Researching Music Video's

As part of our research, we wrote a comparative essay comparing the video for 'Video Killed The Radio Star' by 'The Buggles' to a music video of our choice. I chose the video for 'Space Bound' by 'Eminem' as it carries a serious message and was criticised in the media for its explicit scenes.

In today’s society, many media texts attempt to portray our varied cultures and key aspects of the postmodern world we live in. The word ‘postmodern’ was initially used in the end of the 1800’s to describe a new style of art, but since then the meaning has been altered to describe the fluid nature of our society and the changes that have occurred since the early twentieth century. The concept of music videos has evolved almost with postmodernism; the first recorded music video was a series of still shots accompanying a piece of music in 1894. Today, music videos are often sources of getting people’s views out to the world and using our changing society to broadcast the negative and positive aspect of this ever-changing world.

Both 'Video Killed The Radio Star' by 'The Buggles' and 'Space Bound' by 'Eminem' portray aspects of society but in two completely different ways. ‘Video Killed the Radio Star’ was originally released in 1979. It was the first music video to be ever shown on MTV. Its narrative centres on the introduction of the television and the eradication of the radio. This portrayal of the descent into digitalisation shows one aspect of the push into the postmodern era. The video is very disjointed. The musicians shown in the video do not look like they are playing, but instead lack any emotion and look directly forward, towards the camera. This suggests that they have no control and are completely disconnected from what they are doing which may symbolise the disjointed nature of postmodern society as well as the power of the new technologies. Similarly, the woman dancing also shows no emotion which suggests that the music is controlling her and forcing her to dance, another symbol of postmodernity. The effects that have been used in the text also help to represent postmodernism. The 'shaking' editing also represented a disconnected society. The shaking makes the scene look unstable and therefore symbolising the unsteady society. The costumes that are worn are meant to resemble space suits which, at the time, represented the future. As space travel was relatively new at this time, the idea of space and alien contact was almost an ideological view of what the future is going to be like. Therefore, the idea of it was foreign to the consumers at that time and so they could decode the unknown nature as a symbol of technology and how it is foreign to them now but won't be in the future.

The video accompanying 'Space Bound' caused a lot of controversy due to the suicide portrayed. It has also been subject to much debate on the actual meaning behind the video. The fact that the video is so subjective can be said to highlight aspects of postmodernism. Postmodernism is a very subjective concept itself as it is about reality no longer being fixed but is now uncertain. Therefore the confusion of the video could reflect the confusion of today's society. In the video, Eminem is shown as two separate people which could be another representation of indecisiveness. This is particularly shown in the split screen in which Eminem makes two different decisions. At the beginning of the video, Eminem is shown as being lost in a dark area. This may connote that not only is he physically lost but also lost mentally in the ever-changing society we live in. This is reinforced by the idea of the two separate Eminem's as one is believed to be his subconscious, showing an inner conflict. The concept of being lost is also shown through the shot of the wolf. Wolves have many connotations, one being danger which could symbolise that he fears the fragmentation of the world and its lack of meaning. Another connotation could be loneliness. Wolves are associated with being lonely from the phrase 'a lone wolf.' This emphasises the idea of him walking alone in the dark as a sign of him being lost. There is a slow motion shot of a jukebox changing song. This scene is key in the video as it signifies the change of the real Eminem switching into his angry subconscious. It could also signify the vast amount of changes that people in our era partake in. In a similar fashion to 'Radio Star', this video also has a jolting effect at the moment the woman disappears. This not only emphasises what he has done but also his regrets. Like the previous video, it may also represent the fragmented nature of today.


Power is openly shown in the video for 'Radio Star.' The first showing is through the technology of the microphones. When we first see the singer, Trevor Horn, he is shown in a black and white effect that is designed to look almost like an animation, which at that time was a form of media that had been around for a number of years and therefore could be classed as archaic. In the scene he is shown with a ribbon microphone, a symbol of old technology which contrasts to the 'modern' scenes in which he is shown with an ear piece microphone, a symbol of new technology. This technology puts him in a position of power as he is shown as understanding the modern electronics and is therefore knowledgeable of the control. Horn's voice is also heavily edited to give it the aura of technology and once again places him in the powerful position. The men are shown wearing white jackets which could be linked to the white coats that scientists wear. This makes them powerful due to the connotations that the white jacket gives; psychologically people are more likely to conform to people in white coats as they are seen as intelligent and so know what they are doing. This shows the men as intelligent and in charge and so makes them the powerful people in the eyes of the audience. Horn is also shown watching over the little girl as she observes the laboratory style room. He specifically watches over her interaction with her future self in which she touches the glass and looks in awe. The future girl, however, looks trapped and is shown as trying to escape and reconnect with her old self. The fact he watches over this shows how he is in control of this situation. This could also add issues of gender as the people who are accustomed to the new technology are men and the people who are being affected our women, showing an imbalance. On the other hand, later in the scene there is a moment when the black and white interpretation of the singer overlaps the colourful modern day version before they both dissolve out of scene. This could be decoded as vulnerability as even he is looking back at the better days without the technological interference and this almost revokes some of his power as he is shown as being as lost as the others.


'Space Bound' also has power connotations. From the initial shot we see the vulnerability of Eminem. The beginning shot is a shot of his feet as he walks down the dark road, before then fading into a extreme low angle of the trees above him, making him seem small in the world and so has a lack of power. This establishes from the start that it isn't him that's in control. Later in the video we see a mid-shot of the woman walking through a busy diner. In the shot she is placed in the centre and is much taller than all the people surrounding her. This composition gives the impression that she has the power. The fact that she is in possession of a gun adds to the power element as stereotypically it is the people with weapons that have power. Another example of her powerful position is simply the fact that she leads Eminem out of the diner and into the motel room. This shows that she is in charge as she isn't lost, like Eminem has been portrayed earlier in the video. When considering the narrative, it is the woman who cheats which goes against many gender stereotypes as traditionally it is the male who cheats. This shows both power inclinations and gender issues. The role-reversal shown in this video could also connect with postmodernity and its indecisiveness. Despite this, there is a power shift towards the end of the video. We see an extreme close up of Eminem shutting the door to the motel room. This simple action puts the male in the position of power as he is now in control of what happens. After this the focus is mainly on Eminem which shows the extent of his control. There is also a low angle shot looking up to the man as he strangles the woman. This boosts the power shift as the woman is now looking up at him, putting him above her in the power relationship. This video has another power battle consumed in it as we have an internal power battle between Eminem and his subconscious. Towards the beginning of the scene, it seems as the subconscious is in control. We assume this from his active stance as he raps almost angrily, whereas the real Eminem seems very passive in the front seat. However, towards the end of the scene we see the power shift from the subconscious to the real Eminem as they switch roles from passive to active and vice versa.


From looking at both these videos, we can see establish the importance of society and its portrayal in this postmodern era. Even though these videos are very different to each other they both hold important messages of our new world and how we have reacted to the changes.