What is the function
of a music video?
The function of a music video is to mainly promote the single, the
album that the single comes from and of course the artist that recorded the
single. When making the music video, the artists and the director comes
together to focus on:
1. How they can make the music video so captivating
that the audience remember
the song from the video
2.
Providing the viewer with a better understanding
of the song, through storytelling,
both visually and audibly
3.
Also highlighting the talents of the artist, whether that is their
ability to sing/dance/perform or just show off their physical appearance.
"Thrift Shop" is a song by American hip hop duo Macklemore & Ryan Lewis. It was released on August 27, 2012 as Macklemore's eighth career single and the fourth single from their debut studio album The Heist (2012). I chose this music video because the song and video bring up a number of class, gender, size and race issues. “Thrift Shop” is essentially about being able to “come up” on a bargain at your local Bargain/Thrift Store (hence the title of the song).
For the brand haters, heralding non-brand name items and
poking holes in the hypocrisy of high-end fashion has its merits but
ultimately, the message is still deeply drenched in the capitalistic idea that
more is better and that your looks determine your worth.
The music video starts off with a big group of people all
coming towards the camera in their wacky outfits that they supposedly just
purchased from the thrift store with Macklemore and Ryan Lewis leading the
pack. The lyrics reflect exactly what is going on in the scene throughout the
whole video. For example, this is first evident in the first line of the song,
were we see Macklemore narrating “Walk up in the club like what up” as he walks
through the club. Also as he makes comments on his clothes we get multiple
shots in time with the lyrics; as he talks about his “gator shoes” and being
“draped in a leopard mink”.
The video takes place in
multiple different thrift stores all full of people of different race, gender,
sizes and class. All the people come together and enjoy “popping tags” only
having “20 dollars in their pocket”. I think that this is a great example of a
music video because it is so realistic and current to today’s generation of
hipsters and street fashion. Almost every line in the song is represented
visually in the music video and the humour used throughout the video
made it all the more enjoyable.
Link to music video: https://youtu.be/QK8mJJJvaes
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