Analysis of Rihanna- Man Down

This video shows an explicit meaning and a dominant reading, also according to Goodwins theory it follows illustration as it shows the story of what happened. It starts with her shooting the man then fades to a screen saying yesterday morning which shows it is a continuation and is going to show what the past events were.
The dominant reading of this shows the reasons behind why she shot the man in the video and her feeling guilty for what she done, the lyrics of the song and the video are closely linked which is why it shows illustration.

The conventions in the video are that of a typical pop video as the costume code shows Rihanna dressed in litrtle clothing which would appeal to women as they would want to copy her style perhaps and men because they could be attracted to Rihanna. The codes, in relation to camera work are also typical of a pop video as there are many close ups of Rihana to emphaise the fact she is the main focus.

Lady Gaga- Judas Analysis

Judas by Lady Gaga when first watched seems to have an explict meaning portraying the story of Judas and Jesus. Although an implicit meaning can be seen as Lady Gaga is representing Mary Magadelene in this video and also the overall meaning is that of a typical scenario of the girl falling for the bad boy in this case Judas but she knows she should love Jesus, we can see this through the lyrics as it gives us an explicit reading. Yet when watching this a negotiated reading could be found as people may not realise Lady Gaga is portraying Mary Magdalene or may not know the story of Judas and Jesus. As well as this it could provide an implicit meaning as the costume code does not necessairly provide us with a clear meaning as she isnt wearing what we would think Mary Magdalene to wear as she is wearing a bandanna and a blue hooded top and also the beginning shows her, jesus and the disciples riding in on motorbikes which immediatley isnt a true representation which shows she has perhaps put a modern twist on the story to follow the codes and conventions of a typical pop video. Some people could have a negoiated reading also because they could be critical of the video as some people may feel she is mocking religion or denying Jesus although from the lyrics we can see she knows she should not be in love with him from the lyric 'Jesus is my virtue but Judas is the demon I cling too'.

In terms of being a typical pop video it follows the convention of woman being sexualised and wearing promisicous clothing as we see her in the final scenes wearing little clothing and in a pool of water, so in this sense she conforms to the conventions of a typical pop video. In Goodwins theory this video shows illustration as we can blatenly see Judas and Jesus and her love triangle but also perhaps amplification as she has added a somewhat modern twist. The video also conforms to a typical video as the focus is on Lady Gaga throughout therefore promotion of the star and there are many close ups of her face showing she is the main focus. 

Lady Gaga- Bad Romance Analysis

Does Lady Gaga's Bad romance conform and subvert to the codes and conventions of a typical pop video?

Fast fade cuts are seen throughout the video which conform to the codes of a typical pop video because it reflects the tone of the song and also each fade shows a close up of her face which conforms to the conventions of a pop video as the main focus is on the star. She is sexualised as we see dressed in little clothing and in the end she is wearing a red outfit which signifies danger, passion and love, this all conforms to the typical costume code of a pop video.

This video also subverts the typical ideas of a pop video, in the ending of the video Lady Gaga is seen in white underwear which shows she is sexualised which conforms to a typical pop video but the colour white signifies purity and innoncence which therefore subverts the idea of this. Also it subverts the idea of Goodwins theory of illustration which is typically seen in pop videos, as in this video we see the idea of amplification as the video does not follow the lyrics and tell the story.