Cookney, DJ

Fairclough, K

University of Salford Institutional Repository

3/26/2019 The music video is a zombie – it may look dead but it's just been re-animatedhttps://theconversation.com/the-music-video-is-a-zombie-it-may-look-dead-but-its-just-been-re-animated-85493 1/4AuthorsKirsty FaircloughSenior Lecturer in Media and Performance,University of SalfordDaniel CookneyLecturer in Graphic Design, University ofSalfordAcademic rigour, journalistic flairThe music video is a zombie – it may look dead but it’s justbeen re-animatedOctober 17, 2017 10.04am BSTWatching the rotting zombified corpse of Taylor Swift claw her way out of a grave,one could be forgiven for thinking that the music video hasn’t come very far sinceMichael Jackson’s Thriller in 1983. But the world in which Taylor’s zombies dragtheir feet is totally different to the TV realm that Jackson dominated. The growth ofthe internet and social media has seen the power of MTV wane. But instead of curlingup and dying, the music video has evolved and embraced online platforms like theundead embrace the apocalypse.Swift’s Look What You Made Me Do does indeed conjure up Thriller but it alsobetrays exactly how much change has taken place since John Landis turned Jackson’stitular album track into an ambitious 14-minute promo, referencing both The Return of the Living Dead and his own American Werewolf in London.Thriller notably won in three categories at the first ever MTV Video Music Awards in1984. In 2017, the VMAs (as the awards show is commonly abbreviated) continuedthe recent trend of falling viewing numbers with its lowest ratings yet.Taylor Swift’s Look What You Made Me Do. TaylorSwift/VevoOctober 17, 2017 10.04am BSTThe music video is a zombie – it may look dead but it’s justbeen re-animatedTaylor Swift - Look What You Made Me Do3/26/2019 The music video is a zombie – it may look dead but it's just been re-animatedhttps://theconversation.com/the-music-video-is-a-zombie-it-may-look-dead-but-its-just-been-re-animated-85493 2/4How long MTV will maintain its commitment to the VMAs remains to be seen but the channel itself –launched in 1981 as a platform for a relatively new promotional tool – has already significantlyreduced its music programming. Instead, building on the success of early docu-soaps like The Real World and The Osbournes (once offering only occasional respite from back-to-back videosinterspersed with music news from its VJs), reality TV offerings have now become MTV mainstays.The video’s gone viralBy contrast the natural home for Look What You Made Me Do is now found online. Although ratherthan being downgraded by MTV’s indifference, the sharing power associated with the likes ofYouTube can ensure more exposure than its playlisting on cable TV ever could. As Gina Arnolddiscusses in Music/Video, viral hits such as Gangnam Style are indebted to the platform.And while MTV might have introduced the early work of auteurs such as David Fincher, Spike Jonze, Michel Gondry, Anton Corbijn, Mark Romanek, Chris Cunningham and Jonathan Glazer to anaudience, it is again YouTube (plus similar video sharing sites including Vimeo) that will offer a spacefor new talent pushing the boundaries of music video’s audio-visual dialogue.The move away from the MTV playlist means that video producers no longer need to create content tomeet that demand and are able to make videos directly for their fans. This has led to some weird andMichael Jackson - Thriller (O cial Music Video)3/26/2019 The music video is a zombie – it may look dead but it's just been re-animatedhttps://theconversation.com/the-music-video-is-a-zombie-it-may-look-dead-but-its-just-been-re-animated-85493 3/4wonderful oddities, catering to very specific markets with examples including the recent Arca videosand their exploration of male sexuality and male vulnerability.Technological advancements have allowed new contributors making interesting videos that were oncethe preserve of big budget mavericks like Cunningham with clients such a Bjork. Now “unofficial”videos and newer stars – such as Unicorn and Philippa Price – vie for attention online while pushingthe format into new territory.Technology and changes in the industry has meant video making has become much more interesting,egalitarian and less restricted by label bosses who were previously producing content that wasdestined almost exclusively for MTV. Now that the music video no longer remains coupled to thefinancial base of major music labels, a diffuse and more complex audiovisual landscape is emerging.Artists such as FKA twigs, for example, shift from using this very visible platform for music product toparticipating in adverts for brands like Nike, while still presenting her music in ways that appear toconfirm her authenticity as an artist.But the music video also remains a vehicle for the presentation of commercialised celebrity cultureand stereotypical ideas regarding gender and sexuality. Many women in mainstream popular musichave had to address their visual representations and ultimately accept mass objectification inexchange for success. Ariana’s Grande’s playing into the age old “virgin/whore” trope in Dangerous Woman provides a case in point. While Robin Thicke’s controversial Blurred Lines is another extremeexample of male objectification of women. In a welcome shift of cultural mood, the backlash againstthis video was so extreme, that Thicke’s career has never fully recovered.But although sexual objectification is commonplace in music videos, more recently it may wellprovide the space to challenge these representations. Artists are using music video in a range of ways,as platforms to bolster their personas, comment upon celebrity culture, and air their political views.Popular female artists present their views regarding body image issues and their implied powerrelations through various means in their music videos. Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, Rihanna and Nicki Minajhave all used various tactics to directly comment on, and often challenge, contemporary discoursesurrounding body image.FKA twigs - Pendulum3/26/2019 The music video is a zombie – it may look dead but it's just been re-animatedhttps://theconversation.com/the-music-video-is-a-zombie-it-may-look-dead-but-its-just-been-re-animated-85493 4/4YouTube Music TV Michael Jackson Music videos Going viral Taylor Swift Nicki Minaj VimeoMuch of what makes FKA Twig’s work interesting is the varied and complex self-representationsprojected through her music videos. Her commitment to exploring how technology can bemanipulated and used to manipulate the female form presents work that can be read as feministwithout overtly labelling it as such. Her work speaks to the complexity of contemporary celebrity anddigital cultures where her femininity and feminism are often difficult and contradictory.It is safe to say that music video has not only survived the demise of MTV as its primary outlet, buthas transformed and shifted into a more complex and diffuse form that offers a space for expression,creativity, nostalgia, political commentary as well as the presentation of commercially packaged pop –a la Taylor Swift. It is evolving alongside other visual technologies and is now situated somewhere inthe messy and interesting space between art and commerce. It seems the format is not quite dead andburied after all.We produce articles written by researchers and academics. Be part of The Conversation.Make a donation 

The music video is a zombie – it may look dead but it’s just been re-animated

http://usir.salford.ac.uk/id/eprint/50680/1/The%20music%20video%20is%20a%20zombie%20%E2%80%93%20it%20may%20look%20dead%20but%20it%27s%20just%20been%20re-animated.pdf

The music video is a zombie – it may look dead but it’s just been re-animated

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