ackA music video can be described as a "distinctive art form which portrays the music of the given artist, and allows for the creation of all persons associated with the act to be expressed and experimented with." The aim of the director of the music video is to make the video visually memorable, and entice the target audience (teenagers to want to repeatedly view it.
Soundies.
The first form of music representation through media form was what are known as 'soundies'. Soundies are 3 - 5 minute long musical sketches that involve the band and dancers/actors performing on both sides of a theatrical stage. They were very controversial, in that they contained a lot of provocative dressing, and sexual dancing, of women, which highlights the way they were viewed as sexual objects. Also, there were a lot of leading black roles, which was quite a surprise considering the very recent end of the enslavement period.
The above video is typical of a soundie; it emphasises the Jazz era with the severe use of jazz music, and incorporates the singer and a sketch which is being acted out - the two forms of media have come together to produce an entertaining musical sketch. However, the woman (note that she is white) isn't wearing any revealing clothing - which contrasts highly to what would usually be in a soundie - it could be regarded as a timid version of one.
Scopitones.
Following the soundies was the 'Scopitones' in the late 195's/early 196's, which were played on video jukeboxes, which were found in typical shops such as pizza parlours. They contained much more sexual content, which coincided with the generation at the time - directors realised that the music didn't have to actually be good in order for it to bring in profit; as long as the women were illustrated as sexual, the video would attract high amounts of viewers, which would then bring in high amounts of profit.
Below is a video that is very emblematic of a scopitone. As you can see, the woman is dressed in highly erotic, flesh-revealing outfits which compose her as a sexual object for men. This compliments the song itself, which discusses her troubles of being "trapped" in love. The use of such motifs for the song is typical of many, if not all, scopitones - they often talk about women and love, and support this by the use of women that are dressed sexually and are dancing sexually, to emphasise the controversial aspect of them (and how they pushed the boundaries of sexuality).
1960s/1970s.
The scopitones were extremely successful, which attracted rock artists and top of the chart bands to respond to them by making little films to promote their new albums, many of which were influenced greatly by drugs. Rock bands would often use musical videos to leave a mark of their music whilst they were touring, in order to ensure that their records were still continuously played and attracted the fanbase they aimed to (they were also used to simply promote their latest songs and albums).The influence of drugs is something that has continued to be a feature of music for a very long period of time, and is even still written about in modern music. The video below is a massive hit from one of the most well known rock bands - although it may not be solely about drugs, it discusses the theme of 'loneliness', which is certainly another negative feature of post-modern, and modern, societies.
Late 1970s/Early 1980s.
Furthermore, MTV was released in 1979, which gave way to the first solid opportunity for videos to be regularly played on TV, and accordingly opening up the market for the videos to be widely available to the public. The first video was aired on August 1st, 1981, which is shown below. Having their videos played on television was a great opportunity for bands to get their music known to wider audiences. As you can see in this video, the women are portrayed in a less sexual way, and the stereotype of them as sexual objects has been lessened in this particular video.
1990s.
As time changed, so did the definition of hip hop; gangster lifestyles and use of drugs were highly exploited, which contrasts highly to the initial tame nature of hip hop videos. This gangster influence is a heavy influence on todays hip hop culture.
The two videos above both represent hip-hop, but in extremely different ways. The first one is an older video from the 1980's, and represents hip-hop in a very tame manner, with no elements or signs of gang culture or any illegal activity. The second, however, which is based in France, shows a gang of youths recklessly roaming around a city and causing huge amounts of un-necessary destruction - this is a stereotypical representation of today's youth, and the gang culture within. The high contrast with both videos greatly supports the change in the definition of hip-hop as time progressed.
Written by Jack.
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