WJEC A-Level Media Music Video Riptide Representation Summary
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Course
Music Videos
Institution
WJEC
An in-depth summary to the representation in the set music video 'Riptide' by Vance Joy for WJEC A-Level Media Studies. This summary includes detailed descriptions of scenes within the music video linking to representation as well as links to theory (Bell Hooks) and the context of the video.
Shots of women being tortured, tied to trees
Women in video tend to be shown in an and dragged under beds are faster paced.
objectified and victimised manner - e.g. mid- RIPTIDE This is to drum up feeling of fear and
horror. These are intertextual references to
shot of woman being tied to tree, dragged
under a bed, tortured in what appears to be
REPRESENTATION horror and torture films, for example
dentist chair and woman covered in bruises Suspira. These shots have been used to
as though she has been assaulted whilst represent women as scared and to draw
singing. The use of high camera angles make attention to the parallels between this video
women seem smaller and terrified facial and way women are represented in other
Audience are not supposed to enjoy shots of products like horror films
expressions and dark lighting create women being victimised. The shot of woman
atmosphere of fear, as though women should singing are quite long takes, meaning they
be scared as well as victimised. The are left on screen for reasonable amount of Woman singing with microphone is
representations in these shots are time for audience to see close-up of her represented in a typical wat in terms of
stereotypical and a little old-fashioned bruises and blood running down her face. beauty and glamour and the expectations
This is uncomfortable for the viewer. This of women to look perfect. Her make-up
The woman being tied to the tree does manage to help and hair is done and the spotlight is on
can hopefully try to create an understanding
herself and escape. Therefore, there are her. This makes her seem powerful and
that while women are victimised, we are not
representations of women saving themselves and are important, but also makes her seem
supposed to like it and are supposed to
not always the ‘damsel in distress’. They are acting as sexual, as though the audience are there
question why it is happening
hero’s at some points in the video to enjoy the way she looks and as though
she looks quite important
Women in media are reasonably and typically objectified a lot and sexualised in a range of Shots of the woman singing show her eyes
media products. In the video, there are shots that seem on objectify and sexualise women on becoming more vacant, meaning she isn’t looking
the surface. There are shots that literally objectify women because the audience don’t get to properly at any one or anything, apart from when
see their face or the rest of their body, as they are only shown their feet. These could be she glances off camera presumably to the person
there for the enjoyment of the audience. There is some argument that the target audience for assaulting her. She looks terrified and she
Vance Joy might have been male. But many audiences might have felt the shots are there to deliberately starts to sing the words wrong. This is
have a meaning and connote a message that women shouldn’t be objectified in this way. why the lyrics appear on the screen at this time.
The shots of the women’s legs mean the audience don’t get to see the identity of females in This goes towards ger being represented as upset
the question. This is particularly in the case when there is a shot of somebody standing in a and in emotional chaos. This is reinforced by her
bush and staring out or spying on a woman voyeuristically. This point of view shot suggests make-up and facial expressions that signify she is
she doesn’t know he is there. This makes the audience feel uncomfortable panicked, emotional and scared
The video keeps cutting back again
and again to the woman singing. The representations of women in the video
Her make-up starts to slide down are complex. There are representations of
her face and its clear she has been women seem quite power and important. E.g.
crying and attacked in some way, woman standing on the balcony, woman
through the blood rolling down her wearing wealthy clothes, woman potentially
face, bruises on her hand and her being actress on beach. But there are also
facial expression where she looks representations of women being objectified
scared, and her eyes glance off to through violence. The representations are
the side as though she is watching diverse in terms of female gender. This could
someone. This creates shocking be because it is a modern product, or because
representation and a tense and scary of the style of the music video. The video has
atmosphere, underlying those been put together in a montage called an
There are images of violence in the music video. There is a shot
representations of women, as ‘intellectual montage’ meaning the images
of a hand being stabbed with a knife and a gun being pointed at
though this woman herself has been are put together randomly. This means there
someone. Violence against women has become a big issue in
assaulted and attacked to make us is not one clear specific representation, but
society and the media, and these shots help the audience to see
feel scared for her. The audience many. But the idea is that the audience tries
women as victims. Perhaps Vance Joy is trying to make
are forced to watch her and to interpret the representations themselves,
comments about this. The images of violence are accompanied
question who she is looking at off rather than trying to put across a specific
by images of women represented in a sexualised and objectified
camera and why she has been message
fashion might be creating messages he is trying to avoid. Perhaps
assaulted. These act as enigma his aim was to try and create a message that gave an educational
codes of who assaulted her and why perspective about the objectification of women. But the Men have been represented in a diverse
and what they are doing, help the objectified and sexualised images of women, along with the way. In the video, men are seen as
audience almost feel sympathetic in images of violence might have the opposite effect. Audiences voyeurs as they are watching or spying
the way she has been represented might have been engaged and entertained by these images and on women in some way through a ‘male
might have the impact of trivialising violence against women. gaze’. E.g, there are men on beach
Bell Hook’s argues feminism is But maybe these images might have just entertained audience looking at the camera, presumably a shot
about the struggle to end oppression of a man in a bush looking up at woman
and patriarchy. The video could be a One of the explanations as to diverse representations and is spying on her, although that is the
social comment on this. It is difficult within this video is due to the genre of the music. This audience’s presumption. Men are in
for feminist theories to decide if this song falls under the indie or alternative genre, and as such reasonably powerful positions, whether
video is feminist and trying to they are more likely to have more diverse and alternative that’s camera operators or directors. This
support women, or if just like other representations to the mainstream media. The indie genre is reflective of typical patriarchal views
music videos, it offers male takes a more unconventional approach to mainstream of men within society
entertainment. It could be argued the media language and representations
video is making a comment about
how patriarchal domination is real.
But it could be argued that the video Riptide was the first single by Vance Joy that he was trying to get released in America and he was trying
is reinforcing patriarchal values to break the American market. This could be an explanation to the shocking and controversial images of
about women. However, the idea is women being victimised. Perhaps the record label for Vance Joy decided to use the shocking and
that the audience interpret the video controversial imagery as it is more viral and was used for publicity and to market the song
in the says they want, meaning the
representations in this video are not
entirely clear
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