Music Video Analysis

I first saw this video a few years ago and I was immediately interested and thought it was a very clever video. I love the use of colour and the way in which the words are shown to be coming out of the artists mouth as he sings. One thing that stands out a lot to me is the fact that the people in the video are all shown in black and white, and the other cartoon effects and lyrics are the only things that are in bright bold colours. I feel this is because the song is based around the idea of the lavish lives they lead so the things that are highlighted with colour, eccentuate this lifestyle.

Also the title of the song is shown in a lot of the songs as it is the whole concept of the video. The artists are trying to in someways boast about the lives they lead which consist of money, girls and travelling all of which they can do with ease because of the amount of money they have.

The phrase "Let them hate" is used to show how people shouldn't let other people control how you feel. Basically if they're jealous of your success, 'let them hate'. 

The images constantly relate to the lyrics, for example this shot shows a cartoon image of a pile of money whilst the lyrics say "watch the money pile up". Another way the lyrics link to the images is when Kanye West is listing a variety of states in America which he has clearly visited as he speaks of how it feels like the places. 

"It feel like NY"^

"It feel like LA"^

"It feel like Miama"^

In the Music Video women are portrayed as sex objects and are dressed in skimpy clothing and are asked to dance around the artist. This links in with Laura Mulvey's idea of the 'Male Gaze' or 'Feminist Theory'. She says that audience's are forced to view the video from the point of a heterosexual male. The Male Gaze consists of the camera lingering on the curves of the female body and the reactions of males around them. As you  This is something that is shown in a lot of music videos and something a lot of people disagree with and I personally do aswell. However there are music videos out there such as "Sweet About Me- Gabriella Cilmi, which shows females as having power over males, for example in the video she is singing in front of a man who is tied upside down etc. I think this video is very powerful and important for the media industry.

The images above show Laura Mulvey's Male Gaze Theory the female is shown as an object which is reflected by the way in which Kanye West is shown to be staring at the female. 

The images above show a total different side to what music videos can show, here the female is in control of the way in which the man views her, she has the power. Gabriella's video to her song, in some ways, fights back to the generic conventions of music videos in this century. 

Kanye West's video conforms to Dyer's Star Theory which says that to be successful, music videos need to contain a percentage of 90% of shots of the Artist. The Good Life video contains a huge amount of shots of the artist so it is a perfect example of Dyer's theory. 

As you can see from the image directly above the video is all about the material things in life. It's quite an ironic shot because as he is throwing cartoon diamonds he is singing 'the best things in life are free' which is something he clearly doesn't believe in. It is unusual that in a lot of the shots Kanye West is on the same level as the camera through the head shots, mid-shots and long-shots. There are never low angle shots looking up at the artist to show high amounts of power and status which is something you would expect the video to show. The audience will expect a view of Kanye West which will match his big ego, which they do see in the way in which he is speaking and the colour scheme/lighting where he stands out to the background, but not through the camera angles.

Overall the video shows a variety of different things, and emphasises the lifestyle in which these stars live. Their money plays a huge part in the song and therefore does in the video.