Sunday 20 September 2015

Response to Q Magazine - Controversy in music videos.


"When a musician starts to use the phrase 'mini-movie' to describe a video, it's time to quit" is a phrase from Dave Grohl, who's words were for the 'ripe folly of Guns N' Roses' comically excessive November Rain', however his words also came to mind for Rihanna's controversial 'Bitch Better Have My Money' premiered earlier this year. The article unpicks every detail of the music video, giving a negative impression through sarcasm, exemplified when words and phrases such as, 'snooty', 'self-regarding, hubristic and flamboyantly expensive' and 'if you missed it, it's not that complicated' which then continues to give a sarcastic synopsis of the video. The article pointed out that 'the internet unpacked the sexual and racial politics of the video in double-quick time', suggesting that there's multiple controversial parts in the video.

The Q Magazine article, September edition, expresses their opinion on recent music videos, with music videos such as Bad Blood by Taylor Swift being featured in the article, being mentioned as 'smug, 'outdated, and that 'Taylor Swift wants to cement her status as an A-List celebrity and every famous woman's dream BFF'.

The article focus' on controversy within music videos, and music videos which were perhaps made to cause controversy, however does hint that this may not always be for the worse. 'Bad Blood only topped the Billboard charts for a week because of video views'. The article then goes on to say 'without a video, Bitch Better Have My Money peaked at a disappointing Number 17 in April'. This article suggests that controversial music videos aren't always a negative thing as they help raise the song in the charts, exemplified in the Taylor Swift/ Rihanna example. 

Controversy in music videos is becoming much more common, as it is often used to gain a more press and a bigger audience. People hear that the music video has something controversial in it, or is a different style to what the artist is usually known for, and they watch it just for the reason that it's different, not because it necessarily is what they like. Controversy is also a way to get their opinion across when the artist feels as if they couldn't just say what they think. This article overall presents the different reasons why music videos are controversial.

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