Elle North Bishop-Saunders A2 Media
Candidate Number: 5271
Centre Number: 22357
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Analysing Music video
Vance Joy- Riptide
Vance Joy's Riptide is a very literal music video. The video almost seems to 'mock' Goodwin's 192 Dancing in the Distinction Factory. Goodwin stated that in most music videos we see a 'relationship between lyrics and visuals'. Throughout the whole video for Viptide we see a constant link to the lyrics.
"I was scared of dentists and the dark"
"I was scared of pretty girls "
This is guite a gothic/horror interpretation of the dentists. Dentists and the dark are very common social fears people have. The point of showing a very unrealistic interpretation of how dentists now look is so the fear is felt within the audeince aswell. In an interview for PopCrush singer of Riptide James Keogh spoke about whether the line about being scared of dentists and the dark was literal.
I think it was a bit. It probably came from a real place. I wrote that line… and that came out of nowhere. Sometimes when you’re writing a song and that song comes into your head, it definitely comes from somewhere, like a real experience. So I think that’s pretty accurate, you know? Yes, it’s interesting how some words just kind of pop into your head and you have no idea where they came from
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Looking at this clip from Viptide we can apply Laura Mulvey’s 1975 theory about male gaze. The women is seen 'seductively' removing the staps from her shoulders as the camera zooms in closer. Removing the straps would mean that she would be revealing her chest which is a main attraction to men. However from the audiences perspective all we see is the womens back recognising what she is doing. It creates anticipation in the audience especially men, whether or not they will get to see her from the front.
'Turning Green' usually refers to to being jealous or with enzy. The singers friends may be jealous because he is getting this beautiful girl. 'You're the magician's assistant in their dreams'. Magicians assistants are generally very beautiful woman intended to draw attention away from what the magician doesn’t want you looking at. Therefore its saying that when his friends dream about her she is portrayed as being very attractive. The card trick in the video represents the magician, and the low angle of the women showing the sky refers to the lyric 'dreams'. The term 'your heads are in the clouds' and 'your on cloud nine' refer to the fact of being in a 'dream world' or in a good place. The sky is where people believe heaven is and what you would dream of.
"Oh, all my friends are turning green
You're the magician's assistant in their dreams"
"Oh, and they come unstuck"
The lyrics "Oh, and they come unstuck" are repeated twice in the song. The second time that these lyrics are sang the visuals show two ice lollies are shown joined together but then being pulled apart. This could refer to the fact that two people, most likely in a relationship are drifting apart/breaking up.
"Lady, running down to the riptide"
Riptides are responsible for most drownings in the ocean.By saying this girl is running into a riptide, Vance implies that she is accepting “drowning” by embracing a new lifestyle. Vance has stated in interviews that “riptide” also refers to the name of a hotel he and his family used to stay at in his youth.
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"I wanna be your left hand man"
By saying he want to be her left hand man, he is saying he wants to make her his wife. We can infer this because your left hand is associated with where you put your wedding ring. It is also commonly the hand you hold as you walk down the aisle. The music video shows different close ups throughout the video of people using their left hand.
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"You're gonna sing the words wrong"
The video shows a women throughout the song becoming increasingly more destraught as the line is repeted. Towards the end you start to nive that the lyrics on the screen suggest she is actually singing the words wrong.
In the same interview with PopCrush when asked if he gets a lump in his throat when the lyrics to this song are sung wrong, James responded:
I think Riptide is a pretty hard song to follow. Lyrically, I can imagine when you love it, you don't think about it, but they do it, they sing it wrong because it's so densley packed with different words. It's kind of like an endeariing thing, you know? It's kind of like a charming thing when someone sings the words wrong
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"There's this movie that I think you'll like
This guy decides to quit his job and heads to New York City
This cowboy's running from himself"
When i researched other peoples analysis of Riptide it suggested that Vance is likely referencing the 1969 film Midnight Cowboy starring Jon Voight. Voight plays a Texan dishwasher who packs up and moves to New York City hoping to make a living for himself, but is unable to truly escape his past.
"I just wanna, I just wanna know
If you're gonna, if you're gonna stay
I just gotta, I just gotta know
I can't have it, I can't have it any other way"
He wants to know if the one he loves is going to stay, he can’t have it anyway but being their husband.
"I swear she's destined for the screen
Closest thing to Michelle Pfeiffer that you've ever seen, oh""
Michelle Pfeiffer is a beautiful actress that has graced the screen in movies like Scarface and Grease 2. If hes saying this girl is close to Pfeiffer he obviously believes that she is very beautiful. 'Destined for the screen' could be because actresses such as Michelle are usually very pretty again saying that this girl is as good looking as a movie star.