Jean Baudrillard

Bio:

• Born in 1929 in Reins, Paris
• 1966 began teaching sociology
• His books gathered a wide audience during the 1980s and 1990s - he became an intellectual celebrity, he published frequently in the English and French speaking popular press

5 key works:

1. Simulcra and simulations
2. Utopia deferred: writings from the Utopia
3. The system of objects
4. Symbolic Exchange
5. The spirit of terrorism: and requim for the twin towers

 

"There is no theory of the media" - Baudrillard 'Requiem for the media' 1971

2005:

• According to the academic William Merrin Baudrillard isn't actually a postmodernist.
• Although, he borrows many ideas to describe this media saturated world, he's actually more interested in the way we connect, make meaning, experience and communicate.
• Baudrillard is first and foremost a sociologist, anthropologist and philospopher.
• He just happens to be living in an age where the media influence has significant parts of these topics.
• Baudrillard offers a radical anthropoligical critique of what he calls the semiotic and simulation - of an avant garde response to the world of simulation and our attempts to understand it.
• His ideas ideas are based on the work of the French anthropologist Emil Durkheim.
• Durkheim was concerned primarily with how societies could maintain their coherence in the modern era, where matters such as shared religious and ethnic backgrounds could no longer be assumed. . .

 

"The mass media are anti-mediatory and...fabricate non-communication - this is what characterizes them." -Baudrillard 'Requim for the media' 1971

The genre of my music video is classified as a mixture of alternative rock, indie pop and indie  rock. I would be applying my mise-en-scene to these genre conventions, thus there would be images of the band performing in the studio playing instruments from acoustic guitars to drums which are typically seen in indie music videos (performance based narrative - Andrew Goodwin/John Berger). The band members, outfits would be casual/boho. The location would be in a mountainous landscape. where the theme of adventure and freedom is evident. Naturistic settings are typical in indie music videos. There would be diegetic sounds of laughing and rain establishing a cinematic realism. Black and white grainy footage would be present to create a nostalgic ambience to the audience, along with flashbacks as if the audience are looking at memories (illustrative - Andrew Goodwin). The mise-en-scene holds strong connotations of the characters being strong and fearless (semantic code - Roland Barthes), creating a juxtaposition to the lyrics of the song "I wish I could be like the cool kids" (amplifying - Andrew Goodwin). Establishing the music video as progressive, thus in the beginning the characters were anything but strong and fearless (the action code - Roland Barthes). The progressive concept is reinforced with the music video beginning as slow paced and then building up as fast paced and then slow paced to emphasise the characters complete transformation. The flashbacks enforce the cinematic soap opera narrative by evoking hurt and bullying which makes them say "I wish I could be like the cool kids" and not fitting into the 'norm'. There is cliched icongraphy of adventure with the group of friends running around the mountains and the city (vesimilitude).

Genre of 'Cool Kids'

Genre:

Alternative rock

indie pop

indie rock

Juxtaposition to uncool to cool kids - progression

Mise-en-scene:
Folk guitars, drums - indie
Mountains - nature - indie juxtaposition alternative rock - the city
Clothes - normal - indie - boho

Cliched Icongraphy adventure - freedom, mountains, nature, group of friends running around

• Images of band performing
• Cinematic soap opera narrative - bullying
• Diegetic sounds - laughing, raining - cinematic realism

"I wish that I could be like the cool kids" wishful thinking realises she is one

• Studio setting

Black and white grainy footage - nostalgia to audience, memories, flashbacks

Connotes characters as strong and fearless

Slow paced, builds up to fast, slows down to create emphasis and then builds up for conclusion

How my music video will link with Narrative theories

To provide an initial insight to what my music video will be like visually:
 It would look disorientated, the theme of adventure is evident, there are silhouettes, with city pictures and natural landscapes displayed evoking the locations I would film my music video. All in all, the music video conveys adolescence and nostalgia of the teenage years.

Performace oriented visuals cue viewers that the recording of the music is the most significant element - John Berger

Conceptual - methaphors, multiple meanings

Narrative and performance - Steve Archer "cut between a narrative and a performance of the song by the band" "acting as a narrator and participant at the same time"

Andrew Goodwin - illustrative
Amplyfying - repetition
disjuncture - ignoring meaning of song

Roland Barthes - the semantic code - the audience is directed towards an additional meaning by way of connotation
 the action code - the audience is excited by the need to resolve a problem

vesimitulude

juxtaposition/contrapael - mountains vs. city - all teens the same no matter where you came from

POMO VS. MODERN

Lyrical Analysis of Cool Kids by Echosmith