Justin Bieber – Beauty and A BeatTheory Analyis

The music video for ‘Beauty and A Beat’ supports Andrew Goodwin’s theory to some extent, as the lyrics and the visuals are somewhat connected. One on hand, the visuals illustrate the lyrics. For example, the extravagant party setting emphasise that he lives a fulfilled lifestyle, all he needs is this girl to “make his life complete”. Furthermore, the mise-en-scene emphasises the party atmosphere in order to create a stronger connection between the visuals lyrics. This is shown by the use of a vibrant setting, such as the water-park at night, that is decorated with bright lights and neon colours. This links with the idea that they are “going to party like it’s 3012” and helps to emphasise the energetic atmosphere.However, the visuals also contradict the lyrics as some of the shots have little or no connection the words being sung. For example, the idea of this video being compiled of found footage that a fan has illegally uploaded online bares no connection the lyrics in anyway. Furthermore, although the video emphasises the idea that he wants to take the girl he likes out to a club and party with her, it has no relation to

Andrew Goodwin’s Theorythe feelings he is describing in the song.Overall, the video consists of visuals that either contradict or illustrate the lyrics. This mixture may be due the performance aspects of the video, as the producers are more interested in trying to keep the audiences engaged in the visuals as well as showing the artist under a positive light than creating a strong narrative that illustrates the emotions and the themes of the song.

Carol Vernallis’ TheoryCarol Vernallis suggests that the editing of a music video is much more important that the filming. She also suggests that the video may disrupt the elements of continuity editing and is apposed the the invisible style of continuity editing, where the techniques are unclear to the audience.This video, however, does not follow this theory and it uses invisisble editing to create a smooth finish and to create the impression that the video was shot using a long take.

Furthermore, the video uses guerrilla style filming in order to give the video a more realistic feel thus allowing audiences to become more engaged by the action. This does not support Vernallis’ Theory as it means that the editing is less visible to the audience and there is no distinctive style of editing throughout the video. The video is also filmed on a GoPro Hero 2 camera, which helps emphasise the realistic style of the video, thus demonstrating how the filming plays a vital role in the overall finish of the product. However editing is incredibly important as it helps to perfect the smooth finish, as the use of short jump cuts help piece the takes together thus creating the impression that the shots gentle flow from one to the other. Furthermore, it helps to emphasise and elongate a long take, thus strengthening the continuity of the video. This supports Vernallis’ theory, as the editing of ‘Beauty and A Beat’ allows for the shots to come together and receive an overall smooth appearance.

Shuker’s TheoryShuker’s theory suggests that the representation of women is often aimed at heterosexual male audiences, therefore they are often objectified. This video does support this theory to some extent, as the majority of the women are dressed in bikinis and are seen dancing provocatively, which can be seen in the shot below. Furthermore, Nicki Minaj wears clothing that can be considered to be provactive, as it consists of a short skirt, a low-cut bralet. Mulvey’s Male Gaze TheoryAlthough the representation of women may be altered to for male audiences, it does not support the ‘Male Gaze Theory’ which engrains a specific image of women onto the audience’s minds. Although the women are dressed in bikinis, their clothing or their bodies is not a focus point of the video. Furthermore, the camera does expose the women in anyway. This allows for the artist to gain more respect, and makes him seem more mature than in his previous videos.

Genre TheoryNeale (1980) suggested that ‘genre is repetition with underlying patterns of variation’. This is evident in Justin Bieber’s music video, as it includes common codes and conventions from electronic music videos alongside some unique twists. For example, the ‘found-footage’ style is commonly used in electronic music videos (e.g Ella Eyre-Good Times) however this video is much more polished and includes large, choreographed dance routines.

Genre theory also states that music videos includes semantic elements, that are typical to electronic music, and syntactic elements, which emphasise the themes which are associated with electronic music. This can be seen in ‘A Beauty and A Beat’, as the mise-en-scene of the video helps connote the genre. For example, the neon lights and the dancing emphasise the club-party style atmosphere which is typical to electronic music. Additionally, the excitement of the actors in this video demonstrates the electronic genre, as it helps to create a much more vibrant and energetic genre that is associated with this type of music.

Propp’s Character TheoryThroughout the video, it is clearly evident that Justin is the leader/hero due to the way that the mise-en-scene, camera angles and editing focus on him. For example, Justin appears to be in control of the camera throughout the video as he steers it towards the action. Furthermore, it is usually focused on him and he always lip-syncs towards the camera, thus breaking the 4th wall and allowing for audiences to identify him as the sole vocalist. Furthermore, the choreography is organised around Bieber’s actions. For example, the synchronised swimmers move around Bieber and move him to the correct position at correct time. This demonstrates that he is the leading protagonist in the video, as everyone else’s sole responsibility is to create an energetic atmosphere around the artist.

This also links to Goodwin’s theory, as the close-up, hand-held shots of Bieber make him seem down to earth, enthusiastic and relaxed. This allows for audiences to understand the ‘star-persona’ of the lead singer, and feel much closer to him as an individual.