Ghost Town Music Video Flashcards
(11 cards)
establishing shots
the establishing shots help to set the scene as being London. the empty streets make the city seem desolate and sad , like a ghost town,
inside the car
when the camera shifts inside the car we can see a diverse mix of seven people. the diversity inside the group helps to represent the band as integrated and multi cultural and the fact that they are all crammed inside the car connotes the fact that they are close friends
during the late 70s and early 80s
this was a period of high unemployment and poverty in the uk which many saw as a result of government policy, the main group affected by this were young men and in specific young black afro carrabeans
in 1981
in response to this there were a series of riots and protests carried out around London.
the media
would blame immigrants for the unemployment and poverty and this caused a lot of friction in society. a racist political party called the national front even encouraged the racism.
serious facial expressions
suggest that the song is going to tackle some serious issues, overall tone is quite depressing
frequent use of shadows
throughout the video could be semantic code for the fact that London is a shadow of its former self
when the band talks about how London used to be
in specific the boomtown era the colours turn warm and vibrant, this is in stark contrast to the cold depressing colours used when talking about how London is now.
the video represents how young men felt at the time
but instead of reprinting racial tension the video represents racial harmony.
the fast paced editing
handheld camera shots and crazed expressions make the band feel wild and rebellious
the final shot
of the music video where the band are throwing rocks into the thames represents how since men are unemployed they’re bored and there’s nothing to do
