Music Video Analysis:

David Bowie- Lets Dance

Claire Angus
Goodwin identified that the visuals within a music video may be edited in time to the
lyrics/ change the pace of the song. He also stated that these visuals are commonly
repeated within a chorus to emphasise the repetition in lyrics and beats/or create a
motif.
Goodwin found that most artists have a trend of repeating certain actions within their
music videos in order to establish this as their 'trademark' action and therefore making
their songs recognizable due to it reoccurring often. This represents the style of the
music the artist is releasing and is a marketing strategy in order to be remembered by
many different audiences. Genre is also shown by location. For example, songs within
the rock genre are often filmed near a stage to convey a gig, and songs within the rap
genre are often filmed in an abandoned warehouse or street.
Goodwin identified that it is a common feature for record labels to use close ups of the
artist/vocalist in order to promote the sales in the single. This convention is used in
order to show the artist throughout the video, but is most common with female artists,
as provocative angles are often used to sexualize the artist, following Laura Mulvey's
Male Gaze Theory. This could create an intimate medium.
Goodwin acknowledged that it was not uncommon to recognize either the visuals or
lyrics of a song to be a direct reference to another media text. This is used to engage
audiences and provide them gratification, if they recognize the link.
 Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics

In this music video, images are used, in order to assist the narrative and place artificial imagery
in place of genuine visual imagry, such as, the explosion in the distant hills. This explosion is
edited in, to explain the message of white power, with Bowie trying to help tackle the problem
of racism in Australia. We also see Bowie's face appear in the middle of the screen. This would
have been very advanced at the time, and probably unusual, which reflects the conventions of
the typical classic pop rock genre
Bowie, both performs and appears within the narrative itself, which is typical of a pop rock
genre. This convention is also seen in the The Man Who Cant Be Moved by The Script, an
example of modern pop rock. Stevie Ray Vaughan played lead guitar on this song, and Bowie was
impressed. The guitar is a typical conventional instrument of the pop rock genre, as seen in The
Man Who Cant Be Moved by The Script.
Despite programmes only being broadcasted in colour in 1969, bright colours
became conventional of the pop rock genre, with vivid, idiosyncratic patterns
and layers attracting audiences in the 70s and 80s. David Bowie was a pioneer
for the pop rock genre, releasing many music videos with extravagant visuals.
China Girl is a good example of this.

Costume/style, was a vital convention of the pop rock genre, with some
bands/groups expressing unique and quirky outfits. This is shown, when
Bowie is pictured in a long-shot at the end of the video and having had
regular costume changes throughout.

The video was filmed in Australia and features an Aboriginal couple who are struggling against Western cultural
imperialism. The video was described by Bowie as a "very simple, very direct" statement against racism. This shows
Bowie challenging the typical setting and narrative structure of the classic pop rock genre.
 There is a relationship between the lyrics and the visuals (either illustrative,
amplifying or contradicting)

The main narrative is told through the lyrics of the song , with a clear visual representation of
the song's message, being, "let's dance". Throughout the video, we see people dancing along
to Bowie and the band of instruments, further amplifying this. Despite the fun and energetic
mood, the locals at the bar, and seen dancing here, are mocking the aborigine couple with
their own dance moves.
Bowie sings, While color lights up your face, clearly linking to the exuberant colour
and dance in the video. He could also be referencing the difference in skin colour,
and the underlining problem of racism.

In the song the lyrics "Put on your red shoes and dance the blues" is mirrored in the
visual of the red heels, portraying Goodwin's theory of the relationship between
lyrics and visuals. The heels are seen regularly in the video, making them a motif.
The teenage aborigine girl puts on the shoes, which are then removed and we are
seeing them being worn by a white woman, suggesting the rise of white power.

When Bowie repeats the lyrics "let's dance", some visuals contradict this
message. For example, as soon as he says this, scenes are shown of the
teenage boy experiencing the hardships of manual labour, having to pull a
piece of heavy machinery up a long road, and the teenage girl cleaning the
road surface. Where dancing is supposed to connote fun and happiness, this
visual imagery is saddening and could make the audience feel sympathy for the
characters; thus contradicting the message of the song.

Also, when Bowie sings "Under the moonlight, this serious moonlight", visual imagry is shown
of the two teens basking in the scorching hot sun, further contradicting the lyrics in the song.
 There is a relationship between the music and the visuals (either
illustrative, amplifying or contradicting)

The music has a punchy, hypnotic feel, conventional of the classic pop rock
genre. "Let's dance" is also repeated in the chorus, to further emphasise the
repetition of visuals and the extent to which Goodwin's theory applies. Lets
Dance was Bowie's only transatlantic #1, and he said "I tried to produce
something that was warmer and more humanistic than anything I've done
for a long time.

Bowie uses a strong performance style to entice his demographic, being teens and young
adults. He also includes an underlying theme of romance in his music video, using to teenage
actors, as the main focus of the narrative.

The music is melodic and flows throughout the video, linking to the continuity editing, which is effective in assisting
the narrative. It is the title track to Let's Dance, which was produced by Nile Rodgers, who was responsible for the
album's funky sound.

From the beginning of the video, the visuals are in sync with the music. When Bowie is singing, his face is shown on
screen, when the non-diegetic Mediterranean instruments are played in the first scene, bowie is playing this music to
the actors, making it seem diegetic, as the actors are dancing along to the beat of the music. When the music builds up
towards the chorus, we see the actors dancing again, reinforcing the syncopation between the music and the visuals.
 The demands of the record label will include the need for lots of close-ups of the
artist and the artist may develop motifs which recur across their work

Ultimately, this video includes a strong amount of close ups and direct address from
Bowie, to further connect with his audience, as if it is Bowie who is asking his
audience to dance.

At the end of the video, there is a long-shot of Bowie playing the guitar to the camera, showing his
style head to toe. This contributed to shaping Bowie as a fashion icon and a pioneer for the expressive
music scene, inspiring many artists around the world to develop their own image and style.

By the time this video was released in 1983, Bowie had reached the top of the fame ladder,
previously collaborating with queen in 1981. The album helped Bowie to reach his
commercial peak, being his title track on his studio album Lets Dance, topping both UK
and US charts. Bowies record label may not have been concerned with pushing his
appearance, due to this fame, however, Bowie was definitely the centre of his videos, and
had a large reputation of connecting with fans all over the world.

The tour to support this album was called the "Serious Moonlight Tour," named after a line in
this song: "Under the moonlight, the serious moonlight, possibly creating a motif for fans to
remember.
 There are frequent references to the notion of looking and particularly voyeuristic
treatment of the female body

Whilst there isnt frequent references to the notion of looking, there is a long-
shot of the actors looking at the face of Bowie, edited as a separate layer into the
visual. This could accentuate Bowies popularity around the world.

Possible references to the notion of looking are shown at the start

of the video, where the actors are dancing in the bar. There are
close-ups and medium-long shots of people looking at those who
are dancing, one of the dancers being a woman. I doubt that this
is the case, however, some may associate the cross cuts of the
dancers to the men, as voyeuristic treatment of the female body.

Near the end of the video, we see a medium-long shot of the

young girl washing the street, cutting to a mid-shot of a
couple looking through a car window. This again, could be an
example of the voyeuristic treatment of the female body,
mixed with the theme of racism.
 There is often intertextual references

Red Shoes are an intertextual reference in the video and appear in the lyrics, "Put
on your red shoes and dance the blues." This is a reference to the 1948 movie The
Red Shoes, where a dancer performs in a ballet of that name. The idea is that the
red shoes make you dance.

An intertextual reference, that may not be obvious at first, is the reference to Michael Jacksons Earth song.
The narrative in Lets Dance had inspired the narrative in Earth Song, whereby bad things happen, but
become reversed to put them back the way they were. This could send the message, when anything goes
wrong, and there are hardships in life, lets dance, possibly bringing light to the situation.

Smashing Pumpkins covered this song in 1998 along with Joy Division's "Transmission" during a 25 minute live
jam.

Gnarls Barkley are digitally inserted into this video during their own video for Smiley Faces.

Bowie's brief cameo in the Ben Stiller film, Zoolander, is accompanied by this song.

Craig David's 2007 UK Top 10 hit "Hot Stuff" extensively samples this song.
 Whether the video is primarily performance-based or concept-based and how
each element is used in it

This video has a strong mixture of performance and narrative, where Bowie performs the song whilst the actors are
dancing in the same scene, creating a link between the two.
The narrative is clear at the beginning, however it turns negative, as we see images of the teenagers experiencing
straining manual labour. This then develops into a softer narrative, with shots of the two teens together eating,
walking about the town and overlooking the skyline.
This isnt a typical narrative structure, challenging the conventional pop rock genre.
 Todorov, Propp, Strauss
Narrative Theory
Todorov
Equilibrium
They are dancing at the beginning
Disruption
The rise of power in authority (the red shoes)
Realisation
They realise that they can only make money, dance and be free if they work under white rule
Restored order
They escape from authority and are free to live their lives without restraint
Equilibrium
They walk back into the hills, finding safety at last

Propp
Villain- White authority
Hero- love-unity-family
Princess- the aborigine people
False hero- The white people/locals sitting around the bar, who
are actually racist, and laughing at the young aborigine teens
for their skin colour
The stereotypical roles within authority, are emphasised with high
angle shots and low angle shots, with the aborigine people being
looked down upon. We can also recognise a change in
power/authority, as when the setting changes, so does the costume.
Strauss
Good (aborigines) vs bad (white authority)
Wealth (white authority) vs poverty
(aborigines)
Strong (white authority) vs weak (aborigines)
Positive (freedom) vs negative (manual labour)
Helpful (money) vs unhelpful (the racist
remarks)
Freedom (the hills/home of the aboriginal
tribes) vs confinement (factories ruled by
white authority)
 All media is
encoded with
meaning
Media Language

The meaning that is encoded in this video, supports the stereotypically dominant gender and racial ideas. This is
shown at the start of the video, where there's a medium-long shot of a white man imitating an aborigine girl, with
people laughing and watching. This could possibly be reflecting the patriarchy within the video, but also the racism
towards the aboriginal people. These ideas could also be reflected at 1:45, where we see a medium-long shot of the
two white inspectors, wearing business dress and holding clipboards, usually associated with authority. This shot
then cuts to 1:49, where we see a mid-shot of the aborigine boy working in the factory, under the rule of white
supremacy, further anchoring the dominant racial ideas encoded within the video. This also ties in with Barthes
theory, which argues that all media communicates through a system of codes, denotations and connotations. This
theory is applicable to the video, as media language is encoded to challenge hegemonic views on race. For example,
the female inspector is shown to be wearing a pair of red heels, which we later find to be a symbol of superiority.
This supports Barthes theory, as we later see the aborigine people, not wearing any shoes, in order to defy
constraint and white authority. Ferdinand Saussure argues that all media communicates through a signifier and
what it signifies. A signifier in this video could be the red heels and it could be signifying the power of white
authority. The rope could be signifying constraint, power and hierarchy, further emphasising the hegemonic racial
views within the narrative.