Semiotics of music videos

Semiotics of music videos is the observation of symbolism used within music videos.

Overview

Semiotics in popular music, or mesomusica,[1] is different from semiotics in other musical forms, because pop music denotes a cultural object[2] (Matusitz, 2004). Popular music has many signs in itself because it has many components and uses, but it also appeals to the emotions of a generation. Music is the “logical expression” of feelings, a "symbolic form".[3] Music videos are an example of syntagm, which interacting signifiers form a meaningful whole.[4] Music videos are also considered multimodal genres because one semiotic system is joined syntagmatically to another semiotic system, which results in a signified indexical meaning.[5] The process of music correlated with visuals can be described in terms of two basic mechanisms: temporal synchronicity and cross-modal homology.[6] Incorporating the two modalities, sound and image, we can interpret it as a unified syntagm.[5] Music videos are known to be visually secondary signified in combination with the semantic content of the lyrics.[7] Semiotics in music videos is different from a pragmatic analysis because we can uphold that semiotics searches for meaning by considering sign production and progress, while pragmatics searches for meaning by considering the intentions of semantics and the context it has evolved in.[8]

There are early critics of the importance of analyzing music videos as a semiotic system. Frederic Jameson's definition of music videos is a schizophrenic string of isolated, discontinued signifiers, failing to link up into a coherent sequence, as a string without a center.[9]

Invisible editing

Many semiotic analysts have examined music videos to decode messages that are being sent to viewers. Invisible editing, a semiotic term, that film editors use to almost decode the message for the audience using narrative actions. Daniel Chandler's example from famous film editor, Ralph Rosenblum, "a man awakens suddenly in the middle of the night, bolts up in bed, stares ahead intensely, and twitches his nose. Then the film directs towards a room where two people are desperately fighting a billowing blaze"[4](Chandler, pp. 166, 2007). Because of the actions of the actors, the audience is aware of the next scene before it is shown. An example of invisible editing in music videos would be in narrative style, which consist of a plot and storyline of events and characters[10] Michael Jackson's music video, Thriller is considered a narrative script, and it exceeds the song itself. In this case, the context of visual narrative semantically over-powers the meaning of the song itself. Many music videos use narrative style script, which is considered a more formal approach as the editing will add emphasis to the song's chorus, giving it a deeply ingrained musical archetype.[7] Music videos that aren't formally organized usually have no segmentation markings that flow with the lyrics, and contain abstract images. Sledgehammer, by Peter Gabriel is an example of formally unorganized music videos. In general, music videos contain visuals that either represent the potential connotative meaning of the lyrics or the visuals can represent a semiotic system of its own. Although many analysts explain the music video as being a narrative structure, there are many videos that defy narrative conventions.[10]

Intertextuality

Intertextuality, for media purposes, references other popular culture objects within their video, and then the audience creates their meaning of the video according to the intentional suggestion created with relationships between primary and secondary texts.[11] In general terms, intertextuality is considered links within a context or medium that bind text to other text (Chandler, pp. 166, 2007[4] ). Many editors and directors use intertextuality in music videos because it combines different cultural codes taken from previous texts that are sensible for many audiences. Using intertextuality in music videos allow a viewer to identify with their theoretical framework of knowledge, and use it to define their identity. This approach can be used to gain popularity for referenced ideas, and influence consumers with a persuasive agenda. Material Girl, by Madonna is an example of using intertextuality because she is acting like Marilyn Monroe in Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend. This is a direct cinematic reference which allows an active audience to draw conclusions to the meaning of the message.

Intratextuality

Intratextuality is a term that is derived from intertextuality, but is considered combining secondary references for marketing and promotional purposes. This type of technique is also called anchorage, found by Roland Barthes:[12] anchoring text to a context that changes the intentional meaning. An example of this would be, the music video, Right Now, by Van Halen. The lyrics of the song Right Now suggest an entirely different meaning than the social empowering messages shown through the music video.

Bricolage

Bricolage is also an example of using many different texts within a context for promotional, marketing, or popularity value.[13] Lady Gaga uses cultural bricolage in her music videos by using fashion and previous memorable characteristics of former pop stars. Michael Jackson's Leave Me Alone is also a form of bricolage because it is a collage of already popular people and pop culture artifacts combined to portray his own message.

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See also

References
  1. Tagg, P (1987). "Musicology and the Semiotics of Popular Music" (PDF). Semiotica. 66-1/3.
  2. Matusitz, J. "Semiotics of Music: Analysis of Chinese Rock and pop in the Post-Cultural Revolution Era". Conference Papers. International Communication Association. Missing or empty |url= (help)
  3. Langer, S.K. (1942). Philosophy in a New Key: A Study of the Symbolism of Reason, Rite, and Art. Cambridge, Mass: Pelican book.
  4. Chandler, Daniel (2002). Semiotics: The Basics. USA and Canada: Routledge. p. 264. ISBN 978-0-415-36375-4.
  5. Lemke, J (2009). "Multimodal Genres and Transmedia Traversals: Social Semiotics and the Political Economy of the Sign". Semiotica. 173 (1–4): 283–297. doi:10.1515/SEMI.2009.012.
  6. Eisenstein, Sergi (1943). The Film Sense. London: Farber.
  7. Bjornberg, Alf (1994). "Structural Relationships in Music Video". Popular Music. 13: 51–74. doi:10.1017/S026114300000684X.
  8. Chattah, J.R. "Semitoics, Pragmatics and Metaphor in Film Music Analysis" (PDF). (Doctoral Dissertation). Electronic Theses, Florida State University. Retrieved 2006. Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  9. Peeters, H (2004). "The Semiotics of Music Videos: It Must be Written in the Stars". Image & Narrative. 8 (1760–678X).
  10. Vernallis, Carol (2004). Experiencing Music Video: Aesthetics and Cultural Context. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 978-0-231-11798-2.
  11. Bennett, James (2008). Film and Television after DVD. NY: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-203-89429-3.
  12. Barthes, Roland (1977). Image, Music, Text. New York: Hill and Wang. ISBN 978-0-374-52136-3.
  13. Corona, V (2011). "Memory Monsters and Lady Gaga". The Journal of Popular Culture. 46 (4): 725–744. doi:10.1111/j.1540-5931.2011.00809.x.
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