Common - Letter to the free

Social / Cultural Contexts

What other projects has Common been involved in over recent years?

• He soundtracked the movie 'Selma' [2014], with the song 'Glory' featuring John Legend. He also starred in the recent film 'The Hate U Give'.

What is the 13th Amendment of the American Constitution?

• The 13th Amendment, allows unpaid labour to be utilised if the person is incarcerated therefore it created loopholes for slavery to still occur through the mass imprisonment of Black people in the US

What were the Black Codes?

• They were the rules/laws introduced at state level provided for forced labour for petty crimes that targeted newly emancipated slaves. 

Why do people suggest that the legacy of slavery is still a crucial aspect to American culture 150 years after it was abolished by the 13th Amendment?

• The isolation of Black people in American society is still abundant even in 2019. Mass incarceration, Police brutality and racially motivated murders did not stop the day that Slavery did and a lot of culturally important aspects of society is formed from Slavery. The 13th Amendment allowed the criminalisation of Black people in the societal point of view and fueled this stereotype for years after Slavery was abolished, this is perhaps why people suggest that slavery is still a crucial aspect to American culture.

Why was Ava DuVernay inspired to make the Netflix documentary 13th?

• To bring awareness to the 13th Amendment and it's impacts and consequences on the people effected by it

What was the most significant time period for the rise in political hip hop?

• 1980s

Common talks about other current artists that have a political or protest element to their music. Who are they? Are there any other hip hop artists that you are aware of that have a strong political element to their work?

• Chance the Rapper, Kendrick Lamar, Donald Glover, Logic, 

What album is Letter to the Free taken from? What was the critical reception for this album? 

•  Black America Again. It was critically acclaimed and reached an average of 4 and a half star ratings from most critics. 

Close Textual analysis and Representation

How does the Letter to the Free music video use cinematography to create meanings for the audience? 

• Handheld shot - places audience there, and allows the audience to adopt a spectator perspective apt to a documentary genre
• Constant but slow camera movement - shows slow but progressive ideologies of time?
• Absence of close ups - ambiguity - lack of personal narrative and suggests that this is a widespread issue and not just isolated to a handful of Black people
• Lack of identity - spreads the political message
• The long shots show a subversion to Hall's theory- perhaps a polysenic message and a stand against the stereotypes implemented into society
• Genuine representations - not constructed by a white male perspective - arguably a 'true' representation which could have positive and negative connotations depending on the socio political stance of the audiences.

What is the significance of the constantly moving camera?

• The constantly moving camera could be a symbol of the progression towards freedom, but also amplifies the isolation present in the prison and consequently for Black people in America.

Why is the video in black and white?

• The absence of colour, gives the music video a serious atmosphere. But also makes the contrast of black/white in the video extremely prominent. 

How is mise-en-scene used to construct meaning for the audience - prison setting, costume, props, lighting, actor placement?

• The seperation of the actors - symbolises isolation of Black people
• Unbranded clothing - lack of monetary gain/motivation for the project, the message and ethos is the most significant aspect of this video
• The shaded lighting, leaves ambiguity of the artists identities in the prison cells perhaps alluding to the thousands of Black prisoners who were incarcerated. 
• The Piano - this video feels like a performance video despite the melancholic narrative which could construct a reclamation of identity and power for the musicians for the audience.

What are the key lyrics that suggest the political message of the song?

• 'Institution ain't just a building, But a method, of having Black and Brown bodies fill them'
• 'They stop, search and arrest our souls'
• 'Black bodies being lost in the American dream'
• 'Shot me with your ray-gun And now you want to trump me'

What is the significance of the floating black square motif? 

• Common says it 'represents the infinite thing about Blackness and Blackness can't be defined in time or space'. I interpreted it as a reference to diasporic Black identities in society due to the misrepresentations of society and static perceptions leaving a lack of true definition in our society. Black people have become less defined by individual identity but rather time, actions and institutions, which is something that calls for a change in contemporary society but we have not began the correct discourse regarding it.

How does the video reference racism, slavery and the oppression of black culture? Make reference to specific shots, scenes or moments in the video.

• The words 'No excessive noise' on a white wall, perhaps alluding to the 'Loud' stereotype or the silencing of Black voices by the white majority. The fact these white walls enclose the Black performers could also link to the fact White people are the majority of the people partaking in this oppression of Black culture. The ending shot of the black square in a field, could link to freedom but also be interpreted as showing how blackness will always be connected to slavery and that it's in the very roots of what society has come to view as stereotypes/denotations and how we have yet to progress from this.

How can Gilroy's idea of black diasporic identity be applied to Common's Letter to the Free?

• The ambiguity of the performers due to the lack of close up shots, and the black floating square are both aspects of the video that we can apply Gilroy's theory to. In relation to the diasporic identity theory, the black square is an undefined symbol of blackness, that quite literally has no roots, or 'place' until the very ending. In relation to Gilroy's theory, the lack of close ups also links back to the idea that identity, even today, is hard to define in America. The lyrics also support this.

What other theories of race and ethnicity can be applied to this video? E.g. Hall, Rose or Dyson.

• Hall's theory of Black archetypes cannot be applied to this video, the performers in this video do not fit the stereotypes however it does support the theory since they are entertainers and from the bare bones, singing for entertainment value as well as to spread the ethos. It also supports Rose's theory of the utilisation of hip hop music to articulate Black experience and challenge hegemonic caucasian ideologies and perspectives in society, without conforming to the commercialised composition of contemporary hip hop.

What current events in America and worldwide are referenced in the song and video?

• Trumps Inauguration, Police brutality, mass incarceration of Black people.  

BFI Study Day: Follow up notes

Notes made from the session:

- 'Liberal Feminism' - Focusing on individual women's personal and political autonomy
- The media is male dominated - it reinforces the patriarchy even the representations of women are constructed and formulated by men in power
- key conventions can be manipulated to create alternative meanings
- the idea of the 'fragmented self' and how there is no 'real' you as you are the result of external influence, societal structures and cultural experience.
-'Nothing is original' - representations in the media are as 'real' as actual experiences and this results in the absence of an 'objective reality'
- There is no essential 'truth' but rather a multitude of truths that are all equally valid.
- The 'truth' is a narrative that is essentially a belief that helps us temporarily make sense of things or a situation
- History is progressive, Knowledge and insight liberate us, and Knowledge is a secret unity.
- Mediated experiences - intense and resonate with audiences for repeated viewing
- Readerly/Writerly texts- [R] has a fixed meaning and requires passive reception whereas [W] requires the audience to contribute to their experience to fully enjoy the text

Summary of theories:

bell hooks: Race, sexuality, gender, ethnicity and social class combine into a lack of power in the media, women are objectified and we live in a flawed patriarchal society.

Liesbet van zoonen: Sex role stereotypes; our society prescribes sex appropriate behaviours and appearances, as well as interests and reinforces gender assumptions.

Judith Butler: Gender is a performance, that is repeated until it becomes 'reality'.

Saussure: Denotation/Connotation- Connotations are naturalised, but polysemic.

Barthes: Denotation is a dominant connotation; 'myths'

Stuart Hall:  Encoding is the preferred reading, Decoding is how the audience reads the meaning.

Lyotard: We are a character in our own lives and that totalising cultural narratives that organise our thoughts and values into a 'grand story' that we can make sense of.

Baudrillard: Imitation that seems more real than the thing it is imitating.


300 word theory analysis of Inception [2010, Dir. Christopher Nolan]

Inception reinforces the ideas suggested by Baudrillard heavily throughout the movie, The scene where Ellen Page's Character is unaware that they're dreaming references the idea of simulacra, that the imitation of something can sometimes seem more real than the thing that they're imitating. However, this is subverted as we, as an audience, are constantly reminded of how they're dreaming through 'wake up' scenes and the existence of the spinning top. The entire movie is extremely hyperrealistic, with characters such as Mal, being a blurring of a real person and a projection of Cobb's imagination. Inception also reiterates the ideas presented in bell hooks theory of a flawed patriarchal society, that the expectations and stereotypes implemented in our society are harmful to both men and women. The expectations of Cobb lead to him taking more risks in order to 'prove himself' and become a good father, an oxymoronic experience throughout the film, and these choices are made motivated by a conformity to what society and the fictitious society believe what makes a 'good' man/father. You can see this create an act of turmoil for the character which reinforces the flawed aspect of these patriarchal standards. In relation to Hall's theories, I think that Nolan's intentions were to have the audience make their own decisions regarding the characters and 'realities', by creating characters that are morally ambiguous but still have relatable intentions and motivations for the intended audiences. The preferred readings of this film are unclear however it is clear that Nolan expects us to sympathise with Cobb, despite his arguably immoral actions, and the oppositional reading would be to take a dislike to Cobb and condemn his actions. The idea of 'unreliable reality' is also important as it reinforces many post-modern theories but also acts as a subversion for the simplistic theories such as the denotation/connotation theories as the 'denotations' are not what they seem as well as the connotations having to be negotiated depending on what part of the film you're watching and it fluctuates to a state where simply understanding the meanings of what seems 'obvious' becomes far more complex.

TV Assessment: Learner's response

Type up your feedback in full

• WWW: Wow... some of your points in Q3 are just exceptional and worthy of A*. Outstanding application of knowledge and theory with detailed reference to the CSP. A Joy to read!
• EBI: Q1 is a reasonably slow start by your standards ... have a look at the mark scheme to see additional ideas/points
• EBI: In Q3, you are top level but for full marks you could have explored the capitalist ideology & left wing propaganda idea further.

Identify one potential point you missed in each question

• Q1: Intertextual references between Kill Bill [+ other Tarantino films] and the characters
• Q2: Chicken gained critical acclaim and had a national premiere on Film 4. 
• Q3: The historical significance of Deutschland '83

Three definitions:

• Bricolage: the juxtaposing of old and new texts, images, ideas and narratives to create new meanings
• Pastiche: imitation of a style of another text, artist or time period but without ridicule
• Intertextuality: a reference to another media text, style or convention

Write down two points you didn't include in Question 2, regarding Chicken [2015] promotion and distribution

• The fact that Joe Stephenson created his own distribution company, and used this to distribute Chicken. I also failed to mention the fact it had it's National Premiere on Film4 a channel with a niche audience. 

Essay Plan for 25 mark question

•  Introduction: the representations in Deutschland 83 and Capital are different despite the same production time - Capital is a state of the nation drama, has to be realistic to the time but D83 is based off the 80s therefore the their representations should be apt for that era and not 2015 however it's place as a postmodern text does closely reflect beliefs of the production time.
• Paragraph 1: Representations on women: Capital and Deutschland 83 both have 'old fashioned' depictions of women: Characters of Arabella, Quentina [subversion] and Martin's girlfriend and mum in D83
• Paragraph 2: Politics - D83 = Pro- capitalist subtext, glamorisation of the west and although subversive to the time period it's set in conforms to today's hegemonic political ideologies. Same with Capital through the 'work hard for your money' idea and celebrating your wealth.
• Conclusion: Summarise Points = I believe to some extent ... however these representations [politics and gender] suggest ...

Music Video: Theory

How does This is America meet the key conventions of a music video?

•  There's alot of camera movement, a clear focus on performance as well as an explicit narrative piece; there's also intertextual references to the news.

What comment is the video making on American culture, racism and gun violence?

•  Perhaps, it's making a comment on the temporary reactions to the murder and how the general public can easily be distracted from the horrors and injustice of America through entertainment and maybe, a comment on how the media focuses on the side of America that is easier to swallow - the hollywood movies, the reality tv and uses that to cover up the institutionalised racism that plagues the country. 

Write an analysis of the video using the key theories [Gilroy, Hall, Rose & Dyson]

•  This video supports Gilroy's point about how music is a way for Black artists to articulate diasporic experiences of resistance to white capitalist culture through it's narrative. The scene where Donald Glover is dancing in front of the sheer destruction of black people which mirrors how the capitalist structure of society 'turns their back on' black people and those of a lower class [Hall], which is perhaps a reference to recent and ongoing news stories. Childish Gambino, has used his platform to start a discourse on how black people are treated in contemporary America. Glover also conforms to the three archetypes suggested by Stuart Hall, throughout the music video, We see him take the role of the 'master', with an unnamed extra being the 'slave' [1995, Hall] at the beginning, we also see him take the role of the 'Native' as he shoots the gospel choir midway through the music video. His main role is to be the 'clown' or entertainer as he constantly dances and puts on a performance for the audience. This video however subverts the idea of commercial hip hop as the video conventions and hegemonic reading suggests this video is to give insight into the lives of black people rather than to be profitable. This leads to it supporting Dyson as it gives a perspective on contemporary politics involving race issues as well as how Trumps' America has caused a spike in racially motivated attacks particularly by police officers and those in power, Childish Gambino speaks on this and displays it through the narrative within the music video - particularly through the background action as Gambino takes centre stage, perhaps a comment on how the audience becomes distracted by the entertainment values and other things America has to offer, in order to avoid the 'hard to swallow' aspects of society.

What are the three interpretations of the video suggested in the guardian article?

•  Childish Gambino is 'playing Jim Crow', he's .duping us with dance' and he's 'taking on the police'

What alternative interpretations are suggested in the 'below the line' comments?

•  It's 'just music', or it displays how 'deadly' being black in America actually is, and also the acceptance/desensitisation of violence and racially motivated crimes by the media - the idea that this happens whilst people move on and live their lives in conjunction with black people losing theirs. 

Music Video Introduction

What is the purpose of a music video?

•  To sell products - especially merchandise, tour tickets and records.

How has the digital age changed the production and distribution of music videos?

•  Videos are available at the audiences disposal, which wasn't the case when music videos were first produced and distributed.

Which three major record labels are behind VEVO? What is VEVO and why was it created?

•   Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group, Abu Dhabi Media

What are the key conventions of the music video?

•  Movement, Intertextuality, Pace, The Band/Artist, Narrative, Performance 

How can narrative be used in music video? Give an example of a music video that uses narrative.

• It can relate to the lyrics and display what's being said or can be separate from the song and present a different story. For Example; Gives You Hell by the All American Rejects. 

What examples are provided by the fact sheet for intertextuality in music videos?

•  Blink 182s All The Small Things - references the Backstreet Boys [I want it that way], and Christina Aguilera [Genie in a bottle]
• Cheerleaders in My Chemical Romance reminiscent of the cheerleaders in Nirvana's smells like teen spirit

Why do audiences enjoy intertextual references in media texts?

•  they gain gratification from recognising the reference. 

Music Video analysis: Boy with luv - BTS ft. Halsey

CONVENTIONS:

• The song 'Boy with Luv' is a homage to the upbeat 70s/80s synth pop with a modern twist that is reflected in the first 30 seconds of the music video. The old school setting matches the song's instrumentals however the narrative doesn't match the lyrics. The setting of a movie theatre, allows this video to act as a pastiche to the 50s era and particularly the films of the era. There is an abundance of movement from both the band themselves and a consistent movement from the camera - at 58 seconds we see the camera move outwards and go from a wide shot of the band dancing to a medium close up of one of the members in one single shot and this movement in scenes is consistent throughout the entire music video, from the choreography to the orchestrated movement from wide shots to singular medium close ups/long shots of members. The band members are also seen performing/ lip syncing to the song in question with many of the members singing towards the audience in a direct address. 

INTERTEXTUALITY:

• The entire music video pays homage to the 1952 movie 'Singin' in the rain' - from the opening shot mirroring a key scene from the movie, to the lamp posts referencing the iconic 'Singin' in the rain' music scene and the yellow sofa also referencing another musical number. The costume during the stage scene, as well as the 'curtain falling' aspect is also a clear reference to the movie. Another intertextual reference is a self referential take with the signs in the stage scene actually being BTS' other discography and referencing their past albums/singles. The pink colour scheme works in synergy with the bands album covers, a recognisable colour palette and works as an advertisement for the albums. Another intertextual reference, is the piano shot, with the floor piano, a reference to several iconic movie scenes such as Big [1988]. The 'persona' font also references BTS' past music videos but also Las Vegas and it's 'strip' making this video somewhat of a pastiche to the synthetic pop genre but also postmodern ideologies. 

REPRESENTATION:

• Halsey, a feature on the song, is seen throughout the music video and is a biracial, bisexual woman, she is represented as being conventionally attractive however her unnaturally coloured hair, has the dominant reading of empowerment and self expression in the modern age. Something BTS have promoted throughout their careers. BTS, are a Korean boyband, and they have a dominant role in the music video - they are also conventionally attractive but their 'feminine' take on traditionally masculine clothing could be seen as a modern depiction of men and is conventional to the pop genre of the late 2010s. The facial expressions and costumes also link with the themes and instrumentals of the song as well as the choreography being a clear convention of Korean pop music videos.

AUDIENCE:

• BTS have a global audience therefore this music video appeals to a global audience as well as a national korean audience. Fans of BTS are usually younger, female however they have a far more ambiguous demographic. Their core audience is probably a fan of boybands and pop music but the use of American references and a mixture of both korean and english lyrics, this appeals to both a western audience and a domestic audience. Halsey is an american, alternative artist and appeals to a different demographic - teenage girls, who share the same social activist mindset as many of BTS' fanbase, but enjoy a slightly different music genre. They would probably enjoy magazines such as Dazed or have a large social media presence.

INSTITUTE:

• The single 'Boy with Luv' was released by the Korean Music Label 'Bighit Entertainment' which is the record label BTS are signed to. It's a song off their newest album and follows their prior album series 'Love Yourself' - this marks a new era for BTS and offers their fans an alternative view on the band. This video was made to promote this album but also their upcoming tour, which launches their newest concept and is their first stadium tour as well as the first kpop tour to sell out stadiums globally. Since this is new, collaborating with a western artist would be a great advertising point for western audiences. 

How did this video [ICE CUBE]  set the conventions for later hip hop music videos?

•  It included key hip hop aspects such as Basketball, Gang culture and baggy clothing, Low rider clothing, the 'hood' setting and a heavy reference to the NWA and early gangsta rap videos. This also started as a foundation for the politically referential hip hop era and is an iconic depiction of 'old school' hip hop.

How important do you think music videos are in the marketing and promotion of musical artists in 2019? Are music videos essential to a band/artist's success?

• I think that music videos are important although not essential. A music video gives an artist an image - you can gain a lot from songs, lyrics and the plethora of other aspects of the music industry but music videos are visually compelling and if done well, can become a recognisable part of an artists brand, such as Psy's Gangnam Style or even Willow Smith's 'whip my hair' being talking points of their era. The choreographies of these videos may go viral, and the artists behind it will either benefit or not from this. I think that having well developed, visually compelling and creative music videos are definitely a flawless way to market an artist however with the rise in streaming and social media, it can definitely be argued that they are no longer as essential to an artist's success as they once were.