Andrew Goodwin's Theory

Do you agree with Andrew Goodwin's comment that music videos demonstrate genre characteristics; stage performances for metal bands, dance routines for pop groups, etc?

I think that Andrew Goodwin's comment that music videos demonstrate genre characteristics can be applied to the majority of music videos in today's market. In my Prezi (shown above) on the 6 elements Goodwin stated an audience should look for within a music video, I wrote about some of the genre characteristics displayed within rock and pop music videos. I used Green Day's 'American Idiot' as an example of a stereotypical rock music video, and Fifth Harmony's 'Worth It' music video as an example of a stereotypical pop music video. While these two videos display clear elements of their respective genres, there are also many music videos that do not follow genre expectations.

An example of this is Paramore's 'Still Into You' music video, which does not comply with the typical genre characteristics of a rock music video. While Paramore are a rock band, the video displays many features that would be found in a stereotypical pop music video. The Mise-en-Scene of the video shows bright colours used for the costumes and settings- atypical to the dark colour scheme which the audience expects from a music video within the rock genre. Another way in which Paramore have challenged genre characteristics is by choosing to show their lead singer lip synching throughout the video, instead of the whole band performing. Lip synching is usually associated with songs in the pop genre, so an audience would probably be surprised when watching this video as it is not what they'd expect.



Many music videos comply with Andrew Goodwin's theory, displaying typical genre characteristics and therefore delivering to the audience what they'd expect from the genre. I have included some examples of these in my Prezi (above). 

Foo Fighters' 'Something From Nothing' video is a clear example of a music video displaying genre characteristics. The visuals show the band performing the song in a low lit room, (the lights intensify during the more intense parts of the song) wearing simple, everyday clothing in dark colours. The band are playing instruments associated with the genre of rock- electric guitars, drums, and bass. These elements of the video support the genre of the song, not surprising the audience as it is delivering them what they expect. 



Overall, I agree with Goodwin's comment that music videos demonstrate genre characteristics, as I have learned through my research that many music videos support his comment.