Controlled Assessment

Question
The analytical assignment 800-1,500
words

Compare the representation of

gender in two different music
videos: Candy Shop by 50 Cent
and Playing God by Paramore.

 a medium shot
of a woman
from the future
attempting to
escape from a
test tube with
no hope, which
connotes
her
entrapment in
our society
Represents
women as
being
trapped
The song'smusic videowas written, directed, and
within
edited byRussell Mulcahy, (1979)and is wellnarrow roles
remembered as thefirst music videoshown on
in society?
MTVin the United States at 12:01am on 1 August
1981, and the first video shown onMTV Classicin

RECAPThe purpose of the Music Video

Promotes a single and, normally, an album (marketing!)

Promotes the artist or band
Creates, adapts or feeds into a star image
Entertains the audience
Sets the meanings of a song by the use of images
To promote the director many film directors began in
music videos
To represent the ideology of the institution, and
deliver a message to the audience.

Read Handout on Ideology

P21

What is Ideology?
An ideology is a world view, a system of values,

attitudes and beliefs which an individual, group or

society holds to be true or important; these are
shared by a culture or society about how that society
should function.
Consumerism dominant ideology in western world
Person has more self worth if they have more

materialistic possessions and we will be happier.

Some dominant ideologies

Capitalism. The production of
capital and consumption of
surplus value as a life goal.
Patriotism. To love, support
and protect ones country and
its people.
Marriage and family. The
right way to live is to marry an
opposite-sex partner and have
children.

Male superiority. Men are

more suited to positions of
power, and more suited to
decision-making at work and at
home.

Representation:
Music videos display a certain ideology.
Mainstream artists/ genres will often

reinforce dominant values and display

stereotypes in order to have mass appeal.
While more alternative artists/ genres may
feature shocking or unconventional imagery
and messages in their videos in order to appear
anti-establishment (go against the
dominant ideology!).

Paramore (alternative)
Strong ideological message
Via codes and conventions
Constructs a particular representation
Which effects the viewer

50 Cent (Mainstream)

reinforce dominant values

and display stereotypes
in order to have mass appeal

What do you think the

ideology (values) is behind this video?
The video starts with a girl c. 1952, sitting in
front of a radio. A black-and-white shot of
Trevor Horn singing into a radio-era
microphone is altered over the girl by the
radio. The radio blows up by the time of the
first chorus, and then in the second verse,
she is seen transported into the future, where
she meets Horn and a silver-jumpsuited
female in a clear plastic tube. Shots of Horn
and Geoff Downes are shown during the
remainder of the video.

"It came from this idea that

technology was on the verge of
changing everything. Video
recorders had just come along,
which changed people's lives. We'd
seem people starting to make
videos as well, and we were
excited by that. It felt like radio
was the past and video was the
future. The was a shift coming."

It's perfect that "Video Killed The Radio Star" was

the first video to air on MTV.
Prior to music videos, you could listen to all kinds of
music on the radio and often, you never knew (or
even cared) what the person or group singing the
song looked like. It didn't matter. You tuned in for
the music. You were not swayed one way or the other
by the physical appearance of that person or persons
singing your favorite songs.
Once the visual component to the songs came to the
forefront, "the music video" much more judgement
was passed about how all these singers looked, how

Genre conventions
The video is edited to the pace and
rhythm of the song
An element of performance is present
in the video
A lack of diegetic sound or ambient
sound
A connection between the narrative
and themes of the video and lyrics of
the song
The artists presence in the video

Research
'Candy Shop-50 Cent' and 'Playing God-Paramore
What kind of information would be important to find, to help in
your representation essay?
What album is it on?
Record label (Mainstream/ Alternative)
The genre of music Conventions HipHop and Alternative
Rock
Target audience?
Previous work/ influence
Who made the music video what do we know about them?
Reception (what people thought of the song)
Thoughts on men/women? (values)
Key dates/ information
(MAKE A NOTE OF WHERE YOU FOUND THE INFO!!!)

Conventions first!
Create a MOOD BOARD for both
Alternative Rock
Hip Hop

Sooo...Conventions

Costume?
Props?
Settings?
Facial expressions
Positioning?
Camera shots?
Editing?
Performance/ narrative/

Hip Hop Conventions

Sooo... Alternative Rock

Conventions

Costume?
Props?
Settings?
Facial expressions
Positioning?
Camera shots?
Editing?
Performance/ narrative/

 'Candy Shop-50 Cent' which is an R&B/hip-hop

song.
On the The Massacre Album 2005
Aftermath Entertainment, Shady Records and
Interscope Records.
The target audience for this genre are
teenagers and young adults, ages 16-25, both
male and female, who buy clothes from stores
such as Nike, Adidas, Hugo Boss, Prada and
Giorgio Armani.
50 Cent is an American rapper from New York
Commercialise his music by sexualising women
and their bodies.
He is one of the most successful recording
artists of the past decade
And his name has evolved into a brand
responsible for clothing lines, video games,
toiletries and 50 cent branded platinum.
He is now a respected business man and
currently signed to Caroline Records and Capitol
Records having diversified away from the music
industry.
Makes films

"Sugar (Gimme Some)

2004
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=
ryAQEK4IyG8
Similarities?
Differences?

 AmericanrockbandParamore
thirdstudio album,Brand New Eyes(2009).
The song was written by the band's lead singerHayley Williams, lead
guitaristJosh Farro, and rhythm guitarist Taylor York, and produced byRob
Cavallo, and the band.
It was released as the finalsinglefrom the album on November 15, 2010..
The song was well received bymusic criticsand
well
on the
music
What did
I love
about
the
songcharts
is
during the time of the song's
the contrast between the
release.
subject matter and the

melody. The song, at its core,

is very angry. I'm ripping at
self-righteous people,
ripping at my own
bandmates and anyone
who ever made me feel
not good enough. But the
overall tone of the song is
completely different. It's laid
back and really funI love
the call and response vocal
that Josh and I did. I feel like
this song is one of those that
we've been waiting to write
for a long time."

 The music video to

promote the single
was filmed on
November 2, 2010
Directed by Brandon
Chesbro, who
directed the band's
previous videos, "
The Only Exception"
and "Careful".
The video is meant to
be a sequel to "
Ignorance", as Hayley
is getting revenge on
her band mates for
doing same exact
thing to her not too
long ago.

 "Playing God" is about people who

shove their beliefs down someone's
throat. They wanted to make the
video like the one with the glasses is
herself and the one without the
glasses and the other people is the
very fake religious one. The song and
video is basically about judging
people

task

Screen shots with analysis

Eg
Low angle of 50 cent
getting out of a fancy
red sports car.

Low angle = powerful

man
Red= passion/ sex/
danger ("Go-getter
types may pick a red
car,)
Luxury Sports car =
Rich, appeals to
women?

close up shot of the

name of the castle
which is Candy Shop
and then the camera
pans around showing
the setting.

A candy shop = playful

place with lots of
sweets. SIGNIFIES/
CONNOTEs 50 cent is
objectifying the
women as he is
suggesting that he can
play with them and

Paramore
The lighting of this
shot is dim, through
low key lighting.
Hayley Williams is
always shown in
brighter, high key
lighting.

Could Signify that the

men are insignificant
and that the female is
more important than
the man.

Use of Mise en scene.

1950s Dress and
hairstyle
Bringing tea
In typical clean and
fresh American
house pastel
colours.
Signifies a traditional
housewife

Women are
represented here
as the Traditional
Housewife.
Although the pink
hair would suggest
otherwise!
Paramore playing
with this idea that
this is the
stereotypical
woman's role and

Target Audience
https://yougov.co.uk/opi/profileslite#/

Reasons
To appeal to the audience!
Get information/ understand the world
Identify with characters/ myself (comparison)
Social interaction talk with friends
Entertainment (Diversion)
Think about something/ change
perspectives/ reinforce

Gender representation
Characters
Camera shot size/ angle
Mise en scene Props/ lighting/
costume/ hair/ makeup
Editing
Sound Any diegetic sounds?
Genre conventions Music Video, Hip
Hop, Rock

Essay

Introduction
Main body
Conclusion
Read exemplar in handbook