http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTWKbfoikeg&ob=av2e
You may have never heard Nirvana's "Smells Like Team Spirit" before, but you can use what we've discussed about ethos, pathos, and logos to analyze what is happening in this video, especially since we are broadening our concept of what constitutes as a "text."
In this post, I want you to watch the video without sound; then identify the speaker, audience, and message. Then, I want you to watch the video again, but this time, with the sound. Look for the same information. Do you the think the message changes?
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I have been familiar with the tune of “Smells Like Teen Spirit” most of my life thanks to my older brother. However, I had never really taken time to analyze the song and the lyrics, or watch the music video. Watching the video without words was interesting, because there is this slow progression of chaos throughout the video until there is just pure chaos in the end. The speaker is obviously Nirvana, and it seems as though they are addressing the teen population. They’re message appears to be that they want the students to rebel away from what is socially accepted and the establishment. This is exhibited by the setting of the school gym. School is the ultimate establishment in a teenager’s life, and is usually seen as a source of oppression. Also there are some straight forward symbols such as the anarchy symbols on the cheerleader’s uniforms.
ReplyDeleteAfter watching the video again I feel like the audience and the speaker we the same, however the message was a little different. With the words I felt as if Nirvana was identifying themselves as the rejects of society or all the things that people will normally stray away from. For example, Cobain says that he’s contagious , a mosquito, and an albino, which are characteristics usually not sought after. The tempo and actually instrumental music also lend a felling to convey to this song and its message. The fast tempo and power chords being played over and over by the guitar give angst feel to the video. The message is promoting the same thing however I feel as though the lyrics shed some light on the subject and gave it more depth. The video and the song are both thought provoking and make you think even past just the moment while watching the music video.
Alexis Turgeon
ReplyDeleteI have never seen this music video before but it has to be one of the weirdest I have seen; especially watching it without sound first. Without sound, the speaker seems to be the creepy blonde haired guitarist who sings the song. The audience I would guess is the high school students considering they are in a high school pep rally for the music video. The message from what I could gather is that teens are crazy and really spirited to the point that they are out of control and it drives old people nuts; especially when they are the ones who have to clean up the mess after them.
After watching the video with sound, it is much clearer. I have heard this song before, just never seen the video. The speaker is actually the high school kids and the creepy blonde haired guitarist who sings the song, since they are both pretty much teens. The audience is the public and places they go, example a club DJ would be someone they would demand entertainment from. The message is basically that teens are stupid and careless with how they act. They act on spontaneous remarks and they are often actions that one would regret. Also, the visuals used in this music video portray the actions that some teens partake in. Teens are demanding and think they want to feel the “rush” of freedom, but they take it too far and things like this happen.
I think this song is very true to the way teens are in reality. Just hearing stories told by many of my classmates about their “wild nights”, it is truly amazing what some people have carelessly done. Some people I know have completely blacked out and can’t even tell you the stupid things they’ve done. This exercise has shown that watching and listening are both equally important. Just watching the video, we can get an idea about what they are singing about but until we listen you really can’t say.
Chris Davis
ReplyDeleteI have always been a fan of rock so i have definitely heard this song before and seen the video before. Its an awesome song. The speaker is definitely the singer, Kurt Cobain. The audience is the crowd of teeneagers, who appear to be in a gym or auditiorium. It is kinda hard to determine what the message is since there is no sound, but the fact that they are playing to a bunch of rowdy and crazy teenagers, im guessing it has something relevant to them. Whether it is a current issue, social problem, or just something teens can relate to. And the fact that the longer the song is played, the more into it they get and the more animated they become, eventually working themselves into a frenzy. Also, maybe it has something to do with freedom and rebilliousness because the cheerleaders, who are normally preppy girls, have tattoos and are maybe suggesting to go againt the norm, to rebel and not conform or do what other people think you should do.
After watching it with sound, the speaker is still obviously Kurt Cobain and the audience is still the kids, but it becomes clearer that he is speaking to all teens and not just the ones in the gym. After listening to it and hearing the lyrics, the message does become clear. The lyrics, along with the video, do promote being who you are and not trying to conform to the norm of society and being rebellious. He sings, "Our little group has always been, and always will until the end." He is talking about finding people you can relate to and be yourself around, sticking with them and just doing your own thing and not doing what other people tell you to do. Then the janitor is just there I think to symbolize how there is always someone there who either does, or is forced to clean up other people's messes.
Priscilla Ivasco
ReplyDeleteIn order to choose my music video for this blog i just simply picked which ever one was at the top on youtube. I wanted it to be one that I had never heard before so that when I watched it without sound I wouldn’t know what the lyrics were and have a fresh start on analyzing it. So the song “Beautiful” by Eminem was the one that came up. When I watched it without sound it was interesting because it felt harder to understand what was going on with out the artists words. But from the background and his facial expressions it felt like a depressing video, like as of a man who feels empty as he sits in a broken down building, as someone who has lost what he used to have and is trying to find himself. He begins to walk around the neighborhood and he sees little kids and their families. The town seems to be impoverished as though he were trying to reflect on a rough childhood that maybe he once had. There’s a lot of contemplation that seems to be occurring in his life. There we also see the tearing down of a baseball field and seeing how hurt the young kids were as their baseball dreams perhaps were crushed.
Now when watching it with sound and reading over the lyrics I realize that he speaks a lot about being lost, and finding himself in a place of solitude and confusion and now he is trying to find his way out of it. He speaks walking in other peoples shoes, and how there’s a lot of pain but that the obstacles we face in this world can’t hold us down, and that the people who try so hard to put us down in this world can’t be the ones that decide our future and how we feel about ourselves, but that we need to make our own fortunes and stand up for ourselves, and “be true to you”. This song is a lot deeper in meaning and message once the sound and the emotion of the artist comes out through the words, instead of watching it silently. Yes Eminem may not seem like the best person to be taking advice from but this song has a deeper message than what some may stereotype.
Alexis Turgeon in response to Morgan
ReplyDeleteI found your blog to be very insightful. You had a lot of views I did not even think of but completely agree with. I think that having been familiar with the song however; you got more of an idea of what the music video was about before actually watching it with sound. I did not even notice that the cheerleaders had anarchy symbols on their uniforms, which could have given me a lot more to think about. I liked the way you described the song’s music having angst; it definitely is not a Bach or Mozart piece. Overall, I agreed with what you had to say in your blog and found insight in some of the things you said.
Alexis Turgeon in response to Chris Davis
ReplyDeleteYour blog is definitely different from the others I have read. Instead of just catching on to teens being rebellious and destructive, you found a deeper meaning in the song. It definitely makes me think that he may have had a different meaning in the song to be yourself and stick with people who like you for who you are. Also, I thought it was interesting that you noticed the cheerleaders had tattoos. I did not even see that in the music video either time. I liked the different perspective I got from reading your blog and definitely reanalyzed this music video from it.
Meghan Hemstreet
ReplyDeleteI have heard Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" a handful of times. My dad had the album a few years back, so I remember listening to it occasionally in his car. I had never watched the video for the song up until now.
Watching the video for the first time without lyrics, I had to rely on my visual interpretation to understand the message behind the song. In the beginning, a group of high school students are seated on the bleachers near the school’s basketball court. Canvas tarps, hung from the ceiling, form the walls. Dust fills the air. Cheerleaders are casually cheering, and the teens nod their heads as Nirvana begins to play. As the song progresses, these actions turn into raucous behavior. The cheerleaders start to dance provocatively, and the students form a mosh pit. Seeing this video, I believe that Nirvana is trying to reach out and grab the attention of teenagers. Just like those seen in the video, teens tend to do what they want, when they want. They are not afraid to act out and cause commotion; when they do, they go all out.
Watching with the sound enabled, it is easier to make a connection between the song and the video. Kurt Cobain and the teens seem to serve as the speakers, whereas society is the audience. “With the lights out, it’s less dangerous / Here we are now, entertain us.” Hearing these lyrics, Nirvana draws attention to the need for teenagers to be entertained. They are out to have a good time and partake in rebellious activities. Society might not approve of the attitude they carry, but it hasn’t stopped them from upholding it in the past and present. The heavy drumming and guitar solo’s add to the hardcore feel of the video and its content.
Chris Davis responding to Alexis Turgeon
ReplyDeleteSo you definitely have a very interesting take on this song and music video. You went in a completely different direction then I did. I dont see it as teens being completely out of control in public, but that when pushed, they will form a group together and push back. I do agree though in thinking that teens do want the rush of freedom. Many teens are confined and restricted and when they do finally get that first taste of freedom, they can go a little overboard and get out of control, which happens in the video. I did like your take on it and it helped me to look at the video in a new way.
Chris Davis responding the Meghan Hemstreet
ReplyDeleteI think that your analysis is pretty accurate of what is going on. The band is able to get the crowd moving. What started out as a calm crowd, quickly turned into a very animated mosh pit. And teens do want to be entertained. We are young and rash and dont always think things through. We basically do what we want when we want. We expect people understand that and move past it. You went in a different direction than I did, but I agree with what you said.
I have heard this song but I didn’t know what it was called who it was by and I’ve never seen the music video; so the first time I saw the video I made sure to listen with no sound so I could have a true unbiased approach to this exercise. The literal speaker of the video is the lead singer of the band and the literal audience is the crowd in the gym but the speaker I notice is the crowd of people and the audience is the band. The band has to read the crowd’s feelings towards their music and when they got approval of it they went all out and really rocked. If the crowd didn’t show their emotions through foot tapping and head banging then the band won’t get as into the song. As the video progresses, crowd and the band both get out of hand and start wrecking the gym, throwing things and people and people start passing out or at least falling down. Although this is a “student” event, assumed from the lack of teachers or authoritative figures, the video still shows an old janitor which contradicts the youthful and free impression that you get throughout most of the video. My interpretation of the message was that even though people can ruin and destroy something, eventually someone is going to have to clean it up.
ReplyDeleteWith sound I realize this songs speaker is all teenagers who aren’t understood and who feel like people avoid them like they are a disease. They reference being in a group which means they like to stick together because no one person likes to be an outcast from everyone. The audience is everyone else in the world who doesn’t understand the people who are speaking. The message is about the nonconformity of the teens and how they don’t wish to conform but just to be accepted for who they are.
I think the message changes slightly with the addition of the music. It helps the message get across clearer and show who the speaker and who the audience are using the lyrics and the rhythms.
With my dad being involved with music and being in bands most of my life, I have definitely heard this song before and seen the music video “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” But before this assessment I haven’t ever actually analyzed the lyrics or the people in the video. I would have to agree and say that the speaker of is Kurt Cobain due to prior knowledge and the intended audience is well, teenagers as stated in the title. From the lyrics it I find it unclear as to what the message is, but when watching the music video it provides proof that the message is one of teen angst and rebellion and to be your own person.
ReplyDeleteWithout sound it looks like a mockery of what would be considered a normal high school and what the average teen sees on a day to day basis. The video takes place in what looks like a high school gym, with cheerleaders and bleachers and even a janitor, but there are some noticeable differences. The room itself seems dreary and smoky, while the cheerleaders are tattooed and aren’t using stereotypical facial expressions. The crowd in the bleachers isn’t the type of people you’d expect to see in a gym watching a basketball game; they are grunge rock teens head banging to the band.
When the music is added to the video, you definitely get the vibe of teen rebellion, not necessarily form the lyrics themselves, but from the music and sound and tone that the band plays. This song is what you would hear from any typical grunge rock band coming from the early 90’s. Although the music adds to the message that Kurt Cobain is trying to send, I think the lyrics are inadequate with adding to the message. I find the lyrics to be random and confusing with only a few parts to be helpful. It seems almost like he just wanted the lyrics to rhyme.
Response to Chris Davis
ReplyDeleteI found it interesting how you analyzed the lyrics when Kurt Cobain was talking about the groups. When I was looking at the lyrics I couldn’t find any type of connection between the words and what I thought the message was. Your ideas sort of make me change the idea of what I thought the message was, understanding what he is actually saying as opposed to what I’m hearing. I thought the message was just about teens rebelling from the norm, but what he’s really saying is to rebel and be your own person.
Cody Cox
ReplyDeleteAt first when I watched this music video without out sound I thought that it was a pep rally that progressively got more chaotic. Just by how the band dressed and performed I was pretty sure that it was rock song. I was absolutely sure that I had never heard of this song before being a country fan and all. I knew that the speaker of the band was the lead guitarists that were singing and the audience that looked like high school kids without sound. That didn't change when I turned the volume up but what I realized is that I have heard of this song before. I don't know when and where but I defiantly heard of this song before. When I first listened to the song I couldn't figure out all that he was saying but with the kids in the background I had an idea of what he was singing about. I had to read the lyrics before I got the full grasp of what he was singing about. The lead guitarists is trying to tell the kids at this school that you shouldn't conform to a normal way of life and listen to listen to your parents you must make your own way of life. He is trying to persuade the students in this school with emotion that he has the right way of thinking compared to all of these rules that the adults around us make. I noticed that the second time that I watched this video I saw that in the beginning the kids were just sitting bored out of there mind like a normal pep rally in high school (or at least mine were. they were the lamest excuse of a pep rally I have ever seen). As the song goes on the students get into it and soon start to dance and go crazy right on the gym floor.
Morgan davis in response to Alexis Turgen
ReplyDeleteAfter reading your post I could tell that you most likely don’t listen to much Nirvana. All though I believe that your take on the video is a valid one, I also think that Nirvana was trying to promote this routey behavior. Since they are young themselves I believe they are encouraging these young people to be crazy and rebel. This goes to show you that everyone experiences thing differently. Different experiences are interpreted different ways depending on your past experiences. I really liked your take on the video.
Cody Cox responding to Morgan Davis
ReplyDeleteI agree with you on the fact that most of our teenage life is surrounded by school and everything that you do with school. Particularly high school you identify with people that you can relate to which molds your ideas and believes. School is the first place that I can think of that we are forced to do something against our will (Parents telling you what to do also fits in here too but its usually school related when your parents try to tell you not to do something). We are forced into new situations in school that test our perseverance to what we believe. its either we stand our ground and don't budge or we give in to peer pressure.
Morgan Davis response to Cody Cox
ReplyDeleteI’m so glad that you have hear this song before at some point in you life. Ive been astounded at all the blog post ive read that have started off with “I’ve never heard this song before”. Anyways I totally agree with your views on the video. I like how you used the clothes they were wearing and the way they styled their hair as indicators as to what kind of music was being played. Also, you used the way the kids were reacting to the music to gather what sort of message was being sent to the audience.
Cody Cox responding to Tess Stohr
ReplyDeleteAfter reading your post and giving it some thought I totally agree with you. The audience controls what the band plays and how they play it. The way the students acted at the beginning and how the band first played was at first a regular pep rally. As the students got more into the song the band also played louder and more intense. If the kids didn't like the song the band would ultimately know and would stop and try to change the songs so that they would not lose their audience. Bands are fueled by their fans without them a band is nothing more than a bunch of people singing songs. The band's fans determine the fate of the band and how well non-fans who don’t listen to their music recognize them.
Meghan Hemstreet responding to Chris Davis
ReplyDeleteI remember during a class discussion that you said you were a fan of rock, so I think it’s cool that you have seen this video before. Like you said, we both went in different directions to explain our individual analyses of the video. I think you did a good job explaining the reasoning behind your perspective. I like how you also included some of the lyrics from the song. When I was listening to the video with audio, I didn't completely understand those specific lines. Since you explained them, it helped me gain a better understanding of Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit.”
Daniel Mele
ReplyDeleteWithout sound
while listening without sound i think the speaker of the video is the Guitar player with the green striped shirt because he has most screen time with what seems to be singing part. I think the audience might be teenagers because the setting is like a basketball pep rally and the people in the video seem to be of about high school age. from watching the video i thought the meaning was pep rallies are boring so you need to do something about it but the name of the song "Smells like Team Spirit" makes me think i was completely wrong
With sound
My views on who the speaker and audience are remain the same when i watched it with sound on. But now i am completely lost in what the message of the video is. the main problem for me is i cant understand what the lyrics are at all besides the phrase "Entertain Us", atleast thats what i think he says. so thats all i can get for the message.
Overall i think the message changes in a big way that i was not able to grasp so for me that was how the message changed. But i was also confused as to why there was a janitor randomly dance, i couldn't decide if it was there for comedic affect or for something else that i missed. So i believe that if i were able to understand the lyrics better i would have a greater understanding of the video as a whole
Jessi Gould's Response
ReplyDeleteThis was the first time I viewed this video and without sound it gave me a rather cringing feeling. I felt dirty, and I felt the color and lighting of this video gave me a headache and brought the mood very low. The cheerleaders seemed "out of it" and un coordinated and slowly the audience got out of control. When the fire was brought into the background it reminded me of the riot's when the Lakers win the championship in Los Angeles. Everyone seems to have long hair and is whipping it around as well. I realized they are on a basketball and at first I thought it was the beginning of a game when the fans are bored, but there was never anyone playing ball and it seemed like a concert. Then all of a sudden a guitar is broken which seems out of control and a nerd is wearing a dunce cap at the end, which i think shows that he would never be in that environment and they may be making fun of him,
When I watched it with sound there was more of a beat but my opinions did not change drastically. I definitely think everyone was hypnotized on drugs and I realized the excitement was "contagious" as they say in the song. The cheerleaders were not your stereotypical pretty girls, but instead decked out in tattoos but I did not understand the major message being brought across other than drugs seem to bring the mood down. It seems like everyone on it is in a world together different than any world that the rest of us consume.
Daniel Mele Response to Morgan
ReplyDeleteWow i never picked up on the change to chaos. i guess it was because i just assumed that while it was playing that it was like a hard-rock style band or something that evokes that but the chaos is a very good point. Also now that you pointed out some of the words, i could only make out like one total, it makes a little more sense but if he's trying to relate to the rejects of the school why is there a "nerd" tied and with a giant dunce cap on at the end. wouldn't a nerd also fit into the category of reject, at least in school that is.
Response to Chris Davis
Good point. you clearly know the song better than i did, I've never seen it before. But could the janitor be a symbol of not fitting in because he has to clean the messes and wear that weird out fit as well? and the guy tied up at the end could also be another symbol of outcast because they tied him up and left him like the trash that the janitor has to clean
Jessi Responding to Megan
ReplyDeleteWhen you said that teenagers do their own thing I believe that is so true. When Curt Cobain says in the song that it is contagious, I now believe he is talking about stereotypes and fads being followed. Teenage years are tough and its tough to find a total individual who does not care what anyone thinks. Walking through my high school this is not the image you would see at a basketball game, but you would see many other people following each other for example all the girls wearing true religion jeans an juicy jackets or boys having shaved heads. I don't believe tattooing yourself and covering your skin in piercings while on drugs is original if everyone around you is doing it too. If one has a reason and a passion for these things though go for it! show your true colors just not because every one else is!
Smells like teen spirit is a centerpiece of 90’s grunge rock. Nirvana, who I am very familiar with was one of the many staple grunge rock bands to come out of Seattle. The speaker in this video is clearly Kurt Cobain, as he conveys his message through not just words, but appearance and the air he has about him. The audience is the high school children seated in the bleachers. The video appears to take place in a grungy high school gymnasium. The teens begin very conservatively seated, merely listening to Cobain go; however as the song continues the teens grow more rowdy. The progression is slow but steady. It is as if simply through the message conveyed by Cobain the teens’ attitude alters drastically. By the end of the music video the teens were taking their clothes off, going crazy as if the world were about to come to an end. Thus the message seemingly conveyed was to throw your conservative values out the window and do what you want, go crazy have fun, be a teen. After listening to Smells Like Teen Spirit with lyrics, though I have heard it a hundred times, the message only becomes slightly clearer. The speaker is still clearly Kurt Cobain. The audience is still the high schoolers as well as two additional parties that I had not noticed earlier, the cheerleaders and the janitor. The cheerleaders change in attitude was a microcosm for the entire high school. They begin conservatively with the standard cheers, the usual boring high school “go team” cheers, As the song progresses and the message is conveyed by Kurt Cobain to his audience, their cheers become much more scandalous and passionate. It is a great depiction of Cobain’s message. Which seems to be burn the rules of tradition and let the inner, to use Sigmond Freud’s belief, id go. Let the animal with in out.
ReplyDeleteResponse to Chris Davis,
ReplyDeleteI read chris' take on the Smells Like Teen Spirit assignment. I really like his thoughts on the music video, probably because they were similar to the idea of mine. Chris made a great point that Cobain is conveying the message not to conform, to rebel. Which is exactly what the audience of the message is doing in the video. The basis behind the grunge movement in the 90's was to rebel against the norm. Instead of hanging out in libraries, hang out in abandon buildings, throw parties in old warehouses, ect... This movement's ideals are written all over Cobain's message conveyed in this particular music video.
I’ve heard the song “Smells like Teen Spirit” many times but I’ve never actually listened to the lyrics or watched the music video. Watching the video without any sound was really different. It was kind of difficult to understand the meaning at first but after watching it a few times I was able to understand what the artists were meaning to show to their fans. The speakers in the video are the fans in the stands, which were teenagers. The audiences to the song are other teens worldwide. The teenagers’ message was to show chaos and the rebelling of the teen population.
ReplyDeleteOnce I listened to the song with the sound and looked at the lyrics, the meaning made more sense. The speaker of the song is still a teenager but more of a leader of a group or gang of teens. The audience was portrayed still to the teen population but this time it seemed more like “hey come join me”, speaking out towards teenagers instead of just showing teenagers wreck havoc in the gymnasium. The message of the song is to get together a gang of teenagers to start a riot. The speaker is telling the group of teens to come join him or her to entertain and to cause chaos in the streets. The song also talks about if they do it at night its less dangerous to get caught. With these lyrics I had a greater understanding of the song and what it means.
Aaron Murphy
ReplyDeleteWithout sound:
The speaker seems to be the lead vocalist of the group. He is obviously delivering some sort of message verbally. Also, his frontal placement and the spotlight on him visible in a few shots emphasize his role as speaker. The audience is the group of people sitting in the bleachers. They appear to be a young group comprised of high school or slightly older students. The message is a bit harder to determine without sound. It appears that as the song progresses, the actions of the audience grow more violent. This makes me think that the message is about something the audience is very passionate about, seeing as how it encourages the crazy movement. Everyone's juvenile style of clothing suggest that the type of music being played is something commonly liked by youth, but without a time frame, that can be anything.
With sound:
The speaker is the vocalist/band. While the vocalist physically delivers the words, the rest of the band's hard, upbeat style of play contributes greatly to what is being said. The video's literal audience is the people standing in front of the band, or sitting in the bleachers. This carries over to any teenage audience anywhere. The message is that teenagers are confused and misguided. The first verse “load up on guns...” illustrates the stupidity/naivete of teens; that they don't think their actions through. “Bring your friends” exemplifies teenage insecurity by suggesting teenage reliance on friends. “Entertain us” refers to teenage culture, that teens feel wrongly entitled to certain things because of their peers and their own “spoiled” culture. The last verse (...denial...) illustrates teens' unwillingness to get rid of their entitled and purposely non-conformist views of society. So, as we've seen time and time again in class, a “text” can be read very differently if just one element is changed (in this case, audio), and that element sometimes defines the speaker, message, and audience, but not always.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteAaron responding to Mac's response to Chris
ReplyDeleteWhile you're probably right about non-conformity, I think the lyrics may be suggesting it ironically. The lyrics of the last verse are what make me think this. Perhaps "a denial" refers to the stubbornness of the audience's non-conformist attitudes. They're doing it for the sake of it, not for any particular reason. "Here we are now, entertain us" seems to suggest that what followed it (for example, "I feel stupid and contagious") was indeed tongue-in-cheek. It's as if while the audience is confused/naive/entitled, yet they don't care/it doesn't matter because they're collectively the same.
Response to Cody Cox:
ReplyDeleteI’m glad you agree. I related the video to my life; when playing bass guitar on a stage in front of a couple hundred people you tend to watch the crowd to see what they like and what they want to hear. I also find conveying emotions through your music is easier when the crowd is sharing the same passionate feelings at the same moment. I really like the last line you wrote in response to me. It really makes sense and you can basically apply that to every genre of writing. Fans determine their fate.
Response to Jackie Randolph:
I really like how you wrote your entry. When I first started watching the video without sound I was pretty sure the janitor was going to have something to do with it but then the focus became about the students and the band. I’m kind of surprised that you thought of it as a mockery at first. I would love to have gone to a high school that was like that, but then again that’s my personal preference. I agree with you when you talk about the sound and the picture conveying the message not so much the video and the lyrics.
Marcee’ Mitchell
ReplyDeleteThe speaker in the video was the music band, I know this because they are the most focused on, and their lips are moving, which means that they are singing, and in music videos the singer(s) is almost always the focal point of the video. I know the audience that they are trying to target is the younger generation (more than likely teenagers) because they have all the elements of teenage life in the video to help them attract and relate to teens. For example, the video’s setting is what seems like a high school, in the midst of many young people. Also, the characters in the video help give it a younger feel, such as the cheerleaders in the video. Usually when people think of high school they think of jocks and cheerleaders, and the fact that cheerleaders are in the video helps to give it a more high school feel. The clothes worn in the video do not seem like clothes that would attract an older audience; sneakers, graphic t-shirts, short miniskirts, etc. After watching this video without sound, I think that the message in this video is about rebellious teenagers, who team up against their parents, teachers, or any kind of authority to get what they want and have fun. After watching the video with its sound, I find that the music does sound a little rebellious, and the speaker’s words mirror those of a self-conscious group of teenagers, who are looking to have fun “here we are now, entertain us...” The message seems a little different, instead of rebellious teens who want to go against authority, it seems as though the teenagers are just being themselves. They are rowdy, and energetic, and although they do seem to overthrow some of the authority figures, that is not their primary goal, their goal is to just have as much fun as they can.
In response to klewsurfs:
ReplyDeleteThis is the message I also got from the video, that their message was for teen rebellion. I got this message because of the chaos that they caused and the older people, who are probably the authoritative figures, were either ignored or tossed around in the midst of the mosh-pit the teens had going on. I also think that the singers tone added to the chaos, his voice went from being low to yelling the lyrics at the top of his lungs, and it seemed that during his yelling the teens got even more crazy, smashing and throwing whatever they could get their hands on.