Analysis of music videos by Eminem and the Buggles

Analysis of Video Killed the Radio Star and No Love




*Lucy Sayers*


The music video ‘Video Killed the Radio Star’ refers to a period of technological change in the 1960’s, it focuses on the desire to remember the past and the disappointment that children of the current generation will face when they do not fully appreciate the past. The video is shot in a non-traditional setting in a disjointed manner, the TV and video is new technology which is the reason why the piano and the drummer are seen on the TV in order to create the disjointed effect, this way allows the audience a first-hand experience on seeing reality through a video. The music video ‘No love’ by Eminem is a small snippet of what society today can be like due to gang crimes and bullying. The song is about being let down by the people you need most. The video is shot in traditional settings including a range of isolated locations such as alleys and car parks. The video begins with a close up shot of a young boy with a black eye which then quick shots into a flashback of him being attacked by dodge balls in the gym, the shot is black and white except for the balls which could be a representation for the power they have over him and also the fear and danger that he is in at the time.


In the radio star video the space age is massively reflected as the 1979 space age was a new thing at the time therefore they are representing the modernisation and change that is going to happen further than what has already happened so far. In ‘no love’ irony is a big concept as the implied meaning of the video would be bullies be aware but the literal meaning behind it would be that music influences young people and acts as a ideology, therefore giving the boy enough power to stand up against the gang at the end. This is not the case in ‘radio star’ as the implied meaning in this video would be that it’s an end to a era but the literal meaning would be it’s the beginning to something much more.


Power is represented in both music videos. In ‘no love’ the bullies are a representation of what society can be like in some places. The young lad is disempowered by the gang as he is continually beaten by them. Where as in ‘radio star’ technology acts as the power over them all, in a way it’s as if it’s controlling them. Disempowerment is shown in the video by the fact the music is forcing the girl to dance, again controlling her as she is being forced and therefore is not really enjoying it.


In ‘no love’ there is a pan up shot on the kids bedroom wall showing posters of both Eminem and Lil Wayne, his ideologies showing the influence they have over him as he sits below them on the floor listening to them on his ipod. The framing of the shot shows the kid putting himself below them in the shot to represent his level of importance compared to them. The high angle shot looking down on the kid during a flashback when he is being bullied shows the power divide between him and the gang. This is shown again during another flashback in the toilets where they push him down, the high shot is a representation of putting him where he belongs on a lower level than the gang because he is different not because he has done anything wrong. In ‘radio star’ the black and white figures over the girl discovering the radio is disconnected from the rest of the shot as it doesn’t fit therefore emphasising the point. The shot of the girl and the radio, the radio is centre shot with the black and white figures at the sides which represent being true to their time and being original. The shaky camera work is evidence of the whole disjointed look of the video. There is not any effort or enthusiasm put into the video by the singers therefore it strongly lacks emotion. From the close up shots on the radio lighting shows the lack of knowledge and the shot clearly shows the confused expression on the girls face as she touches everything in order to understand and gain knowledge of the changing world around her.


In ‘no love’ the clothing is very modern and therefore fits the era of the music video, all the kids are wearing t-shirts and trackies with gold chains, representing the kind of people they are as the clothing acts as signifiers to each of them such as the bullied child wearing the new era hat, it’s part of who is therefore when the gang flush the hat it’s as if they are trying to take away who he is and lower his importance in society rather than everybody being equal and not judged. Where as in ‘radio star’ the clothing is all based on the space age which is the time that the video was filmed around therefore their clothing would be appropriate with such as change. The women that is trying to get out of the test-tube in order to get back to being her original self in dressed in space clothing because she doesn’t want to be modernised therefore she is portrayed in the video as being a subject of experiment rather than a human. The two shot of the two space alien subjects shows one looking above the camera and staring whilst the other looks directly up at her in a way it looks like she is idolising her as she would seeing her on TV for the first time.


The video ‘no love’ is very male dominated as there is only one female throughout which shows the gang to be more masculine and power driven as they lack a female figure. Rather than in ‘radio star’ where there is a mixed divide of males and females. This could be because one video focuses on gangs and bullying which stereotypically could be considered a more male dominated crime than a female doing it. Both videos are very much with their time as they show the problems that are huge in society at the time of production therefore they emphasise the important of what’s happening through their video and lyrics. The ‘no love’ video is very disjointed as it goes in and out of flashbacks and back and forth from current time to pass time which disorientates the watcher. The trajectories behind this video would be the chosen path that he follows is being in the eyes of his idols so he finds the strength to fight back against his bullies. The clip where the kid returns home with a black eye shows his dad who is typically very masculine, his tattoos represent his power and brutal ness which is the opposite of his son, this can also be seen when he grabs hold of the women therefore emphasising his control and dominance which is opposite to what’s actually happening as the kid is too scared to stand up against the gang so it’s basically vice versa. In ‘radio star’ the microphone by the mouth suggests power over the other characters and they hope that the audience is stimulated by the message. The song represents an era about to pass and there is song nostalgia which is echoed in the time of the music.


When the girl climbs the radio/TV pile then looks directly at the camera it makes the audience included, emphasising that it’s affecting us as viewers too. The camera then pans down into a huge explosion representing that new times are coming. There are a lot of varied editing techniques used in the video, the use of fade editing after the radio explodes could be interpreted in two ways one way being an editing technique the other being a representation of a radio losing its strength as the signal fades due to people moving forward and watching music videos. In ‘no love’ the bullies are all of different ethical backgrounds which shows a trait of modern society where culture is much more diverse and mixed whereas in the other music video it’s pretty much focused on one nationality of people. The darkness in Eminem’s video is suitable as it represents the dark theme that runs throughout, also some parts the lyrics are synchronous with the action such as “where were you when I fell” is a reference to religion and God. There is a lot of shadow effects used in the video which again show the darkness and the pain being reflected off the child. The use of quick shots from previous times to the present day to the singer’s uses a lot of fades in between which is a common convention of both music videos as they both strongly use fades between scenes to show a different in time. The close up shot on the boy’s bruised face is shown continually throughout the video to represent what the gang have done to him and emphasise the importance of ending gangs and bullying to the audience.


In ‘radio star’ the woman wants to connect back to her youth in the days where everything was simple and everybody understood what was actually happening. Also the little girl is real whereas the women in the tube isn’t she is more of an object for study to show what’s going to happen in the future when things keep on developing and advancing. This is shown as the women in the tube mimics the lyrics of the song rather than actually sings them emphasising she is not real unlike the others. In the very first shot the young girl is shown in colour whereas the singers are shown in black and white, both colour schemes represent the time and era that they are living in. This is similarly used in ‘no love’ as the changes in time are shown by the colour of the film, for example the previous being in black and white with heavy dark shadows.


Overall I think that both music videos represent the time and era that people are living in. The lyrics in ‘radio star’ I met your children. What did you tell them? Video killed the radio star, pictures come and broke your heart” is a perfect summed up representation of what has changed due to modernisation as they represent the technological change. The voice is edited in the song to make a clear distinguish between times. The radio was an important medium for creating stars that was being lost due to music videos coming around which is clear from the music video. Finally at the end of the video the kid becomes motivated and stands up against the bullies, which is evidence that the music and his ideologies have empowered him and gave him enough strength to not be afraid anymore. The ending is shown in several ways, one him getting caught and two him defeating the bullies, this is shown amongst a series of flashbacks. I think the powerful message behind this would be that it’s hard growing up and therefore it’s a suitable message for people all over the world. I think that the video shows a huge problem in post modernistic culture as bullying and gang crime levels are high.