Media Theorists (DONE)

Binary Opposites

Claude Levi Strauss


He believed that the way we understood certain words depends not so much on their actual meaning but by our understanding it’s ‘opposite’. He then produced the theory binary opposites. A protagonist and antagonist or Heroine and villain are both examples of binary opposites. Binary opposites are very frequently used in films, especially in the horror genre, many of the films include binary oppositions in their plots. Good and evil is the most common binary opposite shown to the public through the media field on different platforms. They are usually the basis of our understanding of a story as it is a conventional narrative and are used in music videos as part of a narrative to reinforce song lyrics. Levi Strauss’ theory coincides with our 'ideological' perspectives in the world. He also stated that there is a human need to classify.


The Male Gaze

Laura Mulvey

The gaze is the way certain members of an audience view the characters who are being portrayed within a production.

For feminists it can be seen in 3 different ways:

• How men look at women
• How women look at themselves
• How women look at other women

Gaze and Feminist Theory:

Laura Mulvey came up with the male gaze theory in 1975. She believes that every member of an audience should view characters from a heterosexual male’s point of view.

Features of the Male Gaze:

Laura Mulvey believes that the camera lingers on the curves of the female body. She also believes that women’s activity within a piece of film is largely presented in the context of a man’s reactions to those particular activities or events. This could portray women as objects. For example, in the song ‘Loyal’ by Chris Brown he suggests that riches will easily cause a girl to convert from her current partner. This supports Laura Mulveys theory because this is how a male might interpret women.

Counter Argument:

Some women enjoy being looked at

It could also be aimed towards the same gender and sexually irrelevant. Eg. Body image or clothing.

 A good example of the male gaze is Shakira's video featuring Rihanna - Can't Remember to Forget You. The whole video consists of the two women dancing in a provocative way and dressed in next to nothing. This is clearly because the video would do very well on television and even youtube people would definitely watch it more than once.

Goodwins theory

Goodwins main points:

• The link between the lyrics and the visuals within a music video

• The link between the music and the visuals within a music video

• Genre characteristics

• Intertextuality references

• Notions of looking

• Voyeurism

• Demand of the record label

• Performance based, concept based or narrative based music videos

Lyrics and visuals

This is where the lyrics within a song match the visuals that are occurring within the music video. For example, when Lethal Bizzle sings, “Rari Worout” he is seen to be doing a ‘workout whilst in a Ferrari (Rari).

Music and visuals

This is where the pace of the music matches either the intensity of the music video or the speed of the cuts. For example, in Martin Garrix’s ‘Animals’, the pace of the cuts speed up when the beat ‘drops’.

Genre Characteristics

Genre characteristics is when the mise en scene and activities within the music video match the usual representations of that specific genre. For example, in the music video of drakes ‘started from the bottom’ he is seen to be in extremely flashy cars and clothes. This suits the usual representation of the hip-hop/rap genre.

Notions of looking

The notion of looking theory is simply the idea of how when the artist of the song looks into the camera, it feels like you are being involved in the music. For example, in the black eyed peas ‘where is the love?’ will.i.am looks into the camera an awful a lot. This could not only draw the consumer in but make them feel like part of the band.

Demand of the record label

The record label will demand certain things within the music video that suits such things as age group or genre. An example being a party atmosphere or certain objects. The reason for this is because the label may believe that certain things would sell more, therefore make them more money.

Performance based music video

A performance based music video is simply a video of the act performing on stage (not a live performance). These music videos are used to get a clear message across to the consumer. This is done by the performers using very clear gestures, therefore clearly expressing their emotions. For example, in the Outkast’s, ‘Hey ya’ video they are jumping and dancing around the stage. This shows that they are extremely happy, which matches the ‘feel good’ song.