Media Theories

Goodwins theory was all about how there are specific conventions in music videos to specific people. He talked about how there had to be a relationship between the lyrics and the video, these had to illistrate, amplify and contradict. For example
The video had to include genre signifiers these could be props, clothing, appearance and locations.He said how the producers had to encode the video with things that the audience would be able to decode, this is things such as in a love song the main girl could be wearing red because she is in love. You have to make sure that you use iconography; where the audience can recognise images. He said how the record companies make sure that there are a lot of close ups of the main star in the videos so that everyone can know who they are so they will want to buy the single or album. Voyerism should be used, this is where you are watching or spying on someone in the video. A motif can be used this is where there is a reoccuring image or theme going through the whole video. Intertexual reference's should be used to show that you may admire someone elses work that they have used in another video.
This music video from maroon 5 shows how this theory is put into action


Laura Mulveys Male Gaze Theory talks about how in films and music videos we are always seeing the women from a males perspective. As we will always see them as being sexy and the camera will always pan up and down her as if a male is looking at her. This objectifies women as it shows how men can have more power than they do. They show women as objects as they are always made to look very pretty and put in very sckimpy clothing to show off a lot of skin. When audiences decode the text they will be able to see how women are sexualised and some women may not like to see that. There are 3 specific things that you will find in music videos: the first one is the perspective of the male this is the camera angles and the way she looks, the second one is perspective of the spectator this is what the audience are seeing, and the third one is both of them put together.
This video of the saturdays show how this theory is true.