THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES

ROLAND BARTHES: This video uses cultural codes to create

meaning for the audience. Through intertextuality a range
of cinema, the video creates an uneasy atmosphere of
creepy and horror filled images, which juxtaposes the
upbeat vibe of the song. The niche audience of this video
will need quite specific cultural capital in order to make
sense of the intertextual references of the text which
includes 1970s horror cult film references, surrealist
cinema, Western genre, and the nostalgia of Wes Anderson.
The video also uses symbolic codes and semantic codes to
create meaning, in the absence of a linear narrative. An
example of a symbolic code is the image of dollar bills when
the lyric says “my friends are turning green” – this could
have different connotations for the audience like envy of
how much money he is making (green connoting both
money and envy). Semantic codes for Horror and Western
genres are also seen e.g. chiaroscuro lighting and women
being violently attacked (dragged under the bed), and
frontier settings with cowboy iconography.
bELL hOOKS: There are a number of contradictory messages
about gender in the text. hooks may argue that the video
objectifies women, feeding into the oppression of women
in a patriarchal society. However, a more nuanced
interpretation would consider whether the video is being
ironic. (see points below in Van Zoonen)
LIESBET VAN ZOONEN: Women are objectified in the media
because we live in a patriarchal society/culture. Men and
women’s bodies are represented in different ways and in
this video we see women’s bodies being the objects of lust.
One of the first shots is a dolly shot moving closer to a
woman by the water’s edge slowly peeling off her swimsuit
with her blonde hair blowing in the breeze. Also, the fact
that the camera focuses on body parts with heads out of
frame suggests a sexualised gaze with the women being
dehumanised. There are also props that support this
assertion e.g. the overhead shot of the book ‘Techniques
for Photographing Girls’. The close up frame of the woman
singing also supports this view. However, you should
discuss the extent to which the video does this is a knowing
way; is it exploiting these stereotypes to make a point
about the role of women in the media?
DAVID GAUNTLETT: newer media products offer more
diverse and complex representations that have moved
away the binary gender representations of the past. Does
Riptide support this assertion or does it promote old
fashioned stereotypes? Or, does the video use these
stereotypes in an ironic way to highlight the changes
Gauntlett outlines?
WHAT TO EXPECT IN THE EXAM
Q1/Q2: This question may require you to compare this
music video with an unseen text. The unseen text can be
from any media form, both print and audio-visual. If the
unseen text is audio-visual you will be allowed to view it 3
times, with time in between to make notes. One of the
questions will focus on media language and one will focus
on representation, and these can come in either order.
The questions asked will relate to the guidance you will find
at the top of the Weebly page. A couple of examples for
media language might be:
 Compare how meaning is created through media
language in both texts
Theorists for the media language question for Riptide
include: Roland Barthes (semiotics) and Levi-Strauss
(structuralism).
Examples of questions for representation might be:
 Compare how audiences are positioned by the
representations in both texts
 Compare how stereotypes are used in both texts.
Theorists for the representation question include: bell
hooks, Liesbet Van Zoonen, David Gauntlett, and Stuart
Hall. If you wish to discuss ethnicity in Riptide you might also
use Paul Gilroy.
Remember that for the unseen text you will need to select
the most appropriate theorists.
You need to be prepared to explore media language and
representations in the RipTide music video and refer to
theory in your response. The question itself will most likely
not prompt you to bring theory in, but it is expected to
access the top bands. If it is a representation question for
this video you will likely discuss the representation of
gender and how audiences might decode the messages i.e.
is the video really promoting the oppression of women, or is
it offering a comment on it? For media language you might
discuss the use of symbolic, semantic, and cultural codes.

STUART HALL: There are few women and POC at the top of
media industries leading to them being stereotyped in
negative ways. How does this relate to Riptide?
 MEDIA LANGUAGE: CODES AND CONVENTIONS
ANDREW GOODWIN came up with a list of key conventions
for music videos including voyeurism, intertextuality, genre
characteristics, featured artist, and relationship between
visual and song lyrics. Riptide is a niche alternative music
video which was aimed at an indie audience, who are
characterised as having quite arty cultural capital. In what
ways does Riptide seem to subvert music video
conventions? The video provides a literal graphic
representations of the lyrics repeatedly, which is a
conventional. However, this leads to there being no clear
narrative, leaving us instead with seemingly unrelated
puzzling images. The video does made use of intertextuality
(see Barthes) for example feature films, film movements
(surrealism), film genres (Horror, Western) and auteurs such
as Wes Anderson and David Lynch. These references are not
overt, yet the audience will likely gain pleasure from
decoding these symbolic and semantic codes. The artist is
not present in this video, and so the use of these ‘high-brow’
references helps to portray the artist as having artistic value
and not being part of the mainstream.
The video appears quite low budget with no use of special
effect and the rejection of narrative. While indie-folk videos
do tend to experiment with conventions to appear more
original and engaging, this video is even more unusual,
making it convey a sense of uniqueness or create intrigue
into the band. The purpose of music videos is to promote
the band’s style; however, the band is absent here. The
purpose of this video therefore is to set up expectations
in the audiences’ mind about the kind of band this is –
something different from everything else.
The video rejects structuralism narratology as theorised by
Todorov and Propp. There is no clear hero, villain, princess
etc. There is no equilibrium, disruption, or ending. What we
see instead is a montage of images; the editing process is
called ‘intellectual montage’ where images are juxtaposed
to create new meanings. It is therefore the audience’s role
to interpret the meaning of images that have been cut
together. An example is the cutting together of the man and
women followed by an overhead shot of a dollar bill; this
might suggest that these people are interested in money or
need money, perhaps that they are American, perhaps they
are planning to make money somehow – it is open to
interpretation by the audience. Another example is the shot
of the woman’s legs being dragged beneath the bed then we
cut to an aloe vera plant being cut with scissors; is there a
horror reference here, perhaps the woman is being cut and
is bleeding the way the plant ‘bleeds’. Perhaps the
juxtaposition of ultimate horror and the ‘soothing’
connotation of aloe vera is intended to confuse the audience
– in fact the whole video is a series of contradictory images.
Take for example the shot of the lolly-pop being pulled
apart; a lolly is a pleasure however it is pulled apart (could
this be a metaphor?).
REPRESENTATION
The representation of women in this text is nuanced. It is not
enough to simply say that women have been objectified or
that women are constructed to be helpless victims and
emotional wrecks. Instead we must consider why these
representations have been made. The video uses
intertextuality to make links with the past through nostalgia.
What comment might the video be making about the
representation of women in the cinema of the past?
Surrealist cinema, including examples such as Un Chien
Andalou and the films of David Lynch in particular, explore
women’s roles in relation to violence and sexual desire (or
even sexual violence). The women in these films are often
pursued by men whom they initial fend off but eventually are
overcome by them and are oppressed by them. Then, to what
extent is this video promoting this patriarchal ideology? Or is
it subverting the objectification of women?
There are a number of examples throughout
the video of violence towards women e.g. a
hand being stabbed by a knife, tied to a tree,
and dragged under the bed. The lip-syncing
woman grabs her own throat and has blood
on her hands. What message is this
conveying about violence? Is it glamorising
violence towards women? Does it trivialise
violence? Is it entertaining?
The video uses a lot of shots where women’s body are
disembodied, for example feet running or hands being
dragged out of shot. What does this say about women? Are
the women in this video dehumanised? Objectified? Also, to
what extend are the shots of the women voyeuristic? Are we
gazing upon women’s bodies in this text?
The lip-synch sections tell us a lot about the current context of
‘beauty norms’ and the media promoting unobtainable beauty
standards. At the start of the video she has immaculate make-
up and is framed in a flattering way, conforming to social
norms or beauty and glamour (even a nostalgic video of
female beauty). As we repeatedly return to the woman she is
increasingly dishevelled, her make=up smudges, and she
grows vacant. Is this a comment on the pressure society places
on women to be ‘perfect’ and the subsequent impact this has
on mental health?