Visual Essay

. The text which I have chosen to analyse for this project is 'Proper Education' by Eric Prydz vs. Pink Floyd. After researching the different theorists for representation, audience, narrative, genre and language, I will apply each theory to the chosen text in this essay. . Laura Mulvey's theory, also known as the 'male gaze theory' does not really fit in with the chosen text as the characters are a group of teenagers, equally split between male and female, and equally represented. The message of the video is focused on education and being eco-friendly, as well as the age of the characters would therefore make any sexualisation out-of-place and unnecessary.  . Richard Dyer

As for the text which I have chosen to analyse, which is a remix of an original song, the star theory may or may not apply depending on who is considered the artist of the song. Pink Floyd were considered to be stars of their era (70s/80s), well-known internationally for their progressive and psychedelic music. They have been cited by institutions such as MSNBC, Rolling Stone and Q in lists for best band/artist of all time, and it is said that their music influenced artists such as David Bowie, Queen and Radiohead. The text which I am analysing is a remix of 'Another Brick in the Wall', the original of which had a large influence on people when it was first released and was even banned in South Africa for being used in nationwide boycotts. This supports Richard Dyer's star theory, as it shows how Pink Floyd are a constructed image who were widely represented through their character/personality and how their ideology and culture had such a huge impact on society at the time.

Eric Prydz may also be considered to be a star, however, he is nowhere near as well-known as Pink Floyd. His most well-known track 'Call on Me' from 2004 topped the UK singles chart for five weeks and earned him a great level of fame. Prydz has three record labels; Pryda, Pryda Friends and Mouseville as well as two/three stage names including Pryda and Cirez D. This formulating of a stage name and persona is a good example of the two components 'Stars as Constructs' and 'Character and Personality'. However, like many other electronic artists, Prydz tends not to be presented in the same way as pop stars where they are shaped by the institutions which they work for, creating an 'ideal' image with 'ideal' values and beliefs.

One of the initial reasons I chose this ancillary text was for its perception of stereotypes. The characters in the video are all teenagers of secondary school age (represented through their clothing) and living in a lower class area. The stereotype against people of this class and age are often negative, categorised into derogatory terms such as 'chavs'. The video begins by leading the audience to believe they are being represented in this way as from the beginning of the video, several teenagers meet as a group (referencing to gangs which are seen as negative and intimidating) where the 'leader' hands them objects such as bricks which the audience may assume are to be used for vandalism. They disband in pairs and begin sneaking into people's homes.

As the video progresses, we see that the teenagers' motives are not to steal and vandalise things, however they use the bricks to put in fridge freezers and toilet cisterns and switch homeowner's lightbulbs for energy efficient ones and so the message of the video becomes clear. There is a clear use of stereotypes to present the characters in such a way that the audience assumes that their actions will be negative, and then the stereotypes are broken to provide an interesting 'plot twist' and put across the message in a more effective and memorable way.

AUDIENCE

For the ancillary text which I have chosen, the general message of the text was about being environmentally friendly and 'going green' by switching things and adopting simple habits in your own home. To put this message across, they used conventional teenage characters in a way that makes the audience judge them and initially assume they have negative motives, however, the characters break these conventions in order to make the message have more impact.

The general message of the text isn't typically one that would cause offence or upset, and so it could be assumed that most people adopt a dominant or negotiated view of the video. Being more eco-friendly is something that is generally seen as a positive thing, and many would agree that spreading awareness is therefore beneficial. 

The text is unusual in the sense that the message it sends out is not subjective to any particular gender, age, race, religion, etc. and therefore appeals to a very wide audience. However, in terms of the genre of the music, the audience which the video is likely to reach would be predominantly young adults who would be likely to be influenced by, and adopt the habits shown in the video.