Steve Neale argues that the appeal of genres is that they are ‘instances of repetition and difference’. How valid is Neale’s claim?
In your response you should refer to your music video close study products, Billie Jean and Letter to the Free.
(20 Marks)
Billie Jean was released in 1983 and the budget was $50,000. The music video includes many pop genre conventions such as performance interwoven with narrative, relationship between lyrics and visuals and high fashion costumes. We see performance interwoven present when he switches between dancing and then hiding from the paparazzi, he is constantly on the move and is always making the audience think what his next move will be. The relationship we see between the lyrics and visuals are that they aren’t technically in sync, the visuals would be completely opposite what the lyrics are. The high fashion costumes are always present in Jacksons music videos but in Billie Jean we even see the homeless man changes into a royal like figure with a tuxedo. He himself is presented as a godlike character and that all he touches will turn into gold. Gerbner’s cultivation theory means that us as the audience, we begin to feel that Michael Jackson is a royal character and is full of gold, the Midas-touch idea could be introduced here. As Steve Neale
In Letter To The Free, it resits the pop genre conventions
