How are social groups represented
in music videos?
I studied the music video ‘How We Do’ by the artist Rita Ora, I
chose this particular music video because I feel that it shows a certain social
group and how they are represented. The social group that is represented in the
video is teenagers partying and being presented as immature by wearing stupid
costumes or short skirts and crop tops.
The music video begins with a medium close-up of a girl ‘partying’
in a skimpy outfit. You can gather from the first few seconds of the video that
the target audience is for teenagers 13-19 years old. Some people may agree that the social group in the video are
represented as stereotypical because of the people in the video and the way in
which they are dressed. It can also give across a bad message to the younger
audience (16 and younger) because they may think this is what teenagers of
today are like and that it may be okay to act the way the actors do in the
video.
Stereotypical teenagers are now represented in the public eye as
immature reprobates who drink and smoke underage and also dress inappropriately
(mainly female). This is being shown in the music video with teenagers
drinking, dressed in revealing outfits and dancing. Music videos like this
particular one can often be very influencing on young children and teenagers of
today because they are the main audience of pop music videos. Also due to the
swearing this is another stereotypical way in which the teenage groups have
been represented.
In conclusion, the way the teenagers/young adults have been
represented in the video is how they are often represented in the media
(newspapers and news channels). Some people may agree that how they are
represented in the video is how this type of social group act in reality
because a lot of music videos are very stereotypical of particular social
groups and can exaggerate how certain groups behave.
Clear observations about stereotypes of teenagers and how these relate to the video chosen. Aim to analyse how these stereotypes are constructed, and use terminology appropriate to media texts. You mention costume (mise-en-scene), you could be more specific about shot types and how these construct representation of the social group (teenagers).
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