Research - Andrew Goodwin's Theory

Andrew Goodwin holds several ideas on the structure of music videos, as detailed in his book ‘Dancing in the Distraction Factory: Music Television and Popular Culture’.

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Goodwin believes that the pop video does not present a traditional narrative structure, as in the kind you would expect from a TV drama, for example (i.e. the typical ‘normality > conflict > resolution’ structure). This is mainly due to three important reasons. Music videos are built around the songs that they are trying to promote, which rarely tell narratives in the conventional ways we’d expect from other media. In addition, the artist is often portrayed as both the narrator, telling the story through song, and the character. Furthermore, the artist engages directly with the viewer by looking directly at the camera in a majority of shots.

Goodwin also expresses how pop videos place emphasis on repetition, whether it’s done visually or through certain verses or lines in the music being repeated. In addition, he states that the music often builds up to a climax and how this ultimately transfers onto the music video (see analysis of ‘Bad Romance’ which creates a climax designed to leave a lasting impression).

With all of this in mind, Goodwin outlines the three main types of videos you are very likely to identify:

• ILLUSTRATION - the video illustrates the narrative by closely following the lyrics (and can incorporate dancing to express the emotion and/or mood of the song). An example is ‘Deeper Understanding’ by Kate Bush, which fits into this category as the visuals adapt perfectly to what is sung. The lyrics tell the story of the relationship between a person and a computer, and the video reflects this by portraying a man becoming attached and addicted to a computer program and thus separating himself from his loved ones… “As the people here grow colder, I turn to my computer, like a friend”



• AMPLIFICATION - the videos create new meanings that do not contradict but add to the lyrics, thus ‘amplifying’ them. ‘Replaced’ by Kate McGill, which is an example of this type of video, portrays a man who wakes up from a coma forty years later. The lyrics do not specifically refer to this, but do not contradict this storyline either… “You know I used to know you well, I'm staring at the spot you fell”



• DISJUNCTURE - the video has little or no connection to, or contradicts the lyrics. For example, ‘Velvet Elvis’ by Alex Winston – whilst being aesthetically great, especially when it comes to the editing which utilizes jump cuts and sped up motion very well – has no narrative or any imagery related to the theme of the song. Pretty much all of Lady Gaga’s videos also fall under this category.