We Can't Stop analysis

We Can't Stop - Miley Cyrus

Singer - Miley Cyrus
Genre - R&B, pop
Label - RCA
Writers - Mike L. Williams, Ricky Walters, Miley Cyrus, Douglas Davis, Theron Thomas 
Producers - Mike Will, P-Nasty, Rock City

Relationship between lyrics and visuals
In "We Can't Stop" we denote Cyrus perform the song, she is lip-syncing whilst performing in a room. The video was put out to introduce Cyrus' new look. In 2011 Cyrus changed her look dramatically and came out with this music video that effectively stopped social media in it's tracks. Fans and others were not sure how to act. In the initial shot we see a close shot of Cyrus and there is large yellow text saying "Miley Cyrus" this emphasised Cyrus' new look. There is also a connection between lyrics and the visuals. The song is upbeat in some sections, then gradually decreases in pace. When the music decreases in pace we see Cyrus acting more sexual and the movements of the characters in the music video are slower; for example at 2:14 when Cyrus is laying on the couch and then in the swimming pool looking directly at the camera. The pace of the music slows down and the audience are connecting with Cyrus due to her looking directly at the camera and stopping the fast pace partying. However there isn't a direct connection between what Cyrus is singing and the visuals that the audience are denoting. For example when Cyrus sings "waiting in line for the bathroom" we aren't seeing anything to do with the bathroom or people waiting. The audience are denoting Cyrus with a dog behind her.

Genre Characteristics
The pop genre generally involves performance and narrative, the narrative is most often 70% of the overall video. In "Can't Stop" we see Cyrus basically having a party and throughout the video she is lip-syncing the lyrics and looking at the camera. This is showing the audience a non-linear narrative and then also a performance due to her singing at the camera. The first shot is Cyrus singing in a white room looking directly at the camera, this is a typical performance style in pop music. Where as in rock generally there would be a band and also there may be references to audience. I "Can't Stop" we denote Cyrus singing on her own looking at the camera. The music then goes on to be an open narrative of Cyrus holding a party and dancing around with the other characters. The music genre is also classified as R&B. The video involves topics such as; violence, drug use, relationships and drinking. These are all typical conventions of a R&B music video. However throughout the music video these are represented subtly and in unconventional ways. We then denote a two shot. In this two shot we see a typical shot of a couple at a party. We can connote that this shot has links to Cyrus' new image of rebelliousness and the sex appeal. The music video also has the typical genre characteristics of a pop song due the fact that Cyrus is drawing attention to herself throughout the music video. she does this by wearing minimal clothing and overall being in the centre of the screen at all times. The audience can connote that Cyrus is showing her confidence. The audience is also able to connote it being a pop genre because of the close up shots and the shots of the dancing, keeping to the tempo of the upbeat song.

Intertextuality
Cyrus uses Intertextuality in the music video by using products such as 'beats pill' and 'EOS lip balm'. She uses the beats pill initially to play her music. The music begins softly and not that loud. We then denote her turning the volume of the speaker up. Her song is being played through the speaker in the music video. This allows the audience to connote that Cyrus is showing us that the speaker is loud enough to play at a party. Showing the pill  in a positive light; therefore her audience will want to buy one. This is an example of an advertisement within a music video. The audience also denotes the EOS lip balm being used Cyrus. Again this is an example of marketing within a music video. Her audience will see one of their idols using it, and therefore want to go an buy one. We can also denote that Cyrus has a lot of them, allowing the audience to connote that they are affordable.  

Performance/narrative
The initial shot in the music video (of Cyrus) is a close shot of her singing directly to the camera. This is a performance of her singing the intro to the song. As the music video prevails we denote that the video involves an open non-linear narrative as well as a performance. The narrative is open because we cannot connote a beginning, middle and an end. The narrative is also non-linear because there are sections in-between the narrative that are performance of Cyrus signing. There are a variety of shots throughout the music video. We are able to connote that the music video is sexual. Through the music video there are many mid shots. In on if the mid shots we see the top half of Cyrus' body and it is panning over her. The angle is used so the audience is able to denote her body. Throughout the video we are able to denote that she is wearing little clothes. We are able to connote that she is implying she can do whatever she wants and is comfortable with her body. The angles allow the audience to notice her body and they highlight the details. Cyrus is implying she wants to be desirable to the audience. When Cyrus starts to dance in the music video, the audience are able to denote that there are more long shots. This is because the long shots get the whole of Cyrus' body in one shot. She is dancing in a seductive manner and this again is highlighting the fact that Cyrus is comfortable with her body and wants to be desirable to her audience. This also has a direct connection with the lyrics "shaking it like we at the strip club". This once again emphasises that she is acting sexual. There is also a scene in which there is a hand held shot. Cyrus is on the floor with her fans. The hand held shot is slightly shaky; emphasising that they don't care about how they are acting and this allows the audience connect with Cyrus and understand. The audience feels involved. The use of the had held shots allows the audience to feel like they are apart of the party. Finally there are also several close shots of Cyrus' face; the audience is able to denote her singing the song. We can see her facial expressions and she is performing the song looking directly at the camera. If there were no close up shots of Cyrus is would be hard for the audience to decipher who the dominate figure is.

Mode of address
Cyrus looks directly at the camera in the beginning close shots as well as in the mid shots when she is laying down and dancing. Cyrus looks at the camera to let the audience feel involved in the music video. The video also makes the audience feel involved in the way that there is hand held camera shots. The gratification theory is at play here. Cyrus is making a direct connection and relationship with the audience.

Star Treatment
We see star treatment in the music video throughout. The use of close shots are used so we are able to denote who the star of the music video is. We are able to denote that Cyrus is the dominate figure in the music video. If she didn't look directly at the camera we wouldn't  be able to see who was the dominant figure due to the fact all the characters in the video wearing similar clothing. There are a lot of characters in the music video because the audience is wanted to be able to denote that they are at a party.

Audience in video
We see a lot of characters in the music video who are dancing with Cyrus. They are all of similar ages; therefore I don't think that there is much audience in the video due to Cyrus' main audience being in the younger to late teens. However the music that they are all dancing to and the clothing that they are wearing; could represent her new audience being more mature.

Representations
The audience can denote that there is a group of people of similar ages. The video  is representing how the younger generation is always partying and having a good time. Women's sexuality is also being represented through the use of the small amount of clothing. The audience is able to connote how the sexual dancing is seen and how easy it is for women to be objectified by people even though they are having a good time. Some of Cyrus' lyrics are represented through the visuals. "Cause we can have so much fun now". We then see people emerge from the bushes and are laughing, we are able to connote that they are prepared to have a good night.

Male Gaze
The audience is able to denote that the characters in the music video are wearing little clothing. They are showing their legs and other parts of their bodies in sexual ways. We denote Cyrus dancing in a sexual way (twerking) and looking directly at the camera. This is making the audience feel involved and have a direct connection with Cyrus herself. The camera is also voyeuristic over Cyrus' body. As she is dancing sexually in the mid and long shots. The camera gets closer to her body showing the details. The wide shots are making Cyrus look irresistible to the audience. This attracts the male audience, making Laura Mulvey (a feminist film critic) status that women are on the screen to be eye candy and are often objectified. Mulvey also stated that shots are often on their legs and other close shots of their body, We denote that there are wide shots of Cyrus sexually dancing and the camera gradually gets closer to individual body parts. We are also able to denote that there are also panning shots of Cyrus' body whilst she is in the pool wearing sheer clothing.

Pace
We can denote that when the pace of the music slows down we denote that the shots last longer and the movement in the shots are slower. For example when we see Cyrus in the pool and at the beginning and the end of the video. The music is slower and Cyrus doesn't twerk or dance as sexually than in the other shots. she is looking directly at the camera and there is close shots. The pace is manly upbeat, due to the fact it is a pop and R&B song. They are often dancing to the song as if they are at a party therefore it has to be fast paced.

Shots
Overall the music video focuses on sexual aspects of the party scene. Throughout there are many mid shots. There is a mid shot that focuses on the top half of Cyrus' body, the angle is used to show off her body and let the audience connote that she is comfortable with her body. Throughout the video Cyrus wears minimal clothing to show off her body; this is allowing the audience to denote her new look and possibly get new audience. We are able to connote that she is flaunting her body to show that she shows she can do anything and be anything. When Cyrus begins to dance the shots change to long shots. This is so the audience is able denote her whole body. This is to highlight Cyrus' body once again and sexualize her. This adds to the aim of the video. She is trying to show her audience and get new audience to understand the new Miley Cyrus. Like I said earlier in the analysis there is also a handheld shot. This is to enable to audience too feel apart of the music video and get involved. The shot is of Cyrus and her friends having a good time, this implies that she doesn't care what she does anymore and is going to be who she wants and do what she wants. This is also a sense of intertextuality, due tot eh fact outside of this video, Cyrus herself was going through changes in personality and showing her audience who she really is. She stopped pretending. to be something she wasn't (so she claimed).

Effects
The editing puts everything together so that the visuals match the lyrics. There are many quick cuts throughout the music video. The use of the quick cuts draw attention to the variety of scenes and what is happening in these scenes. The music video is swift moving and the audience are able to denote that the clips fit well together and all the shots are cut quickly. The use of quick shots allows the audience to denote the many personalities of Cyrus and we see her being crazy, seductive and funny. She sings "we can do what we want". This has a direct connection with the visuals of Cyrus acting crazy. Through certain scenes we can see jump cuts. The jump cuts are used to show that there is a variety of things happening throughout the video. We can denote that there is drugs and alcohol references in the video. The jump cuts could be used to allow the audience to connote that the characters are on drugs or drunk. There are many random topics that are in the jump shots. there are a lot of irrelevant and random scenes. These make the scenes look like hallucinations. The scenes change from innocent dancing to sexual dancing because the drugs and or alcohol has changed them. The music video also appears to have quick editing. Some of this quick editing is to occur to match the lyrics and the visuals. We can denote that a lot of the visuals match the lyrics. "So la da da di we like to party" we then denote the characters in the video partying in the pool and dancing. the quick editing also implies to the audience that time is going by quick and they aren't paying attention to the time. Time flies by when they have fun.

Mis-en-scene
In the establishing shot we see a pink pair of scissors. Other pink items that we see throughout the music video are the EOS lip balms, beats pill and the pink goo that represents blood. There is also pink dimmed lighting throughout. The colour pink could be represented as youthful and feminine. Therefore could represent the youthful partying in the video. Cyrus is constantly wearing little clothing or tight clothing. This represents that she is comfortable with her body and she is showing herself in a sexual way. Because this was one of her first videos after having a change in appearance; she was showing the audience her new self and how she is now more mature. She is gaining a new audience. We can denote Cyrus' facial expressions throughout the video are constantly smiling and her being happy. This is the new her and she is happy with it. she doesn't care what people think of her anymore and is enjoying herself. Throughout the video she ears two predominant colours; black and white. This has been used to contrast the rest of the music video, using bright colours and bright lighting. For example we see a bright coloured donut and bright backgrounds. By Cyrus wearing small simple clothing, this doesn't fit the general conventions of the pop genre. Generally they wear over dramatic clothing. However with Cyrus wearing simple small clothing she stands out in comparison to the other characters in the music video.

Stan - Analysis

STAN - EMINEM

Relationship between visuals and lyrics 
The relationship between visuals and lyrics have a direct connection. The character of Stan is miming the lyrics, the lyrics that Stan sings are the words that he is writing to Eminem and how Eminem has read his letters. Half way through the song it changes to Eminem in a his tour bus and he is rapping the words of his replies to his fans. The lyrics are connected with Eminem rapping along to them in the setting of the video.
Genre characteristics
The genre of the video is 'horrocore'; a mix of hip-hop and based on a  horror theme, hardcore rap. We can denote this form the music video through the dark lighting and the semantic field of the lightening and thunder and rain throughout he windows of the house. The setting below in the still image is a medium shot of Stan's 'work' area in the basement. We can see in the window that it's raining and the scene is poorly lit with one light in the corner and no natural light.

Intertextuality 

The wider reference in the music video is Eminem's fan mail and the scene in which he surrounds himself. Stan is about multiple fans and their fan mail that Eminem has received over the years. It is a dark story about how many fans are getting too obsessed with him and that they can  go too far.

Narrative

There is a non-linear narrative in Stan. From the beginning there is the progress of how Stan becomes overly obsessed about Eminem and how he is becoming more like Stan. It goes from Stan changing his hair in the mirror to bleach blonde like Eminem's hair at the time. 

The next progressive scene that enabled the audience to connote what was  happening was when Stan was looking in the full length mirror and not seeing himself but seeing Eminem, he already connects himself with Eminem on another level. It is a behind the shoulder shot of Stan and we can see the reflection of Eminem, which is from the perspective of Stan as a character. There are also images of Eminem in the corner of the mirror, connoting that there is more of Eminem in Stan than Stan himself. Stan is slowly loosing his own personality.

The  non-linear narrative continues to which him and his wife are asleep in their bed and she decides to adventure into his shrine to Eminem in the basement. Here she finds the picture of Eminem taped over her in a picture of the them. She is horrified and then he comes down and is angry, connoting that she isn't allowed in  the basement, the shrine is for him and Eminem to bond.

This shot is from her perspective we are seeing what she is seeing. The shot then changes to a lower shot and we can see her reaction to the image; meanwhile we see Stan coming behind her and we know that something bad is about to happen because Stan isn't mentally stable. 

We then see Stan driving in the car and he is shouting into a recorder but still speaking to Stan, as the audience we can connote  that this is a heated situation and Stan is loosing control of the car, which could represent him loosing control of his thoughts and the obsessing over Eminem and not getting anything back has driven him to insanity. 

As the audience we again see an over the shoulder shot of the view that Stan can see, all he can see is the reflection of himself and Eminem still hanging down looking at him. The windscreen is blurred with rain representing that Stan's vision is blurred and that he can't see what is happening right in front of him. During this we hear his pregnant girlfriend in the car screaming, we are unaware of where she is. However by the final scene of the car going of the bridge the audience can connote that she has been forced int he back of the car and both have now died.
The shots then move to Eminem after the car had run off the bridge, he is reading all of Stands letters and replying to them. We also get cutaways of Eminem throughout the music video of receiving Stan's letters and replying, showing that it takes time and energy. The purpose of the music video is to show Eminem's fans that he isn't ignoring them, it just takes time. Because there is flashbacks and cutaways of Eminem whilst Stan is writing the letters this means that the music video doesn't have a linear narrative but it has a non linear narrative due to the fact we are unaware id Eminem is receiving the letters during of after Stan has driven off the bridge. By the end Eminem says how he heard about a guy to drove off a bridge with his pregnant wife in the car; then Eminem realises that it was Stan who the article was about. Showing that Eminem was trading and writing these letters too late.

The final scene that we see is Eminem being an actor, playing himself in his tour bus, we then see stan in the window as the lightening strikes. The pothook fallacy of the scenes throughout is important. the weather plays a role of the mood of the video being dark and a tense situation.
Mode of address 
There isn't a direct mode of address through the video due to the fact that Eminem and Stan are actors and they are playing a role. Eminem is playing himself however he is playing the life of a famous singer and how replying to fans takes time. We know that he is acting because this video is based on several stories that Eminem has been involved in with fans not just just one.
When Eminem get dragged away by the bouncers and shows that he attempted to see Stan and Stan's nephew Eminem is portraying the life of a famous musician is difficult and that fans have to be patient with him.
 There are references to the character of Stan looking in the mirror which helps the audience connect with him through the eye contact. Initially we see Stan look in the mirror after dying his hair from the perspective of the mirror, Then we see Stan with an over the shoulder shot looking in the mirror, this gives the audience a stronger more powerful look at Stan. There is a sense of direct connection between Stan and Eminem through Stan's point of view. When Stan looks in the full mirror and doesn't see his reflection but sees Eminem thats when as the the audience we can connote his is loosing the sense of real life and the aspirational lifestyle; that is being with Eminem as one.
Star treatment 
We see Eminem on posters surrounding Stan's desk and surrounding him initially. This is connoting that because his face is on posters that he is famous and that people know him and are willing to pay money to have his face on their wall. He has fans. Whereas when showing Eminem the video portrays him as trying to connect with he fans but getting dragged away,which can make the audience feel sorry for Eminem trying to meet fans but it isn't his choice. We also see cut aways if Eminem sitting at a mid shot in his tour bus on his own. Connoting that he feel lonely and has no one around him even though he has fans begging to meet him he feels alone. The video is portraying that even though Eminem is famous and Stan wasn't they lyrics and the, music video are connecting them on a another level. they are more similar even thought they live different lifestyles.
Audience in the video
there are representations of the audience in the music video 'Stan'. Stan and his nephew are in a crowd of girls repressing that girls are Eminems target audience. By being surrounded by girls Stan stands out in the crowd. The video shows that Eminem wants physical contact with his fans however he gets dragged back and isn't allowed to meet them even though they were 'waiting out side in the blistering cold'.

We also denote that Eminem and Stan have met before at a book opening, but Eminem doesn't remember because he says 'make me not wanna meet you' whilst there is a flashback of Eminem hugging Stan at a book opening. the image is blurred connoting that it is a flashback of the two of them meeting with Stan's nephew.

Representations 
The visuals of the video are mainly focused around Stan who is seemly in his 20's. However the lyrics of the song are about Eminem and the stories of his fans and how it effects him in the big picutre. We denote a man who looks up to Eminem and his lyrics, Stan has an understanding with Eminem and what he has been through. As the audience we can connote this through the lyrics (that Eminem is singing but Stan is lip syncing), 'my dad was just like yours' and 'people like us'. The audience can already within the first few minutes connote that Stan is loosing himself to Eminem and becoming too involved.
Male gaze
Throughout the video there is minimal views of the woman in the story, however we understand that Stan is married and he is verbally abusive relationship. This is a typical convention of a dark music video, with the man being in power. He ends up putting her in the boot of the car and driving off the brindge denoting that he had the power in the relationship even though he had little self contorl over his own thoughts and ations. Stand wife wasn't shown in a sexual way, she was wearing baggy clothing and was pregnant suggesting that their relatioship didn't have much substance or happienss to it. Both Stan and his wife were unappy and unloving towards eachother. Stan was more in love with the idea of Eminem than his wife and baby.
Pace
Throughout the video there is the beat in which Eminem is rapping and the pace is faster anf the shots usually last around 10 seconds, thi is medium pace for a music video. However the beat changes when the 'wife' beings to mime the singing part of the song. Here the shots are longer and slower, letting the audience take a break form the fast pace tense scenes of the rapping. The audience connotes from the slower pace that it brings back to the reality that the music video is a sad dark song. Because of the different pace in the rapping and then the singing it shows a variation in the pace and the different sides to the story. Each time the woman voice enters the pace slows down and we generally see a woman figure in the shot, whether it's Stans wife or his sister with his nephew at his grave after they have driven off the bridge. This helps the audience connote that it is a woman singer and it brings it all together in the reality of the situation.
Shot variety
In the first scene there is an over the shoulder shot of Stan looking at himslef in the mirror and smiling when he has bleached his hair to look more like Eminem. This helps the audience get a sense of his reaction to what he has just done. He is happy witht eh result. The shot then pans down a floor in the house, this is breaking the 180 degree rule in that the camera is going in-between floors. We then see a wide shot of Stan going into his shrine of Eminem and there are panning shots of his desk surrounded by posters of Eminem and letters all over his desk. There is then a short depth of field shot of a letter with Stan (blurred) in the background walking towards the desk. The letter was addressed to Eminem. The short depth of field enables the audience to denote the letter and that Stan is continuously writing letters to Eminem. So far the video has been a linear narrative, However there is then a cut away shot of Emiem in his tour bus recieving fan mail, suggesting that Stan's letters are in there. It then goes back to Stan, therefore making the video a non linear music video; due to the editing of the cutaways and the flashbacks of Stan and Eminem meeting, at his concerts and when Eminem is reading and writing back to Stan. However we know by the end that this is after Stan had driven off the bridge.
 There is a lot of mid shots throughout the video, when filming Eminem; this allows the audience to see Emimens facial expressions but not get too close, this could be a representation of how his fans feel. Close enough to see him but not close enough to know what is really going on. This wasn't enough for Stan and he wanted to get even closer. There are fade in and outs between each camera angle change when filming Stan, this gives the effect that time is passing quickly and that everything is fast pace even though his thoughts may be slow like the lyrics.
Each time the woman begins to sing there is a flashback to before Stan is writing all the letters. The flashbacks ahppen in chronological order. Therefore the audience are able to connote waht led up to Stan loosing sense of reality. There is a lot of variation in the number of different shots.
Mise-en-scene
The mise-en-scene stays the same throughout the whole linear video; however in the flashbacks although the mise-en-scene is silmilar it isn't as powerful and overwhemling. For example in Stan's house there is thunder and lightening throughout the first scene, and then when there is a cutout scene with Eminem in the tour bus it is still raining and dark outside suggesting that Eminem is reading and replying to Stans letters the same night that he looses the plot. Where as in the flashbacks of waiting in the cold and at Eminem's concert the lighting is slightly blurred to signify and make it clear that it is a falshback for Stan and possibly Eminem. However in the basement where the shrine is, there is one light in which is lighting up the whole room (which is by his desk). This suggests the most imporatnt part of the room and the house is this corner in which all the Eminem posters and where he writes all his letters.
The lightening also lightens up the side of his face on the occasion giving the shadow to the otherside of his face, denoting a slight creepiness and tense situation. It is naturally lit apart from the small oil light in the corner symbolising the fact that Stan may not have a lot of money. The light is lighting up Eminem rather that Stan. Showing a stronger focus on Eminem himslef rather than Stan. Which again represents how Eminems life is more important and valuable to Stan that his own.
Notable shots
There were many notable shots involved in the video. The shots in which Stan is looking in the mirror and the reflection in Eminem is clever in which it signifies and connotes to the audience clearly that Stan is loosing his personality and values Eminem more than his own life and his wife and child. I also noticed the shot in which Stan appears in the window of Eminems tourbus as the lightening strikes at the end, connoting that he will haunt Eminem for a long time and Eminem won't forget about Stan and his story.