Dizzee Rascal's Dream - Andrew Goodwin's theory

Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics

Dress codes
- red tracksuit with a 'hoodie' top and trainers.
Challenge authority reinforced by the lyrics "reckless with no shame".
Rebellious.
Youths are constructed as irresponsible e.g. skateboarding, graffiti, stealing a TV.
- the period setting of the sitting room is established through mise-en-scene of the striped wallpaper, coral curtains and grand piano, connoting a middle-class environment that contrasts dramatically with the contemporary setting of the narrative. The stereotypically socially deprived, inner-city environment is constructed though the set and props on the piano e.g. off licence building with graffiti.
Police officer - brutal e.g. beating up a youth.
Binary oppositions of: black vs white - hierarchies of power in society.

There is frequently reference to motion of looking and particularly voyeuristic treatment of the female body

Opposition - overcome it because they are now famous.
Police officers are looking at them.

There is a relationship between music and the visuals

Dizzee Rascal uses the microphone at the point where sings about discovering music and gaining air time. The microphone connotes power because his voice can be heard which signifies a move away from deprivation and rebellion towards achieving his dream and becoming a respected member of society.

The demands of the record label will include the need for lot's of close ups of the artist and the artist may develop motifs which recur across their work

Dizzee Rascal performs and directly addresses the audience, also commenting on the narrative and actions of the puppet characters.
Dizzee Rascal performs of the piano and interacts with the puppets.

There is intertextual reference

References to 1950s children's television, use of direct address by the pianist, ironically position the audience as children being told a story.
- the use of this iconography of childhood establishes a sense that the video is a fable with a clear moral message. The iconography and the juxtaposition of the 1950s references, helps to distance the audience.
The puppet characters are interwoven into the narrative e.g. Muffin the Mule.
Captain Sensible, who recorded 'Happy Talk' in the 1980s, when Rascal says "This is too sensible for me, man" as he climbs out of the musical box.
- creates a sense of nostalgia and pleasure for viewers who recognise them.

There is a relationship between the lyrics and the visuals

The pianist is singing lines from Happy Talk while directly addressing the audience.
The images are highly illustrative, often featuring a literal interpretation of the lyrics e.g. 'off licence', 'young baby mothers'. This adds to the sense that a vivid story is being told. 
Many of the images illustrate the lyrics but connote deeper meanings in relation to the more abstract notion of working to achieve a 'dream'.
He appears to be a stereotypical defiant youth who challenges authority at the beginning of the video, reinforced by the lyrics e.g. 'reckless with no shame'.