Textual Analysis 2

Maddie and Tae- Girl in a Country Song

This song is of the country genre.

Analysis of the 'Girl in a Country Song' music video:

Cinematography:

-This image is a close up of one of the artists and it captures her thoughtful expression, as well as her blonde hair which is a stereotypical convention of females in the country genre.



-This is another close up of the other artist in the video which shows her appearance and the guitar she is playing.

-The longshot of a woman on the farm shows the crops around her. However, with the lyrics, the girls are been seen as objects- this longshot signifies that they are making fun of country songs when girls are shown as sexual objects, not normal people.

Sound:

-When the girls are singing you can automatically tell that the genre of the video is country due to their southern accents, overall summing up the genre straight away.
-The diegetic sound of the guitar also reinforces the country genre throughout the music video, as guitars are a typical convention of the country genre.
-When they are sining they mention 'Redneck crazy' and a Redneck is a working-class white person from the southern US, therefore this again highlights the country genre as you generally associate a southern accent with the country genre.

Editing:

-There's fast cuts between the two girls in different locations, which is a typical convention of a country song as fast editing is often present. Both of these editing techniques reinforces the country genre as the first image shows the farm in the background and the haystacks and them sitting in the pickup truck, and the second image shows the guitar, a major convention of the country genre.

Mise en scene:
-The location is a farm and this is easily recognisable by the stable/barn shown throughout the video using country conventions, such as haystacks.
-The outfits the males are wearing clearly show the country theme and the overall genre of the music video. They are wearing cowboy hats and checkered shirts, items that people usually relate to the country genre.
-The pickup truck is also another prop that is related to the country genre.

-Blonde hair on females of the country music genre is a typical stereotype that this music video conforms to.
-The prop of the guitar is another convention of the country genre, making it clear to the audience the genre of the video.
-The prop of the juice in the bottle on a tray in the image below could also relate to the country genre, as some people who own farms make their own produce from what they grow/make on the farm.

Overall:

The cinematography techniques used help the audience to understand what genre the music video is. For example, close ups allow the audience to see the appearance of the two artists and due to stereotyping, the genre can be easily identified. The two artists have blonde hair and are seen with acoustic guitars, a usual stereotyped that is linked to the country genre. Furthermore, the long shots also allow the location to be seen and also see more than one person in the shot, allowing the costume to be seen. The hay-bales in the background gives the impression they are on a farm, further highlighting the country genre of the music video. In addition to this, the long shots allow the costume to be shown; checkered shirts and cowboy hats and boots, concluding the country genre overall. 

The sound techniques used allos us to recognise the genre of the video. Their accents have a southern twang which is a typical stereotype that country people are associated with. The diegetic sound of the acoustic guitar reinforces the genre as usually this instrument is linked to the country genre. The word choices in the lyrics further enhance the fact this video is of the country genre due to the "Redneck crazy" part in the song, as a Redneck is described as a working class person from the southern US, linking to the country genre. 

The editing used are cuts to link the shots together and they are often quite fast paced showing the two girls in different locations, in a house and then outside and also the other two girls shown in the video as a sort of mockery of the country genre. The cuts allow the genre to be verified, as it is the major role in portraying the narrative clearly, which in turn allows people to understand what genre the video is.

The mise-en-scene used are very significant in portraying the country genre. The costumes sum up the genre clearly due to the knee high boots the girls are wearing and the cowboy boots, checkered shirts and cowboy hats the males are wearing. All of these have stereotypes of being linked to the country genre, as it is what people expect to see if people live in the country/are from the southern US. In addition to this, the location of the farm and the crops surrounding the farm highlights the country genre as these are automatically related to country themes. Furthermore, the prop of the acoustic guitar clearly shows the genre because it is an instrument used in lots of country music videos and films, which is why people associate acoustic guitars to the country genre through the use of these medias.