.
The Pretty Reckless - Miss Nothing (directed by David McKendry)
I have chosen to analyse this music video because, again, it is one of my favourite music videos and it's rich with religious references, which is very interesting when combining it with the image of The Pretty Reckless' lead singer Taylor Momsen.
The American band The Pretty Reckless, comprising of 17 year old Taylor Momsen, and Ben Phillips, Mark Damon and Jamie Perkins (ages are unknown but all around the age of 30), formed in 2009. They are being represented by themselves and was directed by Meiert Avis, a very well-established music video director and the director of The Pretty Reckless' other two music videos 'Make Me Wanna Die' and 'Just Tonight.'
The song itself, in Taylor Momsen's words, is about losing somebody and losing your mind, not knowing what to do with yourself. The music video is based on the concept of "the day after Jesus' crucifixion" and Momsen plays a version of Mary Magdalene "losing her mind" at a debauched version of the Last Supper. There isn't much of a narrative past this concept and the entire video features Momsen performing the song, however the band do not play accompanient, they instead just play versions of three disciples, the reason for this being that the band and their management know that their unique selling point in Momsen rather than the other members of the band.
Momsen, until recently with this band, has mainly been known as an actress on the American TV series, Gossip Girl. Her look in the video (and the band's other music videos) is completely different than how her character looks on the programme and this is a very deliberate act on Momsen's part, she is desperate to be seen as an adult, as she has been playing her character on Gossip Girl since she was 13. Her style has created some controversy regarding her young age of 17 but she plays up to it and knows that her overt sexuality is a selling point for the band.
In the music video she is wearing a short grey dress, suspenders and perspex high heels, this look is again deliberate to cause controversy but is also a modern day representation of Mary Magdalene, renowned for being a prostitute in Jesus' era (fig. 1). She is wearing lots of black eye shadow and dark red lipstick, again to enhance the "prostitute" look. Her hair is very long and blonde, another unique factor about Momsen is her hair length, much longer than average, but could also be interpreted as a reference to Mary Magdalene who washed Jesus' feet with her hair.
Fig. 1
The narrative of the video, as I have previously said, is the concept of a debauched Last Supper the day after Jesus' crucifixion, so Mary Magdalene, played by Momsen, loses her mind with the loss of Jesus. At the beginning of the video, Momsen is wearing a grey veil, further suggesting she is mourning Jesus' death but is ambivalent about it. Jesus' seat is empty but she has her foot on it, although it is hidden by the table, this is a very provocative pose and at one point she lovingly caresses the chair and proceeds to sit in it, putting her hands on the arm rests, both acts again signifying the presumed relationship Mary Magdalene and Jesus. She then crawls across and under the table and sings the song, knocking over food and smashing glasses on desciples' heads. Throughout the video she is very direct with the audience, staring into the camera and singing to them; at one point as walks directly up to the camera which is tracking bacwards and maintains a close up as she angrily sings the words, refusing to let the audience pull away from her. A lot of low angle shots are also utilized to position her as a strong, dominant figure, for example, when she is walking across the table the camera is very low angled making her seem even taller than her heels make her. As the video goes on, we see Momsen's/Mary Magdalene's state of mind deteriorate as she sings for her lost love, Jesus. At the end of the video momsen lays on the table facing the camera and holds her arms to emulate Jesus on the cross and is surrounded by the "disciples" and dead figures from popular culture such as Charlie Chaplin, Jimi Hendrix and John Lennon in his 'Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band' attire (fig. 2). This is presumably a comment on the society of today who look up to dead celebrities as their prophets and disciples rather than religous icons.
Fig. 2
The mise-en-scene was also meticulously created to look like a banquet, very different than how the original Last Supper would have been, but a lot more indulgent, like today's society, it even includes a stack of pancakes, a much more contemporary item that would obviously not have been present in the days of Jesus. The setting is in a very ornate looking hall and is emulating the style of a church, bringing in the religious symbolism again.
The song, and therefore video, belongs to the genre of alternative rock and Momsen's style and performance fits into the conventions of these very well, while Momsen's look is quite polished in this video, her mentality is very alternative and grunge, she doesn't care what other people think of her and her look whatsoever, the clothes she is wearing in the video are the same style of clothes she would wear walking down the street and performing shows, and the fact that she has not toned her look despite criticism regarding her age again shows her unwillingness to conform to someone else's (in this case, conservative media) ideals. In terms of conventional music videos for alternative rock, this video follows lots of the conventions there too, including extremely fast paced editing, often having four to five shots in one second, using fast-motion to connotate Momsen's madness in the video, and the video abandons shot syntax and switches between close ups to long shots constantly.
The band is signed to the record label Interscope which is owned by one of "The Big Four," UMG (Universal Music Group). While at first it would appear that the record label has not had affected the video in any way, there is one shot that disproves this (fig. 3). Product placement is rampant in today's music videos, such as Lady Gaga's 'Telephone' and Britney Spears' 'Hold It Against Me' which both feature heavy promotions for the site 'plentyoffish.com' but it is not typically seen in alternative rock music videos, however this is a blatant promotion for 'Dr. Dre's Monster Beats' headphones, as it does not fit into the setting at all and is featured early on in the music video to maximise exposure to audiences. The main reason it is placed in the video is most likely due to the record label Interscope who also manage Dr. Dre himself, and is a reason as to why the label Interscope was so successful to begin with. This is further enforced by the fact that The Pretty Reckless' next video for 'Just Tonight' also features the same headphones in a very gothic setting while Momsen performs some kind of blood ritual, again this is extremely out of place.
Fig. 3
The video debuted on the band's Vevo YouTube account, has almost 4 million views to date and still receives many comments daily. As I have previously stated in my two other analyses music videos are less promoted on music video channels these days as the majority of views come directly from the internet (and when taking into account other sites that host the same video the internet view count will actually be much larger than 4 million).
The text is addressed to teenagers and young adults, ranging from 14 to around 25. The fact that the music video will largely be available online is due to this young age range of consumers who will most likely be very computer literate and will find the video with ease. The video is also aimed at teenage girls specifically for Momsen's rebellious attitude, but also aimed at teenage boys for her looks and sexuality.
As a 20 year old male, a fan of alternative rock and a media and film studies student, I fit into the target audience that the music video is aimed at, as well as being able to read and evaluate the text better than the average viewer. Other viewers may not acknowledge or even care about the meaning or reasons behind a music video as long as it enjoyable to watch.
The Pretty Reckless - Miss Nothing (directed by David McKendry)
I have chosen to analyse this music video because, again, it is one of my favourite music videos and it's rich with religious references, which is very interesting when combining it with the image of The Pretty Reckless' lead singer Taylor Momsen.
The American band The Pretty Reckless, comprising of 17 year old Taylor Momsen, and Ben Phillips, Mark Damon and Jamie Perkins (ages are unknown but all around the age of 30), formed in 2009. They are being represented by themselves and was directed by Meiert Avis, a very well-established music video director and the director of The Pretty Reckless' other two music videos 'Make Me Wanna Die' and 'Just Tonight.'
The song itself, in Taylor Momsen's words, is about losing somebody and losing your mind, not knowing what to do with yourself. The music video is based on the concept of "the day after Jesus' crucifixion" and Momsen plays a version of Mary Magdalene "losing her mind" at a debauched version of the Last Supper. There isn't much of a narrative past this concept and the entire video features Momsen performing the song, however the band do not play accompanient, they instead just play versions of three disciples, the reason for this being that the band and their management know that their unique selling point in Momsen rather than the other members of the band.
Momsen, until recently with this band, has mainly been known as an actress on the American TV series, Gossip Girl. Her look in the video (and the band's other music videos) is completely different than how her character looks on the programme and this is a very deliberate act on Momsen's part, she is desperate to be seen as an adult, as she has been playing her character on Gossip Girl since she was 13. Her style has created some controversy regarding her young age of 17 but she plays up to it and knows that her overt sexuality is a selling point for the band.
In the music video she is wearing a short grey dress, suspenders and perspex high heels, this look is again deliberate to cause controversy but is also a modern day representation of Mary Magdalene, renowned for being a prostitute in Jesus' era (fig. 1). She is wearing lots of black eye shadow and dark red lipstick, again to enhance the "prostitute" look. Her hair is very long and blonde, another unique factor about Momsen is her hair length, much longer than average, but could also be interpreted as a reference to Mary Magdalene who washed Jesus' feet with her hair.
Fig. 1
The narrative of the video, as I have previously said, is the concept of a debauched Last Supper the day after Jesus' crucifixion, so Mary Magdalene, played by Momsen, loses her mind with the loss of Jesus. At the beginning of the video, Momsen is wearing a grey veil, further suggesting she is mourning Jesus' death but is ambivalent about it. Jesus' seat is empty but she has her foot on it, although it is hidden by the table, this is a very provocative pose and at one point she lovingly caresses the chair and proceeds to sit in it, putting her hands on the arm rests, both acts again signifying the presumed relationship Mary Magdalene and Jesus. She then crawls across and under the table and sings the song, knocking over food and smashing glasses on desciples' heads. Throughout the video she is very direct with the audience, staring into the camera and singing to them; at one point as walks directly up to the camera which is tracking bacwards and maintains a close up as she angrily sings the words, refusing to let the audience pull away from her. A lot of low angle shots are also utilized to position her as a strong, dominant figure, for example, when she is walking across the table the camera is very low angled making her seem even taller than her heels make her. As the video goes on, we see Momsen's/Mary Magdalene's state of mind deteriorate as she sings for her lost love, Jesus. At the end of the video momsen lays on the table facing the camera and holds her arms to emulate Jesus on the cross and is surrounded by the "disciples" and dead figures from popular culture such as Charlie Chaplin, Jimi Hendrix and John Lennon in his 'Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band' attire (fig. 2). This is presumably a comment on the society of today who look up to dead celebrities as their prophets and disciples rather than religous icons.
Fig. 2
The mise-en-scene was also meticulously created to look like a banquet, very different than how the original Last Supper would have been, but a lot more indulgent, like today's society, it even includes a stack of pancakes, a much more contemporary item that would obviously not have been present in the days of Jesus. The setting is in a very ornate looking hall and is emulating the style of a church, bringing in the religious symbolism again.
The song, and therefore video, belongs to the genre of alternative rock and Momsen's style and performance fits into the conventions of these very well, while Momsen's look is quite polished in this video, her mentality is very alternative and grunge, she doesn't care what other people think of her and her look whatsoever, the clothes she is wearing in the video are the same style of clothes she would wear walking down the street and performing shows, and the fact that she has not toned her look despite criticism regarding her age again shows her unwillingness to conform to someone else's (in this case, conservative media) ideals. In terms of conventional music videos for alternative rock, this video follows lots of the conventions there too, including extremely fast paced editing, often having four to five shots in one second, using fast-motion to connotate Momsen's madness in the video, and the video abandons shot syntax and switches between close ups to long shots constantly.
The band is signed to the record label Interscope which is owned by one of "The Big Four," UMG (Universal Music Group). While at first it would appear that the record label has not had affected the video in any way, there is one shot that disproves this (fig. 3). Product placement is rampant in today's music videos, such as Lady Gaga's 'Telephone' and Britney Spears' 'Hold It Against Me' which both feature heavy promotions for the site 'plentyoffish.com' but it is not typically seen in alternative rock music videos, however this is a blatant promotion for 'Dr. Dre's Monster Beats' headphones, as it does not fit into the setting at all and is featured early on in the music video to maximise exposure to audiences. The main reason it is placed in the video is most likely due to the record label Interscope who also manage Dr. Dre himself, and is a reason as to why the label Interscope was so successful to begin with. This is further enforced by the fact that The Pretty Reckless' next video for 'Just Tonight' also features the same headphones in a very gothic setting while Momsen performs some kind of blood ritual, again this is extremely out of place.
Fig. 3
The video debuted on the band's Vevo YouTube account, has almost 4 million views to date and still receives many comments daily. As I have previously stated in my two other analyses music videos are less promoted on music video channels these days as the majority of views come directly from the internet (and when taking into account other sites that host the same video the internet view count will actually be much larger than 4 million).
The text is addressed to teenagers and young adults, ranging from 14 to around 25. The fact that the music video will largely be available online is due to this young age range of consumers who will most likely be very computer literate and will find the video with ease. The video is also aimed at teenage girls specifically for Momsen's rebellious attitude, but also aimed at teenage boys for her looks and sexuality.
As a 20 year old male, a fan of alternative rock and a media and film studies student, I fit into the target audience that the music video is aimed at, as well as being able to read and evaluate the text better than the average viewer. Other viewers may not acknowledge or even care about the meaning or reasons behind a music video as long as it enjoyable to watch.