Analysis of Madonna’s ‘4 minutes’ and Lady Gaga’s ‘LoveGame’
Both music videos feature artists that break various conventions and stereotypes through the performances and narrative.
In Madonna’s ‘4 minutes’ we see a certain narrative being established. Although it is not a linear narrative, we see that as an overall music video there are certain elements that tell a story on Madonna attempting to save the world. There seems to be a clear emphasis on binary opposites between human versus time as the number ‘4’ is featured repeatedly throughout the music video. The editing of the song adds to the ‘race against time element’ as we see Madonna continuously jump and travel between cars and various objects and places such as supermarkets and treadmills. The editing is fast-paced and mostly ‘cuts to the beat’ thereby conforming to American music videos. These features add to the ‘time-ticking’ aspect as they act as obstacles in Madonna’s path yet she is able to overcome it ever so easily. It seems as if the producers wish to portray Madonna as a heroine as she is presented in a black outfit which suggests her role may be that of a spy perhaps who is on a mission to ‘save the world’. The fact that Madonna is introduced standing behind a car and easily able to push it reinforces the heroic attitude. One would notice that the phrase ‘save the world’ is repeated continually and may reflect Madonna’s race against time and be saving humanity from evil. This further suggests that Madonna is a heroine and not an ordinary woman. The fact that we see time being presented through animated effects that too in the colour black may just that time is the ultimate antagonist throughout this video thus referring back to the binary opposites. One could suggest that we are constantly being included in the mission as the camera movements and shots seem to be point-of-view hence could also suggest that she is attempting to save us making the video highly personal.
On the other hand, In Lady Gaga’s ‘LoveGame’ we see that the music video much slower paced in terms of editing and beat which works in favour of the song itself. Gaga is shown at several instances in a sexualised manner through extreme close-ups and mid-shots which add to the intimacy aura the producers wish to convey. Despite wearing glamorous clothing which may at first suggest she is just an ordinary artist, we see that the style is unconventional through the hair colour and cosmetics. Furthermore, she breaks the stigma associated with people from the LGBT community as she is featured having an intimate ‘moment’ with another female as well as men. One would notice that in this video there is a key entertaining or performance aspect rather than a narrative as neither the lyrics or music video seem to be telling a story. It can be deemed fit that Gaga is a star text through the way she is idolised and presented ever so uniquely in the video. Furthermore, we see some sort of escapism aspect in the video as the scenarios are highly unlikely to happen in everyday life. Gaga conforms to the conventions of music videos as the lyrics have some similarity with the visuals, moreover, the editing of the video reflects music video conventions as it ‘cuts to the beat’ at various instances.
In conclusion, we see that both artistes attempt to present themselves as unique through the music videos and attempt to establish a certain narrative or a performance.
Both music videos feature artists that break various conventions and stereotypes through the performances and narrative.
In Madonna’s ‘4 minutes’ we see a certain narrative being established. Although it is not a linear narrative, we see that as an overall music video there are certain elements that tell a story on Madonna attempting to save the world. There seems to be a clear emphasis on binary opposites between human versus time as the number ‘4’ is featured repeatedly throughout the music video. The editing of the song adds to the ‘race against time element’ as we see Madonna continuously jump and travel between cars and various objects and places such as supermarkets and treadmills. The editing is fast-paced and mostly ‘cuts to the beat’ thereby conforming to American music videos. These features add to the ‘time-ticking’ aspect as they act as obstacles in Madonna’s path yet she is able to overcome it ever so easily. It seems as if the producers wish to portray Madonna as a heroine as she is presented in a black outfit which suggests her role may be that of a spy perhaps who is on a mission to ‘save the world’. The fact that Madonna is introduced standing behind a car and easily able to push it reinforces the heroic attitude. One would notice that the phrase ‘save the world’ is repeated continually and may reflect Madonna’s race against time and be saving humanity from evil. This further suggests that Madonna is a heroine and not an ordinary woman. The fact that we see time being presented through animated effects that too in the colour black may just that time is the ultimate antagonist throughout this video thus referring back to the binary opposites. One could suggest that we are constantly being included in the mission as the camera movements and shots seem to be point-of-view hence could also suggest that she is attempting to save us making the video highly personal.
On the other hand, In Lady Gaga’s ‘LoveGame’ we see that the music video much slower paced in terms of editing and beat which works in favour of the song itself. Gaga is shown at several instances in a sexualised manner through extreme close-ups and mid-shots which add to the intimacy aura the producers wish to convey. Despite wearing glamorous clothing which may at first suggest she is just an ordinary artist, we see that the style is unconventional through the hair colour and cosmetics. Furthermore, she breaks the stigma associated with people from the LGBT community as she is featured having an intimate ‘moment’ with another female as well as men. One would notice that in this video there is a key entertaining or performance aspect rather than a narrative as neither the lyrics or music video seem to be telling a story. It can be deemed fit that Gaga is a star text through the way she is idolised and presented ever so uniquely in the video. Furthermore, we see some sort of escapism aspect in the video as the scenarios are highly unlikely to happen in everyday life. Gaga conforms to the conventions of music videos as the lyrics have some similarity with the visuals, moreover, the editing of the video reflects music video conventions as it ‘cuts to the beat’ at various instances.
In conclusion, we see that both artistes attempt to present themselves as unique through the music videos and attempt to establish a certain narrative or a performance.
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