Can You See Yourself in a Music Video?
Posted on March 7, 2012 by Gerhart
Pop culture music videos are a relatively recent cultural phenomenon. Even so, since the 1980′s, they have come a very long way and continue to show us how we view ourselves.
The Buggles’ “Video Killed the Radio Star” began a 24-hour a day music video obsession otherwise known as MTV. Since then, countless videos have been created each reflecting our own culture back to the viewer. Ironically, MTV today is known not for playing music videos as much as being a source of so-called ‘reality TV shows’.
Many pop culture videos are either not very good or simply snoozer trash. A few, such as Michael Jackson’s “Thriller”, take the music video form to the level of Art. Directed by Hollywood movie director John Landis in 1983, “Thriller” quickly became an extremely popular video. In 2009, it was inducted into the National Film Registry, the first music video ever to receive the honor. Interestingly, Michael’s sister Janet made the most expensive music video to date: 1995′s “Scream”. So, we have brother and sister. One makes the best video ever, and the other makes the most expensive. Have you ever tried to one-up your sibling?
The bad videos can tell us as much about our culture as the good. Take, for example, Cher’s 1989 “If I Could Turn Back Time”. The big hair was, sadly, a trend of the time and the happy ‘sailors’ were perhaps a salute to Cher’s notoriously loudest and proudest fans. The argument could be made that this was a reflection of how society’s idea of ‘normal’ was changing after all, the ‘Gay 90′s’ were just around the corner.
If you would like to read more about popular culture or music videos, go to www.popculturereviewed.com/ for a reflective glimpse into the inner workings of the popular culture machine.
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