The Specials – Ghost Town

This is a targeted CSP and needs to be studied with reference to two elements of the Theoretical Framework (Media Language and Media Representation).

1 TASK 1: MAKE SOME GENERAL NOTES ON THIS MEDIA PRODUCTION: NAMES, DATES, NUMBERS, ETC

Ghost Town is a product which possesses cultural, social and historical significance. It will invite comparison with the other CSP music video allowing for an analysis of the contexts in which they are produced and consumed.

2 TASK 2: WHAT IS THE CULTURAL, SOCIAL AND HISTORICAL BACKGROUND IN WHICH THIS VIDEO WAS COMMENTING UPON?

Ghost Town by The Specials conveys a specific moment in British social and political history while retaining a contemporary relevance. The cultural critic Dorian Lynskey has described it as ‘’a remarkable pop cultural moment’’ one that “defined an era’’. The video and song are part of a tradition of protest in popular music, in this case reflecting concern about the increased social tensions in the UK at the beginning of the 1980s. The song was number 1 post-Brixton and during the Handsworth and Toxteth riots.

The aesthetic of the music video, along with the lyrics, represents an unease about the state of the nation, one which is often linked to the politics of Thatcherism but transcends a specific political ideology in its eeriness, meaning that it has remained politically and culturally resonant.

The representations in the music video are racially diverse. This reflects its musical genre of ska, a style which could be read politically in the context of a racially divided country. This representation of Britain’s emerging multiculturalism, is reinforced through the eclectic mix of stylistic influences in both the music and the video.

3 TASK 3: MAKE SOME NOTES ON THE WAY IN WHICH THIS MUSIC VIDEOS CREATES AND COMMUNICATES MEANING IE MEDIA LANGUAGE.

You should adopt a SEMIOTIC ANALYSIS (ie the use of signs) which should specifically look at:

• Mise-en-scene – ie what can you see in each shot
• Cinematography – ie how does the camera frame each shot & how are the shots edited together

You should also adopt a NARRATIVE ANALYSIS

• How the story / narrative is constructed (this post should be helpful or this BBC Bitesize post)
• How TODOROV, LEVI-STRAUS & PROPP could be applied to this music video (you may remember that we looked at these on our AS TV CSP link here or on this narrative post on my blog
• Think about how the visuals link to the song lyrics (is it a LITERAL OR METAPHORICAL interpretation, eg the journey through a deserted landscape, or the way lyrics refer to effects of political and economic conditions)
• How audiences are positioned and invited to respond (do they use a direct mode of address?)
• How the Narrative structure provides appeal, interest and pleasures (think active audiences . . Uses and Gratifications theory or for those students who looked at my Easter post, apply the 2 Step Flow model (link here)

You should also focus on GENRE

• Make sure you reference Neale! You may remember that we looked at Steve Neale when we looked at AS TV CSP (link here)
• How the music video genre uses intertextuality and hybridity to establish meanings
• How music videos meet the expectations of audiences

ASSESSMENT

You have a choice from two A level essay questions: YOU ONLY NEED TO ANSWER 1 QUESTION and either email it to me or upload it to the blog, (but remember to let me know if you have done so). They are both A2 exam questions and they are both worth 12 marks. Mark schemes and feedback sheets are below. Further reading / sources of information at the bottom of this post. Good luck 🙂

Q1: How useful are ideas about narrative in analysing music videos? Refer to both CSP’s in your answer [12 marks]

Q2: Explain how representations used in Music Videos communicate information about their cultural and political contexts.

Useful sources of information

• Directed by the graphic designer Barney Bubbles (there’s an interesting overview of his work at: https://daily.redbullmusicacademy.com/2015/03/barney-bubbles-feature
• Ska story: the sound of angry young England: (https://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/skastory-the-sound-of-angry-young-england/Content?oid=875398)
• Reggae: the sound that revolutionised Britain (https://www.theguardian.com/music/2011/jan/30/reggae-revolutionary-bob-marley-britain)
• The Specials: How Ghost Town Defined an Era: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-13780074
• Abigail Gardner (an academic specialising in pop music and the media) Ghost Town: A Haunting 1981 Protest Song That Still Makes Sense Today: https://theconversation.com/ghost-town-a-haunting-1981-protest-song-that-still-makessense-today-88733
• Alexis Petridis (Guardian music journalist) Ska for the madding crowd: The Specials and the story of the UK’s most remarkable chart-topper | Culture | The Guardian
• An overview of the different ways music videos can make money in the contemporary economic context is discussed in this article from the US Rolling Stone magazine: https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/seven-ways-musicians-make-money-off-youtube192629/