Blur’s The Universal Analysis

“The Universal” is a song by British alternative rock band, Blur. Also featuring on Blur’s forth studio album, the single was released on the 13th November 1995. The music video, directed by Jonathan Glazer, saw the band imitating the opening scenes of Stanley Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange. The band are presented as the quasi-Droogs, with the lead of the band being Alex DeLarge. Contributing to the homage to the filmmaker is the similarity of the single cover to the scene in Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey and some of the likeness of the bar the band play in. This is an example of intertextuality in media.

‘The Universal’ suggests and paints an inevitable dystopian future condition of society where everyone is on a ‘Universal’ drug to ease stresses, pretending that the world is sound; and so are denying the dissolvent nature of society. Through camerawork, editing, sound and mise-en-scène these nuanced messages, alongside genre conventions and stereotypes, are possible.

The first shot in the music video uses camerawork with a high angle, shallow focus. It uses mise-en-scene to immediately show the subject matter of performance with the prop of a microphone. This is typical and conventional for an alternative rock music video where the emphasis is on live performance.

Camerawork is used where the wide dolly shot of dystopian looking surroundings contributes to a symmetrical composition. In the middle of the composition is a speaker supposedly connected to the microphone. Alongside this shot is a low-frequency sound preceding the beginning of the song. Cut-to-beat editing occurs with the beginning conventional for music videos of most genres.

This dolly, symmetrical shot starts as the instrumental part of the song continues. It is intently similar to the milk bar scene in A Clockwork Orange. The band doesn’t engage in their usual behaviour in this music video connoting that the video has deeper meaning of modern life, as with its influence being Kubrick’s work. The lead of the band (Damon) is sat hunched forward so he is pronounced with more power; with all the band looking towards the camera. Costume is quite unconventional where it doesn’t reflect conventions of the genre of alternative rock Blur tend to portray. The conventions of alternative rock are also being challenged where high-key lighting is used; natural or low-key would tend to be used in such a genre as it connotes a more thoughtful, pessimistic tone to the music.

The music video uses editing to stay true to the influences from Kubrick; inserts that hold deeper meaning litter the video and break up the individual shots. Blur’s music video uses iconography such as this to present a narrative or story to the listener. Alternative rock narratives include bad past, pain, suffering, among other negative issues and this video is no exception connoting themes of pain, depression, anxiety and addiction through the use of camerawork, mise-en-scène, editing and sound to fuel a social commentary.

This shot uses unusual symmetrical composition that has a lot of head room to emphasise the bands presence in the scene as well as showing an unconventional composition that brings attention to the shot. The length of the shot is also unusual as it is a long shot; giving off an eerie vibe as the band stare into the camera for an extended period of time. This shot gives the band a carefree, placid attitude towards the subject matter; this is conventional for the genre.

This shot is conventional because it has focus on the band towards the middle of the wide, dolly, symmetrical shot. The clean, almost unsettling colour accents of white and red reflect the dystopian, clinical future the song lyrics are suggesting. The instruments used in this song involve a main singer, bass guitarist, a drummer and perhaps a few behind the scenes instruments that have been edited to get the desired sound. These instruments are conventional for the genre the band are attempting to portray. There is, however, a more melancholic melody which is, perhaps, not as conventional compared to other works from the same genre.

This shot uses camerawork to show a high angle, wider composition that belittles the subjects in the middle of the frame. This is significant for the meaning of the song as it suggests that we are constantly under surveillance (due to the high angle point of view). This is seconded by the song lyric; “No one here is alone, satellites in every home.”

This shot, in a continuation to the previous, sees a larger emphasis on both the speaker and the subjects to the right. Deep focus gives us the ability to see the reactions of those subjects to the output of the speaker prop. The costumes used and worn here reflect the social class of the subject as being working class due to the typical work clothes; this is emphasised by the use of the bicycles to travel around – a commodity commonly matched with second class citizens, those who cannot afford the vehicle mode of transport.

Immediately after the previous shot we see a slightly zoomed, and shallow focused shot to emphasise the affect of the speaker on others.

The costume used in the music video is quite unconventional as it doesn’t adopt conventions of alternative rock; which consist of baggy t-shirts and jeans. It does, however, incorporate conventional hairstyles for the genre. Another element that Blur has used that is conventional for the genre they are trying to portray is the use of makeup.

A whip pan sees a symmetrical, two shot of two older people showing a range of ages; which is somewhat unconventional as alternative rock would usually entail youth issues.

This unusual shot sees the subject struggling for space in the composition. This shot connotes that the speakers have more power in the sequence than the civilian; and the working man is oppressed by these props of speakers.