Research: Goodwin (Bohemian Rhapsody)

Andrew Goodwin; in ‘Dancing in the Distraction Factory’ (1992, Routledge) has identified the following features of music videos:

-Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics
-There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals-There is a relationship between music and visuals-The demands of the record label will include a lot of close-ups of the artist and the artist may develop motifs which recur across their work-There is frequently reference to the notion of looking and particularly voyeuristic treatment of the female body-There is often intertextual reference

What Genre is the music and how is this reflected in the video?

This song consists of two different genres. The operatic section and the use of hard rock. In the opera section the video shows the four band members faces, and nothing else. In the hard rock sections, the video just shows band shots.

How do the images relate to the lyrics?

No they don't. The lyrics have a narrative, whilst the video is purely band shots which is often a convention of the rock genre. 


How do the images relate to the music?

The images do not relate to the lyrics, but they do slightly relate to the music. In the opera section, All you can hear is the band members voices, and all you can see in these sections is the band members faces singing. In the rock sections there are a lot of instrumental parts, and the images show the band playing the instruments. The colours are also much brighter in the rock sections, as the music is more upbeat.


How is the artist presented to sell them? How important are the close ups?

The video focuses entirely on queen and their performance. Throughout the video the audience is always looking at the band. There is a range of shots throughout the video. There are some where they are close ups of the band members faces, which establishes each band members identity and character, whilst there are also low angle, long shots, which make it look the audience are in the crowd watching the band play live, which promotes the band and their live shows.

Is there any reference to 'looking'? Are females presented voyeuristically?

there are no shots of females, as the only people in the video are the band members who are all male. The reference to looking would be involving the shots where it makes you feel like you are in the audience, watching the band.

Is there a narrative? How is the video organised and structured?

The song has a narrative, about a child who has murdered someone and is facing a jury, but the video doesn't represent this is any way.

Comments on Camerawork, editing, mise-en-scene, special effects, sound.

Looking up at the band, as if you were watching them live. As this is the first ever music video, the only time anyone would've ever seen a band playing the music would've been live or on TV, where the cameras would've been in with the audience.

Can you spot any intertextual references?


There are no intertextual references, as the video is purely performance shots. Having a narrative in the video would leave space for some intertextual references, but there isn't any in this video. This may be due to the fact that this was the first ever music video, and was very revolutionary.