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.