Textual analysis 1 - Kendrick Lamar's 'Alright'
TEXTUAL ANALYSIS - Kendrick Lamar's 'Alright' Music Video
(cinematography, editing, sound and mise-en-scene)
Firstly, the music video uses a variety of techniques in order to convey Lamar's ideas about the treatment and life of African Americans in this period of time.
The video begins with a wide-angle establishing shot of Oakland Bar Bridge that is in a black and white tone with a deep contrast that emphasises the hostility and ominous ambience. This is already to foreshadow that the mood of the music video is deep and its a way of signifying to the audience that this song will be based on a serious matter. This is also prolonged in the next 30 seconds as we see scenes of deserted locations and destructive imagery.
This shot that is also near the beginning is one of the most powerful and significant scenes of the whole production. It presents a young black man being slammed down on a surface while being hand-cuffed by a white police officer before he attempts to escape. This is a close-up shot of the mans face to emphasise his emotion and brutality that he is suffering. The audience then see's the white police officer point a gun at the man. This is without hesitation so it just represents how horrific police brutality is as he did not even attempt to chase or restrain him. The shot displays the gun as being closest to the camera and the slow-motion of the pistol being shot adds a level of intensity to the scene. It also emphasises the reality of the world we live in as the shots before this were very surreal. The lyrics that are sung during this scene recite, "While my love ones was fighting a continuous war back in the city, I was entering a new one, a war that was based on apartheid and discrimination." This line is the war that Lamar is referring to - the black vs white.
In this particular shot, it is worth noting that many of the scenes in this time frame of the video are very associations to the African American community. This is just an example of a wide-shot displaying Lamar in a very freeing position as he is stood on top of a lamppost with this hands apart. This is perhaps to represent the freedom that the African American community desire so much. This long time frame of the video is also where we hear the main chorus of the song that links to the positive shots as the whole song is singing about how they will all be 'alright'.
Finally, this shot comes at the end of the video and displays the harrowing truth of African American life in these areas. A white police officer is seen mimicking a gun being shot up at Lamar which is perhaps a way of conveying how much power these police officers seem to impose over this community as he does not even need a gun to create this destruction. Then the wide-shot displays the singer being shot and again it is all in slow-motion to add to the intensity of the scene. The shot also shows a wide view of the whole city to present just how high up the singer was and felt this sense of freedom before literally being shot down.
(cinematography, editing, sound and mise-en-scene)
Firstly, the music video uses a variety of techniques in order to convey Lamar's ideas about the treatment and life of African Americans in this period of time.
The video begins with a wide-angle establishing shot of Oakland Bar Bridge that is in a black and white tone with a deep contrast that emphasises the hostility and ominous ambience. This is already to foreshadow that the mood of the music video is deep and its a way of signifying to the audience that this song will be based on a serious matter. This is also prolonged in the next 30 seconds as we see scenes of deserted locations and destructive imagery.
This shot that is also near the beginning is one of the most powerful and significant scenes of the whole production. It presents a young black man being slammed down on a surface while being hand-cuffed by a white police officer before he attempts to escape. This is a close-up shot of the mans face to emphasise his emotion and brutality that he is suffering. The audience then see's the white police officer point a gun at the man. This is without hesitation so it just represents how horrific police brutality is as he did not even attempt to chase or restrain him. The shot displays the gun as being closest to the camera and the slow-motion of the pistol being shot adds a level of intensity to the scene. It also emphasises the reality of the world we live in as the shots before this were very surreal. The lyrics that are sung during this scene recite, "While my love ones was fighting a continuous war back in the city, I was entering a new one, a war that was based on apartheid and discrimination." This line is the war that Lamar is referring to - the black vs white.
In this particular shot, it is worth noting that many of the scenes in this time frame of the video are very associations to the African American community. This is just an example of a wide-shot displaying Lamar in a very freeing position as he is stood on top of a lamppost with this hands apart. This is perhaps to represent the freedom that the African American community desire so much. This long time frame of the video is also where we hear the main chorus of the song that links to the positive shots as the whole song is singing about how they will all be 'alright'.
Finally, this shot comes at the end of the video and displays the harrowing truth of African American life in these areas. A white police officer is seen mimicking a gun being shot up at Lamar which is perhaps a way of conveying how much power these police officers seem to impose over this community as he does not even need a gun to create this destruction. Then the wide-shot displays the singer being shot and again it is all in slow-motion to add to the intensity of the scene. The shot also shows a wide view of the whole city to present just how high up the singer was and felt this sense of freedom before literally being shot down.
Excellent work! Ms Cope
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