disrespectful reference to girls but shows his emotion of how he believes they are untrustworthy and so are worthy of this label. However, by replacing the word with 'girls' the same emotion is not illustrated because 'girls' is more general and neutral. AKA find that this takes away his voice and feelings which censorship should not own the right to because he is his own artist. They also believe that everyone has different morals in different societies so censorship may only be felt to be appropriate for one society, when in another society it may not be much of a concern.

British Radio Stations
BBC Radio 1 - For Censorship
BBC Radio 1 is a radio station that plays many different genres of music compared to other radios. Rihanna's 'S & M' was petitioned against by the host of the radio show, Nick Grimshaw. He did not feel that the content in the song was appropriate for playing on this particular station and so managed to get the song banned from the radio station. The song was further banned in 11 countries. Rihanna was outraged and and took to Twitter to express her feelings by tweeting, 'are you f*cking kidding me?' directing it at Nick Grimshaw specifically to emphasise her disgust. The station feels that there are many other radio stations that exist with a more appropriate audience in which the audience can inoffensively listen to the song. The station want to ensure that their audience are prioritised and that they know how valued they are in relation to what they want the content to consist of. BBC Radio 1 do not want to cause negative effects to their audiences and want to keep ratings high in order to uphold a good reputation. 
Capital Xtra - For and Against Censorship
Capital Xtra is a well-known popular radio station that has many listeners that tune in each day. They believe that artists should be able to express themselves but also that they need to protect their audience by limiting certain songs to being played after the watershed to ensure that younger audiences are not effected. Otherwise they find ways to censor the music themselves which they understand can annoy the artist however they have to consider their audience and their ratings. They censor in different ways either by blanking, bleeping, re-sampling, back-masking or repeating. The artists can become annoyed because this can distort their music, consequently making it not to make sense however, at the end of the day it protects the audience from offensive content and that is what matters for the radio station. The radio station want to keep a clean and good reputation which can prove difficult in some cases, especially in reference to censorship. Because the subject has such a wide range in controversy with people holding many different views on it, it can be difficult to satisfy all audiences. The station find that by waiting for after the watershed to play the uncensored songs, this is the best and most effective way to please the majority of their audience. 

Overall, most disagree with censorship believing that it restricts an artist from being able to express themselves as the true person in which they are. It means that the person you are listening to is not their true self and is a distorted and manipulated version of who they are. I believe that artists shouldn't have their videos censored because in modern society, literally anyone is able to get hold of anything as long as it is out there somewhere. There has been a suggested idea that if an artist should create two music videos, one censored/appropriate video and one explicit. Although this may seem like a good idea to some, I disagree because I believe that when you are told you can't watch/listen to something it makes you want to see it more. Therefore, if there were two versions of video for one song, audiences would still want to see the explicit one because naturally that is the reaction we feel. I think in my production however, I am going to follow censorship rules, simply because there are many genres that do not need censorship because they do not have any controversially offensive or harmful content within them. These type of genres are the genres I would like my music video to be like and so because of his I will follow censorship rules. Furthermore, censorship can affect someone to an extent which I would not want to cause harm to.

Research into Goodwin's Theory - Miss Georgiou

Andrew Goodwin writing in 'Dancing in the Distraction Factory' (Routledge 1992) stated a theory in which he made about music videos. He came up with 7 points that he believes is the basis for and is evident in every music video. I am going to elaborate on each of his 7 theory points linking them to Ed Sheeran's 'The A Team' music video through analysis. Considering Goodwin's theory is essential when analysing music videos because he claims that these 7 points help to ensure audience engagement and the ability to build a relationship between the artist and the audience.

Goodwin's first point is that music videos demonstrate particular genre characteristics and conventions. The genre of this music video is Indie, which is displayed throughout down to the stereotypical features shown within. A typical characteristic of the Indie genre is that the music videos are primarily narrative in type and display a story that links to the song's meaning. For example, the music video displays a young woman who is living fairly rough, she doesn't have a 'proper' job but is inferred to be earning most of her living through prostitution where she is also at risk of being violently abused. The money that she then earns is spent on drugs and the video suggests that this is generally her life - an unhealthy, vicious circle. The start and ending of the video are very similar as they both display the outcome of her actions - her life taken away from her. The narrative is prioritised throughout as there is no performance aspect of the video from the artist himself. This brings me to another convention of the Indie genre, which is that because the narrative is so prominent, the artist does not feature very much in the video or not at all. This is displayed distinctively in this music video, as the artist only features within it once and for a very short period of time - so short in fact, that he could be mistaken for another actor. He is seen interacting with the young woman, representing him as being caring and thoughtful for someone in her situation and this is emphasised by the way he is the only one who stops on the street to talk to her, (shown below):

This represents him in a positive light as an artist and more likely for him to increase his likability and connection with the audience. The editing is also conventional throughout, as there is a black and white filter evident. This makes the video quirky and unique compared to other music videos, also displaying a particular emotion that may want to be put across, in this instance, it could be the simplicity of this young woman's life. 

The next theory point of Goodwin's is that there is a relationship between the lyrics and the visuals. This is abundantly clear through the lyric 'her face seems, slowly sinking, wasting, crumbling like pastries' whilst displaying a close up shot of the young woman:

Her emotion is clearly unhappy and unstable in the way that her eyes are watering, her makeup is running and she is resting on her hand/wrist. The black and white filter adds to the sombre tone of her emotion and emphasises the fact that her life is obviously not creating a positive impact on her as a person. The running of her makeup reflects the 'sinking' and 'wasting' lyric, whilst the 'crumbling' lyric displays her watering eyes as she is breaking down. This makes the audience feel sympathetic towards her as her emotion is emphasised, but they also feel empathetic too, due to the way that the lyrics are linked with the visuals. This therefore allows the audience to build a relationship because they can feel more connected to the video. Having this emotion portrayed so clearly means that, the narrative is more believable and as this is a convention of indie genre music videos, this means that the convention is strengthened as it is more believable. As well as this, 'go mad for a couple grams' is sung just as the woman is buying drugs:

This shows how desperate she is, as the lyrics of 'the worst things in life come free to us, cause we're all under the upper hand' suggests the violence in which she is getting from the prostitution. It is ironic because although the violence is free, she's essentially getting paid for it because she is a prostitute which could be seen as abuse in itself. Followed by this lyric referring to drugs, 'go mad for a couple grams', illustrates that her life must be so meaningless that she feels so desperate to sacrifice her reputation and persona in order to seek happiness through drugs, as it is her only escape from her life and only way to make herself feel better. The way the visuals mirror this reinforces the meaning and desperation that she feels and makes the audience feel sympathetic towards her and the situation she is in. This is conventional to the indie genre as the narrative within is usually sad or follows a negative or influential story. Moreover, the way she clenches the drugs after she is handed them really emphasises how precious and valued drugs are to her:

The drugs act as something she can hold on to and depend on to make her happy, which suggests why she continues the same life in order to seek the temporary happiness which the drugs give her. Not only does this engage the audience into the video but it allows them to think about all the other people present in today's age that suffer from addiction to drugs/alcohol, etc. This visual helps the audience understand how desperate they can become and how much value can be placed on something that an outsider may seem as being easy to let go of. Conventionality to the indie genre is illustrated here, as the artist is not seen being related to the negative aspects such as drugs/alcohol, which could essentially put reflect them into a 'bad' light. The artist is singing about someone else, and so their reputation is not at risk and the character in the video can be fully and rawly explored. Another relationship between the lyrics and visuals is displayed at the very end during the last line of the song, where instead of singing 'angels to fly' which is previously heard throughout the song, it variates by altering to 'angels to die'. As shown below, this shows the woman dying, presenting her outcome and the consequence of her lifestyle. This makes the audience feel engaged as they have been able to witness how she has lived her life and the way in which it has effected her right until the very end. 

Similar to the last theory point, Goodwin's next point is that there is a relationship between the music and the visuals in the video. This is shown during the screenshot taken below:

The young woman is shown in shot, walking through the street to the beat/rhythm of the music. This ensures that the music is still an appreciated aspect of the video, which is important and essential when a music video is primarily narrative based. The rhythm and tempo is quite steady at this point reflecting her way of just going with the flow of her life, with no plans, nor sense of direction. This makes the audience feel quite relaxed at this point as, although they can witness that there is something not quite right about her situation, she is still living each day as it comes and making her way through life. Another part of the music video where the visuals and music share a relationship is near the end where the hook 'angels to fly' is repeated. From the moment screenshotted below, the music rhythm begins to feel slightly quicker as the guitar seems like its strummed more prominently, likewise with the young woman's actions becoming quicker. She takes off her coat, lights candles and takes her drugs in a faster-paced manner reflecting the way her death is quickly approaching. This makes the audience feel tense but engaged because a sense of foreboding is created, as they can predict what is going to happen and they know it isn't going to be good. 

The fourth point of Goodwin's is that the demands of record labels will want lots of close ups of the artist and the artist may develop motifs that will reoccur across their work. Ed Sheeran doesn't actually feature with any close ups in this video, however, this was probably his first song to 'get him out there' and that made him to be widely recognised within the music industry. Audiences wouldn't have known much about him anyway an as an artist himself he has said that he felt 'concerned' from the way his look wasn't like a 'typical singer' in which we see today. However, as an artist he has become a global sensation and is featured a lot more frequently in his more recent music videos. This part of Goodwin's theory may be seen as unconventional in this music video however, although the artist himself isn't shown in any close ups, the actress in the video is, which helps portray the emotion within the song, which is conventional to the indie genre as they are expected to show a deeper meaning and emotion through the way the visuals are displayed:

Goodwin's fifth theoretical point is that there is frequently reference to notion of looking and particularly voyeuristic treatment of the female body. This is shown below:

In the first screenshot the woman is wearing revealing clothing with her hair up which also emphasises this. This shows her in a voyeuristic way as the lighting is also fairly dim which allows attention to be drawn to her. She isn't looking directly at the camera which makes the audience seem like she is oblivious to the fact that she is being watched and so the audience become voyeuristic. Likewise with the second screenshot, the fishnet tights are a stereotypical item of clothing as part of mise-en-scene for a prostitute. The way they are ripped demonstrates her vulnerability and maybe her overuse of them. This shows that she is not afraid to be treated in the way that she is as she knows what she can get out of it at the end - money for drugs. Her legs are shown in a panning shot which follows a hand that is on her leg which displays the audience being voyeuristic and gives them an insight into what her life is really like and what she has to go through in order to seek happiness by the end. 

The sixth theory point of Goodwin's is that there is often intertextual reference. This music video seems to contradict this theory as there isn't any noticeable intertextual reference. Films, tv programmes or other music videos are not featured within and so, not having this makes this music video quite unique. Fundamentally, this aspect of the music video is unconventional to Goodwin's theory, however makes it conventional to the indie genre. This is because in indie genre music videos, intertextual reference is rare as emotion is usually displayed through the characters displayed and the rawness of the acting within. This is achieved without the influence of intertextual reference. 

Goodwin's final theory point is that the video is primarily based on performance, narrative or concept. This theory point is reflected in this music video conventionally. It is evidently narrative based as throughout the whole video there is no performance whatsoever and only at the end do you discover a concept side to the video. Narrative all the way through engages the audience as they are able to build a relationship and connection with the young woman that the story is about as she is the main character and the centre of attention of the video. As discussed previously in this post the narrative is based on a young woman who's consequences of her lifestyle lead her to her death. As an audience, you see how this woman lives her life each day and what she has to go through in order to get what she wants - drugs. Only until the ending where the woman dies do you notice a concept behind the video. It teaches the audience that drugs are life threatening and although you may feel like they won't harm you to that extent, there may be a day when you don't expect it to happen and it does. It also teaches people to be caring for others in the way that the artist was when he stopped in the street for the woman to take the time to talk to her. 

By analysing Goodwin's theory, it will assist me with my planning my own music video as it has helped me identify what works within a music video in order to make the audience feel engaged and able to build a relationship with. I would like to make my music video conventional to the genre that my video will be in as I find that gives the audience some familiarity and relatable nature within it. I also like the links between the lyrics and visuals, as well as the relationship between the music and visuals - I think they work really well when trying to emphasise a meaning or relevance to a particular section in the song. Therefore, I would like to include these characteristics in my own music video.