Claude Levi-Strauss argued that story narrative is motivated through rivalry between binary opposites. One of these we, the target audience, are supposed to identify with and view as the right side, whereas the other side we should view as the villain.
This All American Rejects music video, "Gives You Hell" is a perfect example for Claude Levi-Strauss's theory as it clearly displays rivalry between two clearly opposite people. On one side there is a rather smart, posh man who lives in a very sugary life displaying the audiences perception of mainstream life. On the other side we have a rougher looking musician who represents the target audience, we immediately identify with this man and his household as it suits the genre of music and appeals to the genres audience. This video can be taken metaphorically to represent the push fight between youth and rebellion v.s. adults and establishment. By the end of the video though, the two men have swapped households, wives, and in effect lives. This creates an interesting scenario as the man who we initially identified as a form of enemy, becomes the accepted role for the target audience. This slightly unclear conclusion makes the video story challenging, showing this could be aimed at a less mainstream audience.
No comments:
Post a Comment