Music Videos

TAYLOR SWIFT – BAD BLOOD

Taylor Swift’s Bad Blood has an interesting example of genre, it is a mix between a performative and narrative elements embedded within the video.

Kill Bill Intertextuality

The music video is made to look like it is the opening scene of an action film which is using intertextuality of meanings within film. The intertextuality is in reference to action films which start with a fight scene and then progress later on in the film. The opening scene also shares conventions with Kill Bill – a film which Swift took ideas from and changed to use intertextuality within the music video she was creating. It allows viewers who are watching the video to see something the recognise within the music video. It can show things that the target audience could see and identify with.

Star Persona

The video has the women in the film portraying a strong female character – leaving their star persona behind while in the video to become entranced by their character. However the women in the video are wearing sexualised outfits and sexualised clothing for the male gaze. The male gaze is the theory by Laura Mulvie where men watch women and women watch other women being watched. The male audience use the theory of male gaze while looking at all the stars.

Tron Intertextuality

There are other intertextual references within the film such as the scene when Swift is on a bike – it is a reference to a Walt Disney production where the film uses bikes such as seen in the video to drive around.

Hunger Games Intertextuality

There are also references to The Hunger Games where the stars are in a training scene and the classing walking away from fire scene which is also seen in many other films where the protagonist walks away from films.

Narrative Elements

In the video the conflict that the protagonist has is with another woman which can link to Swift’s life and what was going on in Swift’s life at the time.

BEYONCE – FORMATION

Beyonce’s music video of Formation has many references to intertextuality explored.

Antebellum Dress

One of the first ones is that Beyonce is seen wearing a dress that was worn by white women in the south of America; the Antebellum dress. The iconography used in Beyonce’s music video shows that she is rich and that she is using cultural heritage throughout all of the video and not just when she’s just using the cultural heritage of the Antebellum dress. The women are wearing the dresses to reinforce a political point over the treatment of black people in America.

Hurricane Katrina

There are other issues of intertextuality when the Hurricane in New Orleans. Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, Louisiana in August 2005 and ended up flooding New Orleans and causing catastrophic damage to the city. In Hurricane Katrina there were over 1,200 deaths. The Formation music video explores Hurricane Katrina and portrays Beyonce sat on top of a police car which is in water to show the effects of Hurricane Katrina and the catastrophic damage that the category 5 hurricane caused.

Police Brutality

Another intertextual reference in the music video is the political statements that allude to the treatment of Americans. A scene in the music video has graffiti which suggests that the treatment of people in America hasn’t changed and that the government isn’t doing anything to stop it. Police brutality is also shown in the music video when there is a little child dancing in front of police officers who are dressed in what seems to be tactical gear and then when dancing the child lifts their arms up to show the ‘don’t shoot’ move. It is a move commonly used when someone is being arrested and the police officers are repeating the move to show that they are being inclined to follow orders that they tell other people – a role reversal of sorts.

Black Lives Matter

It also references to ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement. Black Lives Matter is an international activist movement that campaigns to stop violence and systemic racism towards black people. Beyonce alludes to this with the graffiti and the police putting their arms up. Beyonce is standing up against police brutality with the gestures that they’re using within the video.