Analysing a Music Video

I have decided to analyse Tiao Cruz's Troublemaker music video. I have chosen this particular video as I believe it shows frequently used stereotypes throughout the duration of the video.

Firstly, he sexualises women frequently (which is typical of an r&b music video). This is fairly derogatory, and is used to capture the attention of a certain audience. The video itself is a visual representation of the lyrics, with one line stating "You ain't tryin to hide it, girl you're a troublemaker". The word "girl" in the line reinstates the use of generalisation, with "girl" not personal to any particular female. This picture (time code 2:58) perfectly demonstrates this. The composition of the shot itself, and the wide shot used, shows the whole of the women's bodies, which exploits them further. They have also chosen to make each woman into a silhouette, which you could say is generalising women as a whole.















Throughout Tiao Cruz's video he expresses his power in various ways. These two screenshots of the music video represent this.

The first screen shot (time code 2:36) shows Tiao standing in the middle of the shot, showing that he is the main focus. There are two very expensive cars either side of him, being smashed into a brick wall, and this is another sigifier of his power- as it is not detrimental to him if he ruins the two sports cars. The second screen shot (time code 1:37) consists of 2 females standing to either side of him, with their faces directed away from the camera, with Tiao (again) being the focus of the shot. He looks sternly at the camera, and directly into the lens to show his authority and power. The power figure that Tiao wants to portray in his videos is typical of that for most r&b videos, with the representation of both genders being very 'black in white' in the way women and men are portrayed. 

TV Scheduling

TV scheduling is a very important part of TV, and you never really take any notice of it.  Some of the scheduling times for certain programmes is obvious, i.e, if programme contains inappropriate content. TV shows which contain such material will normally be cast post watershed.

The watershed is a period of time (which is 9pm in the UK), which adult content may air. This may be due down to violence, sexual content, inappropriate language etc. The 'watershed' is not strictly for this country- it used in countries across the world. For example, it is known as 'safe harbor' in the United States and in Venezuela it is called 'Adult Time'.

The time in which television shows are broadcast is paramount to their overall viewing figures; as each channel is aiming to get the highest number of viewers. If shows are broadcast at a time slot which would be awkward for the particular audience the programme is aiming for- viewing figures will decrease as a result.              

These were the current viewing figures of the Top UK TV channels between the week starting the 17th of September and ending the 23rd of that month. (This information was taken off the website http://www.barb.co.uk/)

The channel with the most people tuning in is BBC 1. This could be to do with the content shown, airing popular shows such as Doctor Who, Casualty and Eastenders- but also because on the TV guide, it is the first channel that will appear. Due to the fact that people will; (most likely); not want to scroll through pages worth of virtual TV guide, the channels that appear first- will probably get far higher viewing figures than the other channels provided.

                                                                                                                                                                                                       

How are stereotypes represented or challenged in this clip?

In a clip from hit BBC soap opera 'Eastenders' racial stereotypes are certainly challenged throughout and are clearly represented.

In the segment of this episode of Eastenders; Ray was seen to be stopped by a passing police car, and the poilceman inside had suspicions that he had stolen something. Throughout the duration of the 3 minute clip, Ray becomes increasingly defensive, coming to his own defense extremely frequently. When the police officer asks him to perform a stop and search, Ray is clearly bothered by the request, he becomes increasingly agitated, and he (almost) knows the stereotype cast upon him- and this in turn leads to him getting angry with the officer. To clear the sterotype from him, almost; he reveals the bump underneath his outerwear was infact weights that he'd trained with earlier in the episode.

This is where stereotypes become challenged. In the part of clip after Ray uncovers his weights, unveiling his innocence to the officer, the stereotype that had been shadowed upon him previously, disappears- and the contrast in power between Ray and The Officer is less strong.

The camera angles used throughout the clip could be representational of the stereotype shown. The significant angle is where Ray (to the left of shot) and The Officer (to the right of shot), are continuing their confrontation, and the camera angle is looking up towards them. Low camera angles could signify that they have more power, as the angle makes both characters appear taller. Adjacent to eachother, they both remain on the same level; which could give an indication into how the scene will unfold.

This again shows stereotypes being challenged, because stereotypically the police officer would have far more power than the typical pedestrian, but because both characters are presented on equal levels; some say, that stereotypes, therefore- become challenged.

This was my first essay question titled 'How are stereotypes represented or challenged in this clip'. We were asked to find a clip, and explore how, why and what things may support the question given. I was given a few targets to help me improve my answers for essays in the future. These were to:

1. Explore stereotypes in both sides.
2. To analyse shot by shot and refer to each in detail.

I will take these both into consideration for my next essay, and hopefully will produce an even better piece of work.