Venn Diagram - Dizzee Rascal

Big Minstrel Jubilee - Poster

A History of the Blackface and Minstrelsy - Notes

Minstrel show was an American form of entertainment developed in the early 19th century.
Minstrel shows were very popular.
Founded on the comic enactment of racial stereotypes.
Minstrel shows emerged from in the early 1830s in Northeastern states.
Exaggerated portrayal of African American music, culture, vernacular English (colloquial language, slang, dialect) for entertainment.

Each show included:
- comic skits
- dancing
- music
- performances

They mainly mocked people from an African descent.
The people who performed were white people who put make up on (blackface). Only white people
were allowed to perform.
The show would present the 'black people' as lazy, backward in knowledge.
Blackened their faces with burnt cork to lampoon Blacks, performing songs and skits that sentimentalised slave life on Southern plantations. Blacks were shown as naive buffoons who sang and danced the days away.

Unemployment
Savages
Uncivilised
Uneducated

Coon character
- adult male
- violent
- uneducated

Mammie character
- overweight black maid
- mother figure

Pickaninny character
- un-kept
- un-educated
- child (male)

The Emergence of Grime - Documentary - Notes

The genre of grime has evolved from garage but has become a more aggressive in terms of their tone.
The music is mostly found on pirate radio.
Grime originated from the streets with rappers with poor backgrounds rapping about their lifestyle.
Reaction of the mainstream nature of garage.
Strong personal identification.
Grime reflected the underground of London.
Emerged from disenfranchised youth in East London.
Lyrics revolve around gritty depictions of urban life.
Grime rave were rare.
Rise of grime was tied in with the rise of the Trident in order to combat gang violence.
Trident - Police

The Power of the Hoodie - A Brief Personal History of Grime - Notes

The Power of the Hoodie - Notes

The hoodie was everywhere during the UK riots.
The hoodie has been a political symbol long before it became a policy initiative.
- the use of balaclavas, bandanas and caps worn low to disguise the eyes,represent a seizing of anonymity and a self- exemption from public identification.
As for the hoodie, its mass adoptions an everyday item began with the parallel popularity of hip-hop imported from the US in the 1980s, where rappers modelled themselves as athletes in a bid to emulate the power and success of world-beating sports starts.
- Hip-Hop turned to gang culture for its stylistic cues.
  - Hip-Hop's emphasis on strength, status and prowess ensured that Rocky Balboa's grey marl hoodie would become the iconic, indispensable wardrobe staple for a generation weaned on rhymes and beats.
Once, the hoodie was worn to convey images of power and success; later on, it became a symbol of menace and lawlessness,and that is undoubtedly central to its identification with Britain's 'asbo' generation.

'ABSO' - Anti-Social Behaviour Order

It was banned by the Bluewater shopping centre in Kent and later by several schools in England and Wales.
Regardless of its origins, however, for the kids who live in the suburbs and inner-city estates where threat and violence are everyday realities, the hoodie is, above all, a tool for blending in, rather than standing out.
Teenagers are under intense peer pressure to conform to a collective identity, acceptance means adopting a prescribed outfit. For some, there may be no choice but to wear and shoulder its associations.

A Brief, Personal History of Grime: UK's homegrown answer to hip-hop - Notes

During the early 2000s, something distinctly British was born - grime.
- Grime was born from reggae, dancehall and garage.
Grime didn't have much of an impact on the charts.
Second coming of genre - reflects a new form political disillusionment.
The revival of the genre has now included hip-hop and American rappers. Kanye West and Drake have been associated with the genre of grime.
Many are predicting that grime could be Britain's next "big cultural export."

Music Video Categories

Introduction to Music Video - PDF

Introduction to music_videos__part_2___-_student_version from Jason_Sousa

Postmodern Music Video Analysis

Eminem - Without Me

There is a lot of parody used in the music video Without Me by Eminem. There is a lot of parody involving many famous figures. Examples of this famous figures include Elvis and Bin Laden. Eminem is mocking Elvis. This is done in the bathroom which is supposedly where Elvis died. There is also  Eminem uses self parody of comedic character in an over exaggerated way to amuse the audience. There is a lot of other parodies of superhero characters like Batman, Robin and Blade. The lyrics used by Eminem correlates to the visuals shown on screen. This supports Andrew Goodwin's notion that 'there is a relationship between the music and visuals'. Also, some could argue there is 'playfulness' in his scenes where he is dressed up in the outfits of Batman, Robin and Blade. This also links to textexuality. 

Jay Z - Moonlight

In the music video there is a clear reference and parody to the sitcom show friends. The clear and main difference is that in Jay Zs Moonlight music video the cast of friends was black whereas the actual friends cast was mostly white. There are many close ups and medium shots showing each character at the beginning of the scene to establish a connection between the character and audience (Uses and gratification - personal relationship). This allows the audience to understand different personalities in the music video. The music video is disjointed as there is a narrative up to a point in the music video. The transition happens when we see the atmosphere of the narrative change. When one of the protagonists leaves the main 'setting' to go to a field. There is frontal lighting illuminating the protagonist's face. Finally, there is intertexuality when the music video references the controversy that followed during the Oscars' when the wrong group was awarded the Oscar.

Music Video PP - Goodwin's theory

There is a long shot showing Beyonce sitting on a police car. Half of the police car is in water. This is an example of Andrew Goodwin's theory that 'there is often intertextual reference'. Beyonce is bringing awareness to the New Orleans floods which were caused by hurricane Katrina. There is a use of a zoom out showing Beyonce dancing. She is in the middle of a group of dancers and she is wearing a revealing outfit which refers to the construction of a strong, powerful figure. This supports Andrew Goodwin's notion that 'the relationship between music and visuals. Many times throughout the music video, Beyonce is shown in a powerful stance. In another zoom out, Beyonce is making direct eye contact with the audience. This is a concept music video. The idea of empowerment is evident because of her powerful stance. This construction of Beyonce's persona is used to cultivate her to sell records and to gain fans.

Postmodern style - Notes

Postmodern text can be identified by its eclecticism
Erosion of asethetic and stylistic boundaries
- mixing of different styles, genre, and artistic conventions
They are designed to be read by a literal audience.
- exhibiting many traits of intertextuality
Postmodern texts will employ a range of referential techniques
-bricolage

Featherstone describes postmodernism as "stylistic promiscuity"
- the breakdown of distinction between high and low culture = democratic? All class hierarchies have dissappeared

Low culture is a derogatory term for popular culture; everything in society that has mass appeal
High culture is a term referring to the "best of breed" cultural products.

Postmodernism = breaking of boundaries
- between public spheres and private sphere
- between reality and fiction
- between past, present and future
- between art and everyday life

Modernism - production and consumption
Postmodernism - reproduction and re-consumption
- text has become mere repetition and imitation

Critisms
- appropriation, re-appropriation and borrowing = declining emphasis on originality
- the death of the AUTHOR
- Dick Hebdige - the author = no longer required to invent by simply "rework" or rearrange.

Key theorist = Fredric Jameson
Key ideas:
- depthlessness
- nostalgia/eroison of history
- paradoy
- pastiche

Depthlessness
- postmodern culture is driven by a consumer culture that celebrates the surface
- he states the postmodern condition is "a new kind of flatness, of depthlessness, a new kind of superficiality in the most literal sense".
Nostalgia
- in the postmodern era our historical past is represented "not through its content but through glossy stylistic means, conveying 'pastness' by the glossy qualities of the image"
- postmodern text "imitate old, dead styles" through pastiche
- describes a longing for the past, often in romanticised and idealised form

Intertextuality - one media text referring to another
- intertextuality - pastiche, parody, homage
                            - pastiche and homage are interchangeable
Parody
Purpose:
- ridicule
- satirize
- polemical

Pastiche - "blank parody, parody that has lost its sense of humour"
- less about comedy
Jameson condemns the world of pastiche as "a world in which stylistic innovation is no longer possible"

Hybridity - the mixture of several different genre categories into one text

Playfulness
Irony - when a piece of art or literature is self-consciously doing the opposite of what it appears to be doing
The idea that postmodern text takes ideas/styles/designs and play around with them

Reflexivity and self-consciousness
Postmodern text is self-reflexive demonstrating an awareness of itself as a text

Fragmented, disjointed and dystopian narrative
- postmodern text demonstrates the confusion of time and space by the subverting classical cinematic conventions namely a linear narrative structure.
Disjointed narrative involve fragmentation and discontinuity where the story lines and characterisation are broken up, disturbed and don't follow the usual/conventional pattern
Dystopian narrative means narratives become more negative.

- this can result in uncertainty and the shaking up of previously understood beliefs and roles.
- postmodern text can make audiences feel that there are no generic rules any more
- challenges many aspects of life or belief systems which were once take for granted

Voyeurism
- texts that are obsessed by the process of looking at others.

Music Video Annotations

Andrew Goodwin's Music Video theory - Notes

Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics e.g. stage performance in metal video, dance routine for bands
- this could go further in that they can also link to film genres (intertextuality)
- many heavy rock songs are influenced by horror films.

There is frequently reference to motion of looking and particularly voyeuristic treatment of the female body.
- screens within screens, mirror, telescopes,etc)
- an example of intertextuality - Robert Palmer's 'Addicted to love' video and Shania Twain's 'Man I feel like a woman'.

There is a relationship between music and visuals.
- either illustrative, amplifying contradicting

The demands of the record label will include the need for lots of close ups of the artist and the artist may develop motifs which recur across their work.
- a visual style
- the artists almost always sing to us as the viewer, breaking the 4th wall with direct address.

There is often intertextual reference.
- to films, tv programmes and other music videos etc
- audiences like knowing the 'in joke'
- californication and computer games
- Lady Gaga and the unashameable product placement fits with the pop culture/consumerist/materialist style that her audience lap up.

Product Pitch

The action movie (name) looks at the life of a professional hit man. The hit man is very experienced in his field of work and has a family, he is married with two kids. The hit man doesn't keep many close friends but he did have one friend from when the hit man was a child but they lost contact.The hit man's wife is murdered and the hit man has to find out who murdered her. After her death, the old friend comes back into the hit man's life which many will find strange since both characters haven't been in contact with each other for a while. The hit man's main objective is to find out who murdered his wife and to then execute the killer. My hook is my plot. My plot will raise many questions as everyone at one point in the film becomes a suspect leaving the hit man very confused. When the villain is revealed, the villain threatens the rest of the hit man's family which ends up giving the villain a psychological advantage. Due to the creative plot, this is the hook. The movie classifies as an action movie. The action genre is very popular within modern society. This action movie demonstrates the codes and conventions of the genre of action. There are car chases, fights and typical action film props like guns. There are the stereotypical jumps from 'high rise' buildings. During quite intense scenes, tense music will be played and low key lighting is also evident in the scene. There are car chases in mainstream cities, mainly London. There are motorbikes and futuristic cars in the film as well. My audience the film is targeting is between the of 15-45. The film targets a quite mainstream audience and anyone who has a profound interest in action films. The font of the title of the film will be bold. The purpose of this is to make the title stand out. There is evidence of action film conventions in the magazine for example, the hit man is wearing a suit and is holding a gun. The actors are well-known actors in the genre of action. The film is located in London. A camera and a tripod helped film the movie. The production will start as soon as everyone is ready to begin. Our budget is estimated lower than the average budget.