As part of our research into the creations of music videos and their genre conventions we have been asked to complete a textual analysis of a music video of our choice. I have chosen Hurricane by Halsey, an American alternative artist. The music video is like a mini movie, and says "to be continued" at the end.
The genre is evident from the start as we three teenage boys on BMXs, with skateboards on their backs. Not only does this adhere to the indie vibe that is present in most alternative videos, the bikes and skateboards combined with the tie dye shirts create a 90's retro look.
We then see three teenage girls sat on the hood of an old windowless truck, eluding to the motifs found in many indie music videos, for example the mise en scene of Hurricane is comparable to that of The 1975's Robber's video. Both sporting ragged 'vintage' clothes and run down vehicles, the 90's Hollywood style obviously plays a big part in this genre of music video.
The slow motion at the start, during the wide shot of the three boys, emphasizes how care free and happy they are. This links to the stereotype that teenagers have no troubles and their life is like a big party. This stereotype is also represented through the lyrics of the song; "don't belong to no city, don't belong to no man", with the american teen depicted as a free spirit. However, the protagonist of the video actually seems to subvert this theme; as the story progresses she develops feelings for one of the boys and is disappointed when the budding relationship is seemingly ruined. This creative decision is arguably apt for the tone of the song and video as it is about rebellion and non-conformity. Furthermore, the aforementioned hegemonic reading that the lyrics suggest is actually questioned by the artist herself and the audience is forced to take on a negotiated reading whereby they accept that teenagers can be free spirited just wanting to have fun, but they also can form an opinion on whether the protagonist's actions are wholly harmless or whether there are repercussions to her careless behavior.
Hodge and Kress (1988) tell us that 'genres control the behavior of producers of such texts, and the expectations of potential consumers'. In terms of Halsey, and her music I don't believe genre limitations are of great concern as she has quite a niche fan base and has so far only released one album- last month. Oh her google play profile she discussed with the interviewer what it was like to be turned down by a popular music show and says that music producers had no problem 'nitpicking her textured, ebbing voice '. "They said, 'yeah, you can't sing pop music. You have a niche voice that caters to one type of audience. This isn't the show for you." However, after hearing her single 'Ghost' months later, one of the producers approached her saying 'we think you're a star'. Halsey replied with "No, thanks . Sorry." From this we see that Halsey does not let genre expectations control the type of music she creates.
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