Genre Research

Mega Task Part 3 on PhotoPeach

Hip hop/Rap- N.W.A create an unsettling vibe in their music videos. Their positioning in the first image represents them as angry and intimidating. They are almost amplifying the idea that black people in America are gangsters and get into trouble with the police. The black stereotype fits in with the Rap genre as it is promoted in the lyrics and videos of their music. In this particular video the police officers are black, this represents the idea of equality as if it would have been a white police officer it could suggest that white people have more power over black.

Alternative Hip-hop/Rock- The Clint Eastwood video is a narrative with a disjunctive relation of visuals to the song. This is a very different genre to the more mainstream of just standard hip-hop or rock so there isn't really any stereotype to the style. The idea that it is animated could be targeted towards children, but the lyrics and concept of the video tell us otherwise as is has more mature themes to it. This could go against codes and conventions as when you think or cartoons stereotypically they are aimed at younger children and less for adults.

Drum and Bass/Dubstep- Blind faith primarily uses a handheld camera shot going through the video. The video has a disjunctive relation of visuals to the song but goes with the genre as usually their videos don't really have any link with the song. The effects model is used in this video through the use of the handheld shot as we feel like we could be there and drawn in. As we are following people it is difficult to distinguish the idea that it is not real because the way it is presented tells us it has a documentary feel. I think the gritty effect of the video having such things as drug taking goes with the stereotype as usually people associate drug users with drum and bass.

K-Pop/Pop- Gangnam Style features a very odd music video. I have noticed it favours the male above female as we see females preforming tasks such as fanning him and generally being the back up dancers could suggest that females are inferior. Laura Mulvey's theory of the male gaze holds true to this video as we see females being targeted in very sexual ways. Females are treated more for "eye candy" rather than an equal character suggesting men have more power in this video.

    Pop/Hip hop- The genre of this song is Pop, but it has Hip hop roots. We see this with the clothing, sideways caps and vests represent the hip hop look. Switch also uses the male gaze a Will Smith has five girls dancing around him wearing little clothing. Apart from Will we don't see any other males only females. This again could show the male gaze as the video is mainly intended for a male audience as it is focusing on women,

Overall in this task I have learnt the different representations of genres and what goes and what doesn't. I have seen different theories used and noticed the male gaze is used more in mainstream pop videos rather than the more underground style music. I now understand what type of clothing and characters to use depending on the genre as that is a main thing when making my music video.