Andrew Goodwin observed that the common narrative style does not apply to pop music videos. He argues that they attack the narrative style from a different angle. His main arguments to uphold his thesis is that pop videos do not follow traditional narrative structures, pop videos often use the artist as both the narrator and the performer and that singer looks into the camera to attract the attention of the viewer. Repetition is a main feature of pop music. The cuts and scenes often align with the chorus and verses's, drawing the attention of the viewer to the screen. A pop video can do one of two things when it comes to the ending. It can build up to a climactic ending or it can continue with the repetition and eventually fade away. Few music videos allow repetition not only as a visual aid but also visual pleasure which then results in promotion of the song/artist.
There are three types of structures between music videos and songs. Illustration, amplification and disjuncture.
Illustration - Where the video illustrates what is happening in the song. i.e Beyonce - Irreplaceable. This video is a clear example of the artist being both the main character and the performer. Also, we can see that this video illustrates the lyrics heard.
Amplification - When the video does not completely follow the lyrics of the song but add new layers of meaning to the video. i.e Beyonce - Best thing I never had. In this video we can see that it does not completely contradict the original meaning of the song but does its jobs to add layers to the original concept.
Disjuncture - When the video does not really connect with the music. i.e Justin Timberlake - Rock Your Body. The lyrics and the video do not really connect in anyway. The video has no real story line and is all performance.
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