For my video analysis I chose one of the hottest electro hits currently around on the radio at the moment, Wolfgang Gartner's Illmerica.
Very concept based this one, why not have a watch? :)
Copyright: Ultra Records - 2010
Goodwins Seven
1. The visuals in this video demonstrate characteristics of the dance genre is several ways. The fast up tempo nature of the video, and the fact that generally dance videos are quite imaginative and often "different".
2. There are no lyrics in this video... but the visuals fit the songs title - Illmerica, as the video is depicted important American events through time, with a potential swing to the "bad" events, hence the Ill-merica title.
3. The visuals change with the various "breakdowns" and tempo changes in the music. The track is a fast, energetic number and the situations shown in the graphics keep moving fast and changing regulary to keep the viewer interested.
4. The artist is not shown at all this video.
5. Wolfgang Gartner hasn't (to my knowledge) released any other videos, therefore it would be hard to look at reoccuring iconography in his videos.
6. The whole idea of voyeurism and the pleasure of looking is exercised a great deal in this video, as there are many different aspects and events depicted in this video - from wars to girls in bikinis, it has it all here.
7. There are a wide range of intertextual references as the video relates to events of an American past. Wars, slave labour, the introduction of Obama to the White House etc. These are all events that mean a great deal to Americans and their culture.
Institutional Details
The track is by American dance producer Wolfgang Gartner, and was originally released worldwide in late 2010.
The record label the track was released on was Ultra Records. They are an American independant label, formed in New York in 1995, that primarily releases dance music. Other dance producers signed to Ultra include Deadmau5, David Guetta, Ferry Corsten and Tiesto.
Representation & Textual Anaylsis
The music video portrays the history of America. It shows a great deal of events (assinations/wars and other important events) that mean a great deal to Americans.
It could be argued that the intended focus of this video is to show America in a bad light. There is a great focus on the blood, guts and gore side of history - with depictions of beheading, murder, attacks and more. Showing America in this "blood thirsty" manner could lead the viewer to thinking "is America really as great as we think?". Then again, on the flipside - you can say that it shows the amount of hardship that America has gone through, and that therefore makes Americans proud of their country, and what they have today.
Obviously, with such a blatent representation of their "gorey history" it's likely to offend some people that are proper historians, as they may see it as making a mockery out of their proud history. War veterans may find it offensive due to it's "jokey" and inaccurate representations of war. The list goes on... there is a lot to dispise and be potentially offended by in this video if taken the wrong way!
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