Tuesday 24 April 2018

Dizzee Rascal- Dream VS Beyonce- Formation


This music is visually simple and basic, but it correlates with the lyrics of the song.  Within the music video is a pianist whom is a white elderly woman, who gives the responses expected by that of an older person to rap music, she on numerous occasions addresses the audience and introduces dizzee at the beginning of the video.  Dizzee being the main character is also the narrator of the video as well as the actions of the puppets.  The background of the video and the over all quality of the video connote that it is a late 90s child's show quality.  The narrative shows the disruptions and success of the rapper in which he achieves his dream.

Within the music video, Dizzee rascal gives support and encouragement to all single parents as well as a warning to the youth to stay off the streets.  As the lyrics changed so did the actions of the puppets and scenery to give a visual representation of what he was explaining.

Within the video a there is a show of racial hierarchy; where as Dizzee being a black rapper of grime, was made smaller in comparison to the white pianist whom was made alot larger, she even made faces of disapproval whenever dizzee did anything wrong and faces of approval when he made positive actions.  This shows that she has more power social wise than he does, this again is connoted when even though he reaches success he retreats back into the box, along with the other puppets.

The pianist is represented as a stereotypical white british woman, who is very reserved and creates a dominant sense of power as she gives her approval and disapproval to dizzee's actions, however she can also be seen as a caring motherly figure, this also creates humour as she is very different in dressing and language compared to the rest of the video.  Meanwhile, dizzee connotes that of a rebellious young male who fits the stereotype of a "thug" who challenges authority, but over time becomes a role model among his peers therefore challenging this negative stereotype.

Overall, the music video connotes a very encouraging message.  It may represent that regardless of the trials faced, with perseverance dreams can be achieved.  As well as that youth should "get off the street" and pursue their dream or hobby and stay out of trouble.


However, in formation in the opening shot we can see a shot of Beyonce on top of a submerging police car surrounded by a flood this can invoke the notion that this is the aftermath of hurricane Katrina in Lousiana and the recent controversies surrounding the police and the shootings of minorities. This represents police brutality, within America.

Within the video there is quite a lot of black empowerment and women empowerment, for example when beyonce sings about liking "afros and negro five nostrils", this is normalising the features of black people that most persons attempt to discriminate against.  As well as the different hairstyles her and the persons within the video wear showing the different hairstyles black woman wear, and in a certain shot you can see her and four black men standing behind her well dressed outside of a plantation house, as if to say we own it now.

  A representation of women empowerment, is that when beyonce sings about taking her man out, get him a record deal, etc, this shows that a woman can do what a man can do but better, as well as the way she dressed gave empowerment in that women should be able to dress however they want to without it being discriminated against, but her dressing like that may take away from th message she is trying to promote in the eyes of other people.

The video changes alot in terms of message and background and what she is singing about, however there is a lot of positive messages throughout the video, that may be mistaken in an opposed way depending on the viewer.

1 comment:

  1. This is a really good analysis because you highlight relevant information about the music video and pick up on the subtle themes within it however you could have compared it to a music that argues the same point

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