Preliminary Exercise Final

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Preliminary Exercise

Music Video: Ghost Town CSP

 The Specials - Ghost Town: Blog tasks

Background and historical contexts

Read this excellent analysis from The Conversation website of the impact Ghost Town had both musically and visually. Answer the following questions

1) Why does the writer link the song to cinematic soundtracks and music hall tradition?

The writer links the song to soundtracks & music hall tradition as the song isn't traditional music in the sense of a standalone music video. IT more fits something like a movie or a background track.

2) What subcultures did 2 Tone emerge from in the late 1970s?

They started from the mod & punk subcultures.

3) What social contexts are discussed regarding the UK in 1981?

The UK in 1981 was hit by a recession which had led to riots breaking out in rural areas.  

4) Cultural critic Mark Fisher describes the video as ‘eerie’. What do you think is 'eerie' about the Ghost Town video?

I think that the music video is very eerie as it has typical stereotypes of horror films tropes.

5) Look at the final section (‘Not a dance track’). What does the writer suggest might be the meanings created in the video? Do you agree?

The meanings could be relatable to the teenagers and young adults in that time as the video could be linking to the social contexts of that time where there was a lot of injustice and not a lot of opportunity in that time period.

Now read this BBC website feature on the 30th anniversary of Ghost Town’s release. 

1) How does the article describe the song?

The article describes the song as melancholy.

2) What does the article say about the social context of the time – what was happening in Britain in 1981?

The article says that at that time in Britain there was rioting and lots of unemployment because of the industrial decline.

3) How did The Specials reflect an increasingly multicultural Britain?

The specials reflected this as the band was culturally diverse including black and white people.

4) How can we link Paul Gilroy’s theories to The Specials and Ghost Town?

We can link Paul Gilroy to The Specials and Ghost Town as the multiculturalism led to a new genre of music and sound. 

5) The article discusses how the song sounds like a John Barry composition. Why was John Barry a famous composer and what films did he work on?

John Barry was a famous composer because people loved his sound and feel. He worked on James Bond and midnight heat.

Ghost Town - Media Factsheet

Watch the video several times before reading Factsheet #211 - Ghost Town. You'll need your GHS Google login to access the factsheet. Once you have analysed the video several times and read the whole factsheet, answer the following questions: 

1) Focus on the Media Language section. What does the factsheet suggest regarding the mise-en-scene in the video? 

The factsheet suggests that the mise-en-scene has a British social realist feel to it.

2) How does the lighting create intertextual references? What else is notable about the lighting?

The lighting can create intertextual references to horror film and something else that is notable is the theme of expressionist cinema.

3) What non-verbal codes help to communicate meanings in the video?

non verbal codes such as the car they are driving and the clothes that they are wearing gives importance to the fact that this is from the 1960's  the clothes are stereotypical of a usual working class man at that time

4) What does the factsheet suggest regarding the editing and camerawork? Pick out three key points that are highlighted here.

They suggest that the editing is to control the pacing of the video and that the camerawork distorts the sense of day & night. Another thing they say is that the style gives a frenetic feel

5) What narrative theories can be applied to the video? Give details from the video for each one.

We can see Todorov's narrative theory of equilibrium as the green light on the traffic light signifies the start of the song. Another theory that we can identify is baths theory of codes with the Hermeneutic codes - Whose car are we in? Where are the band going? Why does everything seem to be shut down?. Action codes These include the car travelling from location

to location. Semantic codes Uses of these include the band being dressed smartly, connoting their intention to go out, and the car steering wildly connoting danger from an unseen presence. Symbolic codes Include the contrast between past and present Referential codes

The lyrical references to historical/social contexts, such as joblessness and urban

decay. 

6) How can we apply genre theory to the video?

genre theory can be applied to the video as it has both narrative and performance elements. 

7) Now look at the Representations section. What are the different people, places and groups that are represented in the Ghost Town video? Look for the list on page 4 of the factsheet.

The people, places and groups that are represented are things such as thatcher's brain, the big city, masculinity and race + youth

8) How can Gauntlett's work on collective identity be applied to the video?

'the song and video nurture a sense of male collective identity, and shares the experience of trying to negotiate identity. This means that the text offers a place for men to see their problems being enacted and perhaps compare them with their own lives in what was a time of economic deprivation for many when many traditionally masculine jobs were disappearing.'

9) How can gender theorists such as Judith Butler be applied to Ghost Town?

Judith butler can be applied to ghost town as performance do take apart in the music video and gender stereotypes can be seen.

10) Postcolonial theorists like Paul Gilroy can help us to understand the meanings in the Ghost Town music video. What does the factsheet suggest regarding this?

The factsheet says that the video challenges post colonial theories of out groups and in groups by mixing ethnicities and races.