An exemplar using 'Bad Romance' by Lady Ga-Ga

How should it be done?

Mind map your ideas and observations as you watch the music video at least three times

Pick four or five key points in the video which you can use to explain the messages and values.  Refer to your key concept in your analysis

De-constructing ‘Bad Romance’ by Lady Ga-Ga

Signifier Denotation What can be denoted What you can see

Signified Connotation What is connoted What the signifier means

White pods open to reveal women in white latex suits which cover their eyes. The women crawl out of these pods which have a sign of the cross on with the word ‘Monster’ in red The eyes of the innocent Lady Ga-Ga are widened and it is only when she is forced to drink a potion or some alcohol that her resistance to what she is being made to do ends and she embraces the role that the corporation desires A near naked Lady Ga-Ga dances provocatively for a group of masked men who bid for the increasingly confident dancer. In a final shot the artist is now lying on a bed smoking a cigarette with the charred corpse of a man beside her

The white pods may be some sort of chrysalis or egg that has been artificially hatched by a corporation called ‘Monster’.  The setting is white and clinical suggesting a futuristic, science fiction scenario where women are literally grown for the pleasure of corporations.  This intertextuality could refer to films such as ‘Bladerunner’, where there are ‘pleasure model’ robots creating by the Nexus corporation. The message may be that female artists are constructed by music corporations to feed the  demands of a male audience.  At this point the women are blind and innocent accentuated by their literal blindness and wearing of all white.  The dance moves are jerky and suggest the awkward moves of someone new to the world. The connotation of wide eyes suggest innocence and the ‘doe eyes’ of a fawn.  It is the potion that corrupts the innocent which may suggest that it is some form of corruption that makes the artist feel that they need to conform to the expectations of the corporation and a male audience. By appropriating the expected persona of a female artist in the music industry the character finds a quick way to wealth and status. However, is the price to pay too much in terms of degrading oneself and re-inforcing negative stereotypes used to sell brands in the entertainment industries. This image would suggest that the once naïve and innocent artist is now in a position to burn and destroy the patriarchal symbols of the corporate world. The artist is in control, having taken on the role as an outrageous performer who fulfils the role of male fantasy. This may connote that it is the artist, Lady Ga-Ga who is now in control of her representation and her destiny.

Other questions that you could consider

How does the video link with the lyrics?

How do the messages and values in the video allow Lady Ga-Ga to explain her own position in relation to the entertainment industries?

Do you consider Lady Ga-Ga to be a strong role model for women or to be complicit in problematic representations of gender?

What is the purpose of this music video?

Does product placement undermine her artistic integrity?

Do female artists have to 'prostitute' themselves to get a head in this industry? 

How do artists construct representations of themselves?

Do audiences want to consume Lady Ga Ga's music videos?

How does Lady Ga Ga manipulate the media?

How has she used the music video form to enhance her brand?

How has Lady Ga Ga developed her global brand in a digital age?



TASK

We will be de-constructing a series of music videos in classes.  You need to write these up on your web-logs. 

Your assessed task in September will be to produce a textual analysis of a contemporary music video.  You need to choose an appropriate video and begin research by reading about audience reception and different readings in a variety of media such as newspapers and blogs.  Make sure that you identify your sources.

I will need a copy printed off as a word document. This will be assessed and  written feedback will be provided.