Music Video Analysis

Eminem – Stan



This is a hip hop song that has a strong message incorporated within it. The Eminem song depicts the story of an obsessed fan of Slim Shady who kills himself and his girlfriend because he feels Eminem is ignoring him by not replying to his letters. The video therefore has quite a depressing and solemn atmosphere to fit in with the lyrics and the theme of the song. This is expressed through the rain and thunder that can be heard and the dark dismal colours in the flat. There is a lot of dark green and paint peeling on the walls and doors. The lighting is also a dull green colour that also adds to the miserable atmosphere.

The images within the video are a performance of the lyrics. Eminem in this song is telling the story of Stan and the images portray this. We have the opportunity to see visually how obsessive Stan is and how much he dotes on Slim Shady. We have a visual representation of his extreme behaviour and how his anger takes over him. This is seen with the opening of the video where we see Stan dying his hair blond to look like Eminem and then shouting at his girlfriend when she wants to come in to use the toilet.

The voice of Eminem telling the story fits in with Stan’s character and the audience is able to see the anger and frustration in Stan’s actions whilst hearing the emotion in Slim Shady’s voice. This is particularly evident when Stan is seen shouting into the tap recorder and he’s driving recklessly with his girlfriend trapped in the trunk of the car. Dido’s chorus slows down the pace of the music but is used to show the pain that Stan’s girlfriend feels about her current living situation, such as when Stan starts shouting at her when she’s trying to talk to him in the kitchen and he pushes past her.

Stan is presented as psychotic and obsessive such as where we see the blood on the table where he slashes his writs, but the audience pities him because of this, as we can see he clearly has problems and emotional issues. We sympathise with his girlfriend more as she is trapped in a horrible environment and she can’t get out because she’s pregnant. We especially feel sorry for her when she’s trapped in the trunk of the car and can at one point hear her screaming over the music.

When the song breaks in the video so the sound of the car braking and splashing into the water is heard, the audience is able to feel the full impact of what Stan has just done. This makes the video even more depressing and brings home the message of how infatuated Stan was with Eminem. This video relies not just on the lyrics but also the performance of the actors in trying to ensure they put forward the message the video is trying to show.

This video contrasts with a normal hip hop music video which often includes scantily clad women dancing around expensive cars. This is because of the message the video is trying to portray. However it does conform to the convention of including the artist of the song within the video, although it is only for a brief moment near the end of the video.

Eminem is known for producing songs that tell a story about an aspect of his life and represent his character. This video looks at the uglier side of Eminem’s life when it comes to his fans and the public. Eminem is presented as honest and as having an understanding of how obsessed his fans become over him. This video is similar to some Eminem’s other videos such as Toy Soldiers, with both videos looking at a serious personal issue. However it contrasts with other songs by the artist, like Without Me, which are a lot more comedic and entertaining.

Chemical Brothers – Star Guitar



This video contrasts dramatically with the Eminem video. It doesn’t rely on the narrative as there isn’t one just the different images being filmed from a moving train. The music also doesn’t really have any lyrics.

The images don’t really illustrate the music as depending on your perception on the meaning and significance of the music it would be possible to allocate another set of images to the song. The images try and establish a concept rather than illustrate the music. This is because there is no real obvious connection between the music and the images seen by the audience. It doesn’t focus on creating a narrative or story and there is no need for the lyrics to be represented to the audience visually as it’s just music. However as there is a change in the music in tempo or the sound of the music then the audience sees a change in scenery as the train is moving. The images do link to the music in the sense that they change as the music changes.

This video also doesn’t feature the performers themselves which makes the music video all about the music and the images. It doesn’t rely on trying to construct a star image for the performers; it doesn’t really make them the main focus of the video. This suggests that the main way they intend to sell this song isn’t through offering an image of the band but through the music’s appeal itself. This may be because they want they want the importance of the music and its meaning to come through and be significant rather than relying on the identity and appeal of the musicians.