Artist: Kasabian Song: Empire

Analysis for Goodwin’s features and audience

Relationship between the music and the visuals

• There is a relationship between the music and the visuals with the sounds of drums at the start in the music, matching with the theme of the Crimean War being illustrated in the video. This is shown by the band in characters as they march through a field in rhythm, very directly much like the sound of drums.

• Shots of the band in character as soldiers, with the lead vocalist lip-syncing the singing, are very aggressive as they march very purposefully. This adds a lot of emotion to the video

Relationship between the lyrics and the video

• There is also a relationship between the lyrics and the video, with lyrics such as “we’re wasting away” being illustrated through shots of the band sat looking gloomy in a trench with nothing but their instruments.

• Lyrics such as “I’ll tell you what to fear the most” and “Stop! It’s happening again” add to build the atmosphere that the music video could be promoting the anti-war campaign.

• This is supported through the significant close up shot of the boys blood amongst the mud

Particular music videos may have their own style or iconography

• The particular theme in this music video is the theme of the Crimean War, in which the band play the characters of soldiers.

• They make war out to be very much a negative involvement, particularly for the soldiers. This is done through shots of the generals which show their life as easy and pampered and completely different to the soldiers. The generals get maids, nice food, fanned and generally look happy despite a war in progress whereas the soldiers look miserable, depressed and dirty as they are sat in a muddy trench.

• There are other ways that this is highlighted, such as the weather being nice and sunny for the generals and dark and cloudy for the soldiers and the generals get a glass for their alcohol where the soldier is seen drinking from a flask.

• Furthermore, this suggests an alternative theme of anti-war. This is portrayed through the difficult conditions for the soldiers at the start and the enemy soldiers turning on their general at the end and not shooting the original soldier.

Close ups of the main artist or vocalist• There are lots of shots of the main vocalist in character as a soldier such as at the start when in the

trench when the messenger-boy is killed and when on his knees waiting to be shot at the end. This is done to show the emotion of the character/main artist, and there are lots of close-ups because war can be an emotional, passionate but at the same time sensitive topic.

Reference to Voyeurism• There are some references to Voyeurism, but not in the sexual

exploitation of women in this instance.• In these scenes, the wealthy generals are looking out upon the

soldiers as they march towards enemy territory. Close-ups and Mid-shots are used in this instance to highlight the class difference between the two and how unfair war can actually be which backs up the subject of anti-war in the video.

Intertextual references• There are intertextual references in the music video, although no references to

other music videos or television shows.• Instead, there is reference to the Crimean War, October 1853 – February 1856,

which was a conflict between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the French Empire, the British Empire and the Ottoman Empire and the Kingdom of Sardinia. Most of the conflict took place on the Crimean Peninsula.

• The war was part of a long-running contest between the major European powers for influence over territories of the declining Ottoman Empire.

Audience• This screenshot of the

viewing details for ‘Empire’ by Kasabian shows that it currently has 2,832,688 views. The video first became popular when it’s first referral from YouTube search was ‘kasabian empire.’

• The video is most popular in the United Kingdom, but also viewed a lot in Poland and Italy.

• The top demographics show that the video is most admired by females ages 13-17 years, and Males aged 35-44 years.