Music videos demonstrate gender characteristics

• This is very much evident in this video. There are 3 main characters: 2 men and a woman. The video is set in a private burlesque club, so the women are all just entertainment for the men to watch and ‘play with’. The men are all lazy and greedy, shown with fat, dull looking characters.

• We see the women dancing and flirting for the men, showing them just as sexual objects.

The main man in the club is jealous, greedy and powerful. This is often stereotypical representations of men.

Is there a relationship between the lyrics and the visuals.

• The video reflects and illustrates the lyrics of the song.

The story of the film shows a love triangle between an obviously powerful man, his burlesque ‘lover’ and her true lover, and we see the jealously of the two men as she switches between them. The lyrics talk about the singer’s jealously, apparently towards his lover, as she is with another man. ‘Now they’re going to bed, and my stomach is sick’. This is a representation of the lyrics, but may not have been what the actual scenario of the song was. One shot shows the 2 men in conflict, and it fades to a shot of the woman they both love, so the shot shows their whole relationship.

‘And I just can’t look, it’s killing me’, is reflected in the singer’s inability to do anything, due to being an employee of the club, in the band.

Is there a relationship between the music and the visuals?

• The shots cuts often on the beat of the music.

Focuses on a band member when that music is more prominent. For example, before the chorus, it cuts to shots of the guitarist and the drummer. This establishes to the audience the members of the band.

Although his dancing is mostly reflecting the lyrics, it’s still to the beat of the music, and the singer emphasizes the beat through his movements.

As part of the story in the video, the women dance for the men. However, this is obviously to the the music, so links the music and the visuals.

The demands of the record label will include the need for lots of close ups of the artist and the artist may

develop motives which recur across their work.• There are many close ups of the lead singer in the band. This is as he is an

attractive young male, who would appeal to a female audience, and thus draw in fans.

Record labels often like bands to have their own image. Although his outfit is old fashioned, in fitting with the story of the video, it’s also in fitting with ‘indie style’, with his slim fitting suit. This will also appeal him to his fan base, of indie music lovers. He is also wearing eyeliner. This establishes him as an ‘interesting’ person.

• The video opens on a shot of the band. This establishes the band to the viewer. Constant cuts back to the singer or the band make sure anyone starting to watch the video at any point will know who the band are.

There are shots of all the members of the band throughout the video. This is to make sure they are recognizable too, and so they can draw in the audience too if they appealed to anyone. They are also dressed in a style that should appeal to the audience.

There is frequently reference to the notion of looking and particularly voyeuristic treatment of

the female body. • There is definitely objectification of the female. The video is set in a burlesque club, so

women are shown as purely sexual objects. Their dances are very sexual, to please the men sitting around.

• However, the role the band plays in the video shows they are not part of this objectivism. They are merely musicians so work for the company, and don’t look when the girl’s in front of them dance. The singer goes even further, and makes himself appear as the opposite of the men in the club, by truly loving the girl for what she is. This will make him appeal to the female audience.

There is often inter-textual references

• The whole video is a reference to the film ‘Moulin Rouge’ by Baz Luhrmann. It copies the story of a lowly worker in a burlesque club having a love affair with the star of the show, but having the main man in the club also being in love with her, and the conflict this brings. It even brings in the girl collapsing at the end, which may only be understood by those who have seen the film, as it appears unconnected. However, it changes as in the end of the video it shows the singer leaving her, as opposed to the film where she dies.