MIA

This video by MIA has been banned on You Tube but is still available on miauk.com What do you think and what is the artist trying to say through the video ?

Read this article about the artist MIA written by Miranda Sawyer in the Guardian.

We discussed why this video might be banned. The graphic violence including shooting of a young boy and blowing another up with the body literally exploding. CGI effects show the dismemberment of limbs and the slow motion effects show the blood exploding from a bullet wound. Josh felt that he had seen much worse in war films, however and perhaps the lack of dialogue and lack of engagement with characters meant that the power to move an audience was less palpable. At one point a man is seen smoking crack which may be controversial and also leads the viewer to think this may be a simple drugs bust. There is some nudity also but it may be the political message that was too hot for You-Tube. The military clad in black and gas masks have American flags on their uniforms suggesting that the USA persecutes minorities. Those with ginger hair may represent any group that is persecuted for their 'difference'.

Josh felt that it could be a metaphor for the Nazi's who exterminated Gypsies and Jewish people. It could also be read as a comment on Gaza or other places where the majority has a vested interest in removing a minority group. An interesting piece of mise-en-scene is the mural on the wall which depicts 'terrorists / freedom fighters 'and the statement 'our time will come.' This opens up the debate about political violence. It was not long ago that Americans were financing the IRA in Northern Ireland. The artist's own family is of Sri Lanka descent and we could read the struggle of oppressed minorities like the Tamils into the film. News reports suggest that the recent government victory over 'rebel' groups was achieved through massacres of soldiers and civilians on the very beaches that are now being advertised as tourist destinations. Most conflicts have this tension between countries or ethnic groups at root so the video can be seen as raising a mirror to the World.

We discussed the effect of the video on an audience and whether it was too graphic. The artist raises their profile through viral advertising and banning the video only raises awareness and makes audiences want to see what they are missing. Particularly a young media savvy audience of music fans for whom the artist could be a symbol of rebellion. Should this use of shocking subject matter be in a music video which is essentially an advert for a product or does using this medium which can be accessed by a wide audience provide an effective platform for political messages and voices that want to be heard in the anodyne world of popular music.

Lady Ga Ga Again

The prolific releases keep her in the media spotlight as Ga Ga shows she is the heir to MAdonna as the master manipulator and image changer. In this video for Alejandro the allusions to Madonna's Vogue era are obvious providing another elemnet of intertextuality and self referencing the naked materialism and blatant stealing of well worn marketing techniques. Like Madonna she shocks her audience with sexuallised routines and imagery. The whole fetishitic and militaristic / fascist connotations offer the analyst lots of material. Is it about a love affair in fascist Spain under Franco ? Are there allusions to Eva Paeron and Argentina, another MAdonna link through Evita ? Or is Ga Ga just kicking around for eye catching ideas that will be visually memorable and familiar to anyone with a knowledge of popular culture. Like the Tarantinoesque Telephone this one has many intertextual references which make her work read like anseries of in jokes for a media savvy audience much like an episode of the Simpsons. Again the Guardian love to provide their opinion which is great for our study.

The success of launching a music video as an event and making it an internet phenomenon is again seen in the fact that the web-site hosting the new video crashed after a countdown to its launch online. Cynical but effective marketing for a cynical but insatiable consumerist audience.

One reading is that Ga Ga is unable to attract her male gay friends and the video is about unrecquited love. Like Madonna, Ga GA is clearly wanting to be regarded as a gay icon, attracting a lucrative key audience.

A great web-site to aid your own analysis of the videos is the vigilant citizen which attempts to de-construct the messages and values in the song and video.

World Cup adverts

Advertising texts are a great source of material for the media student and these adverts for the World Cup are wonderful texts to study from a variety of angles.

The Nike advert 'Write the Future' was launched during the Champions League final and ITV managed to cut off the Nike branding at the end for viewers in some parts of the UK. The slot cost an estimated £350,000- £500,000. Is advertising on television value for money or is the future of advertising online ? What does this say about the future for ITV and commercial television ?

The World Cup is a real saviour for broadcasters who rely on advertising and this is discussed in another article which says that bookings for advertising are up 25% due to the World Cup.

Make your own mind up about whether this epic works and then research how other audiences have received the advert. In the Guardian the advert gets a pasting.

As an example of interactive media and viral advertising the buzz around the Nike adverts really works as evidenced by the 5 million You Tube viewings in the first four days.

Adidas are hitting back by showing their new advert during England's opening match on Saturday. Again it has been available on the internet so that it becomes viral. This means that people send it on to friends and use social networking tools like twitter and facebook and it becomes an internet phenomenon. Advertisers are incredibly clever in the way they manipulate their audiences, in this case worldwide, in order to make us buy more. Interactive media is becoming the best way to reach key audiences for these products. Iconic figures from the entertainment industry such as Snoop Dogg, Noel Gallagher and Daft Punk provide a global reach and reflect the blurring of sports and entertainment industries brought closer through celebrity and tabloid culture.


Possible questions to reflect upon ;

How do the adverts represent national identities and ethnicity ?
What intertextual references can you identify ?
Why is football a marketeers dream ?
How do the adverts appeal to a global audience ?
Can you define and profile a target audience ?
How are other sponsors and advertisers using the World Cup as a platform to sell their
products ?