Notorious BIG is a Hip-Hop/Gangsta Rap artist and so we would expect his music and videos to follow the conventions mentioned by Goodwin. We would expect the video to portray wealth through material items and lots of women perhaps. Admittedly this video does show this and is indeed about the aspirations of youth; as expected, however but it does this in a different way.
A certain type of people are represented in this video. Much like other Hip-Hop/Rap videos, mostly by black artists, it is blacks that are represented or perhaps those who have not had the best background. We feel like there are two main ideas behind Hip-Hop/Rap videos; the sense of community or the sense of 'get rich or die trying' (Above, right) (or something along those lines). This is so clear in the catchline 'Have what you want, be what you want'. As opposed to something like Wiz Khalifa's 'We Dem Boyz' (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UX6K7waag5Q&list=PL4Ti6KPQUwnw3-bbvVEkaH1mUi4v-8cJH) in which there is an overwhelming sense of community, this video focuses on the aspirations of these people and the sense that success is having expensive material items. This sense of wealth is shown from the very beginning of the video, where we see expensive cars pulling in to big driveways and security cameras, again suggesting wealth. Throughout the video, wealth is represented in other ways such as a big house with pools and limousines to escort him.
Gender is being represented in a very stereotypical way. Even though everyone is played by children, we still see females dancing in swimming costumes in the background. This agrees with many other music video in which the female body is objectified. It is a very common thing to see in music videos, especially those of Hip-Hop or Rap genre and so this video reinforces that stereotype. Furthermore we see female maids in typical maid outfits. This could conform to the stereotype of female inferiority and male superiority, as the men have the wealth and are seen relaxing in the pools whereas the females are the ones waiting on them. Also men are seen with more important jobs, like body guards and music artists.
Most of the takes used in this music video are moving shots; the camera rarely stays still. Each take fades into the next and they are only about 2-3 seconds long.
Within the video, there are a few close up, near the beginning, to show the expensive material items that would be contribute to the overriding idea of wealth.
A lot of the other shots throughout the video are medium shots. This shows of the house behind the people and the location of the video. As well as this, there are also lots of close ups of the characters, and the children playing them. I think one of the main reasons for this is to emphasise the fact that children are playing adults.
The camera angles are also quite often from a low angle, especially when the main character is standing on his balcony. This obviously gives the impression of superiority and importance. This could further suggest that having wealth and success therefore put you above other people and gives the perception of superiority.
Molly Beecham
No comments:
Post a Comment