Exam Prep, Ghost Town, Music Video

CSp 6: The Specials – Ghost Town

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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 Continue your notes: WHAT IS THE CULTURAL, SOCIAL AND HISTORICAL BACKGROUND? Use ppt from Jodie below

Music-as-Political-ProtestDownload

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: Continue to build up your notes (in preparation for the unseen essay) by reading see BOTH: 1. Paul Gilroy chapter in the Mark Dixon AND 2. some of the linked articles below.

1. Media Theory for A level by Mark Dixon

Look specifically at pp. 72-73 & 77-79 – Paul Gilroy chapter in Media Theory for A level book by Mark Dixon. Think about the following key terms:

  1. racial otherness (72-73)
  2. post-colonial melancholia (72-73)
  3. the story of UK race relations post W.W. 2 (72-73)
  4. Legacy of the Empire (77-79)
  5. The Search for Albion (77-79)

2. Useful sources of information

4 TASK 4: MAKE SOME NOTES ON THE WAY IN WHICH THIS MUSIC VIDEOS CREATES AND COMMUNICATES MEANING THROUGH NARRATIVE

You should INLCUDE SOME SEMIOTIC TERMS ANALYSIS (ie the use of signs) which should specifically look at:

You should also focus on GENRE

  • 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
  • How the story / narrative is constructed (this post should be helpful or this BBC Bitesize post). Put another way, how could TODOROV, LEVI-STRAUS & PROPP be applied to this music video.
  • 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)
  • 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

ASSESSMENT

We will complete an unseen question in class. This question could look at either MEDIA LANGUAGE and / or REPRESENTATION. THAT MEANS THE QUESTION DOES NOT REQUIRE YOU TO TALK ABOUT INSTITUTION AND / OR AUDIENCE

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