The music video for Miley Cyrus's "Wrecking Ball" directly relates to the song's lyrics through visual imagery of Cyrus swinging naked on a wrecking ball. Her nudity represents vulnerability after a relationship ends. Scenes show Cyrus linking a hammer, enjoying the pain. The video starts with a close-up of Cyrus singing softly while crying, matching the song's slow start. When the song picks up, so does the video, cutting to Cyrus swinging wildly. The video can also be seen as sexually oriented due to nudity and camera focus on Cyrus's body, intended to attract audiences.
Miley Cyrus's 'Wrecking Ball' music video analyzed
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2. Miley Cyrus's music video for wrecking ball has some very clear visuals and imagery which link directly to the song. She swings
from a wrecking ball naked which links to her lyrics ‘You came in like a wrecking ball’. Her nudity in the video has been used to
represent her purity and vulnerability in the relationship that has just been destroyed by her partner. This also links in to her use
of props in the video as at one point she his seen liking a hammer to show her audience how much she enjoys the pain of the
relationship.
The start of the song is very slow, calm and moving as Miley sings softly and clearly. To match this the camera is a head shot of
the artist singing whilst tears run down her face. The background is white so we can truly see her pain and suffering and the
head shot makes the audience feel very close to Miley and some may even begin to feel her emotions. However as soon as the
song picks up pace at he chorus s does to music video. It suddenly changes to her face to Miley swinging from a wrecking ball
and then lying on the ground on a pile of rubble.
3. The music video can also be seen as a very sexually orientated one firstly because of the scenes of nudity where Miley is sitting
naked on a wrecking ball and then next to where she is lying on the ground in white underwear and a white cropped top. The
white may represent her purity and innocence in the relationship but the camera pans over her body and focus on her thighs,
bottom and chest though the intention was to make the audience desire Miley and wonder why anyone would want to leave
her. The links to Laura Mulvey’s male gaze where her body and feminine features such as her chest are being used to attract her
audience of young males and girls who aspire to be like her sexually and physically.
The music is clearly pop with the main focus being the catchy, simple and easy to remember lyrics and shocking music video. By
using Mileys nudity and slightly odd music video the record label and director have been able to gain Mileys song and video
popularity and whether she had good or bad press she is still known by millions for this song and video putting her in peoples
minds which would be the overall intention of the director.
4. The music video for Michael Jacksons number one hit song ‘Billie Jean’ starts off in black and white engaging the audience and
making them wonder why its not in colour and what surprises the video will have in store for them. We are shown glimpse of a
mans shadow, a gloved hand and then a mans face with dark shades. By using short quick clips exposing only a small amount of
the character at a time the editor has achieved the effect of ramping up the audiences excitement and interest with this strange
character who is clearly not Michal Jackson.
The visuals in the video link to the lyrics in the video with the first references to ‘Billie Jean with the lyrics ‘Se told me her name
was Billie Jean’ at this point the man shown at the beginning of the video drops a newspaper showing the audience the
headline of the article which says ‘Billie Jean Scandal’. You cannot see the rest of the article so the audience is already intrigued
into who is this girl and why is she so important.
5. There is a clear narrative throughout the music video with Michael Jackson walking the streets. He then enters we
assume ‘Billie Jeans’ bed and then disappears. All the while he is being photographed and followed by what the
audience assume is a detective or journalist trying to get a photo which he never succeed in doing through the magic
of Michaels disappearance.
We have many points where the music links to the video with the beat matching the moments when Michael steps on
the paved squares of the path and light up with each step matching the music as though he is playing the music on the
pavement like piano keys. This helps to intrigue the audience and keeps the catchy beat in our minds.
The director has included a many midshots of the artist so we can se his face, hairstyle and outfit which consist of his
iconic shoulder pads, pink shirt and red bow tie. Being renowned for fashion the mise en scene with his clothing was
key in the music video so he was able to show of his outfits to attract his audience.
6. Sinead O'Conner's music video for her song ‘Nothing compares 2U’ does not fit the trend. The video is extremely
minimal but with lots of meaning. Her video in some ways is similar to Miley Cyrus’s ‘Wrecking ball’ with the close up/
headshot of Sinead's face being the main part of the music video. However in Sinead's she has a black background and
is wearing a black turtle neck jumper. She does however have extremely short hair similar to Miley Cyrus’s which has led
me to believe that the director of Mileys video may have taken inspiration from Sinead's music video. The close up of
her face and the simplistic style of the video provides the audience with the opportunity to really listen to the music and
lyrics and not be distracted by flashy images or fast intriguing editing enabling them to feel the emotions of the song
and understand the lyrics.
For the instrumental parts of the song which are very relaxing a series of images are shown mostly of stone such as
paths, fountains, statues and bridges connoting the artists emotions and how she feels cold and lifeless without her
lover. We can also guess this from her lyrics ‘Nothing compares, nothing compares too you’ The audience can really feel
the sadness and despair during the instrumental part, The change in camera images also gives the audience a break
from the intense close up of the artists face and a moment to reflect on the meaning of the song. The slow fade in and
transitions also represent the calm smoothness of the song creating a tranquil music video.