Music Video Textual Analysis: Robin Thicke: Blurred Lines

Shot type and camera movement:The shot is a close-up which allows the audience to see a detailed picture, and it is also a two shot which enables us to see both characters. The camera gives a stable image, however is handheld.

Analysis: In this close-up two shot, the audience get to see an insight into their intimate moment. The close-up is a convention of a pop music video, and helps to emphasise the artist’s visual style according to Goodwin’s theory.

The positioning of the two subjects reveal to the audience that they are getting on very well, and a sexual undertone is created. The woman has her shoulders rubbing against his, and this presents her as flirtatious. She also has bright red lipstick which draws attention to her lips, and the colour connotes her being provocative and alluring for men. He looks down her body, and then looks up at her which supports Mulvey’s theory of the male gaze, and whilst lip syncing the words, she dances against him. This reveals to the audience that he is more important, and that she is subordinate in comparison to him.

Music/lyrics: “Hey hey hey, uh.” This isn’t particularly descriptive of their actions, and doesn’t explicitly link the lyrics to the image.

Edit/transitions: The shot itself is actually quite long, and does a subtle zoom out when he is lip syncing and the woman appears. However there are no transitions and cuts straight to the next shot.

Shot type and camera movement: The shot is a wide shot, and therefore enables us to see all of the characters, and a little bit of space above and below. The camera once again is handheld, and gives the audience the impression that we are actually there, and are involved with the whole video.

Analysis: The shot is on a straight angle, and doesn’t use any high or low angles. The woman walks backwards towards the man, which presents her as alluring.

The fact that she walks towards him suggests to us, the audience, that she is sexualising herself, and trying to impress the man, and therefore she is responsible for the construction of her representation. There are 3 characters in the frame, and they are each placed on a 1/3 line if referencing the rule of thirds. The women are dressed in white, which would typically connote purity, and the singular man in the middle is wearing all black. This stark contrast in both colour and associations emphasises his connotations, which are connotes evil and

dangerous. The 2:1 ratio of women to men shows that these men are popular and are the stars of the video, and that the women are just there in the background, and like the males’ attention. This is supported by Mulvey’s theory of the male gaze, and that women are there for the male’s benefit. They are wearing crop tops, and short shorts. Not only this, one is wearing plastic to cover her skin, which is transparent.

Music/lyrics: “One thing I ask of you, lemme be the one you bring that ass up to.” This line creates a relationship between the lyrics, the song, and the visuals, and this is a convention of pop music. The relationship keeps the audience engaged, and ensures that they are ingesting both auditory and visual information.

Edit/transitions: The editing is very fast, and we do not have the shot shown to us for very long. This keeps the audience engaged, and doesn’t allow the audience to predict what might be coming next. There are no transitions between the shots and this also helps to keep the overall flow of the video going. The music itself is very upbeat, and the editing is appropriate for the style of music. The fact that it is upbeat adheres to pop music video conventions (Goodwin).

Shot type and camera movement: Mid shot and handheld.

Analysis: The man is holding her hair by her pony tail, and mimics a man holding a dog on a lead. This suggests that he is more important, and that she is just a mere object.

When the woman walks out of the frame, he walks along, still holding her hair, and looking at the camera pulling a smug face. The camera stays in the same place, and it’s the male character that walks out of the frame. This reveals that he is going elsewhere, and taking the woman with him. His countenance shows that he is proud of what he is doing, and this suggests to the audience that it is acceptable for women to be treated subordinately and to be treated like a dog. There are two other women in the background wearing white and the man is wearing black, this helps to emphasise the difference between the two genders, and how the music video makes us interpret their different roles.

Music/lyrics: “Yo from Malibu to paraboo”. The lyrics don’t explicitly relate to the visuals on the screen. The spatial deixis used could be applied to him walking out of the shot, and implicitly moving from location to location.

Edit/transitions: The cuts have no transitions between them and this enables the video to flow and keep to a chronological order.

Shot type and camera movement: Long shot and handheld. The long shot allows us to see the full picture, and the audience can understand where they are, and what they are doing.

Analysis: The woman is sitting on the stool with her legs apart, and the man is dancing next to her. He grabs his crotch whilst singing and this suggests that he is more dominant.

Meanwhile, the woman just sits on the stool and acts as an object. The fact that she is just sitting there, in a revealing outfits supports Goodwin’s music video convention that there is voyeuristic treatment of the female’s body. The audience are shown this presentation because it fits with the whole meaning of the song, and the rest of the video. We are able to see a full length image of them, and as a result can interpret the image as intended. Both her outfit, and the shoes are the same colour, which makes the audience think that she is ‘meant’ to sit there, and that this is what women are supposed to do, to blend in.

Music/lyrics: “I’ll give you something big enough to give your ass to.” These lyrics can be implicitly linked to the visuals. The fact that he refers to her giving him her “ass” implies something of a sexual nature, and that he can offer her something. He is trying to persuade her, and the both the lyrics and the visuals work together to suggest this.

Edit/transitions: Once again, there are no transitions and it cuts straight to the next shot. This verse is sung very quickly, and the quick cuts are appropriate for the style of the music. There are no transitions because it would not be appropriate for there to be any deal when moving from shot to shot.

Shot type and camera movement: The initial shot is a long shot, however it then quickly zooms in stages closer to them, ending in a wide shot. This makes it edgier and fits the style of the video.

Analysis: The woman is virtually naked, and the man is fully clothed. This would initially suggest that she is being provocative and raunchy. However, according to Goodwin’s theories, she is placed in the frame, and shown without any clothes on to fulfil the music video convention of women having voyeuristic treatment of their body.

She is still wearing her white platform shoes,

and this tells the audience that her being virtually naked isn’t promoting the concept of her being pure and a believer in freedom of expression, it’s purely for the attention from both the male character and the audience. They are both framed very centrally in the foreground, and this allows the audience to focus on both of them, without having any distractions going on in the background. The male character in the frame is holding a hair brush, and the audience can clearly see, that he doesn’t have a great deal of hair himself to brush. Therefore, the audience would assume that he is going to take control, and be the dominant figure and brush her hair for her. This represents him as contrasted to his previous presentations, and as quite domesticated and gentle.

Music/lyrics: “But you don’t like work”. Unless the woman who is wearing very little clothes is working, these lyrics do not correspond to the visuals.

Edit/transitions: There are no transitions between the previous shot, this shot, or the next shot. Instead of cutting between the long shot and the wide shot, it zooms in. The majority of changes in shots have been showed via standard cuts; however this particular shot eliminates the cut and focuses more on cinematography. It helps to add variety and interest to the video.