Video Analysis - Calvin Harris - Acceptable in the 80's

Video Analysis - Calvin Harris - Acceptable in the 80's

The video I will be analysing is the music video to Calvin Harris - Acceptable in the 80's which was directed by Woof Wan-Bau.  Acceptable in the 80's is an electro house/nu disco song and thus characteristics of the genre is present throughout the video, these include the use of bright vibrant colours to convey a cheerful mood as well as the use of a female figure or model for possibly the use of sexual display. These characteristics of electro house/nu disco can be evidenced by a google image search of both genres electo house and nu disco.

Similar to Anna Calvi's Desire the music video to acceptable in the 80's a mix between concept, performance and narrative based evidenced by the fact that certain visuals can be left for interpretation. The performance aspect of the video is evidenced by the fact that  the artist performing in his video possibly due to the fact that this song was part of Harris' debut album I Created Disco and therefore the artist would need his face featured in videos to be promoted and known. In addition the narrative aspect of the video can be evidenced by the continuity that follows when we see scientists on an animal and the effects it has on other characters.

When looking at how the lyrics of the song are illustrated via visuals acceptable in the 80s uses well known stereotypes and of the 80s in its video to present what was acceptable or the norm in the 80's linking in with the title of the track.Examples of this can be seen in terms of costume as various stereotypical 80's fashion has been used for instance the 80's fashion trend of large hair, vibrant clothing and leather jackets with patterned clothing. One could argue that the director's excessive use of these stereotypes have been employed to emphasise how strange the 80's was compared to today by using  and exaggerating so many fashion stereotypes to make the decade seem so alien. However for those who grew up during this decade the use of these stereotypes will create a sense of nostalgia about how the way things were.

Additionally, one may argue that the actress above bears some resemblance to singer Kylie Minogue. The significance of this being that Kylie Minogue was a large icon during the 80's, this could've been employed to further convey the 80's aesthetics of the visuals.

 

Another instance in which lyrics are amplified via visuals is during the opening sequence around 0:17 in which we see a two shot of men in lab coats testing on a toy otter. Said shot is an intertextual refecence to how animal testing was still legal in Britain during the 80's and thus links in with the main chorus of the song "It was acceptable in the 80's". In addition one may argue that the use of a toy otter instead of a real one or an accurate prop may convey that perhaps the director intended to make the scene itself seem strange and emphasises how strange it was looking back that this was allowed to happen. Furthermore, the use of low key lighting rather than featuring the lab in a well lit room may connote that the experimentation may not be exactly legitimate operation looking back.

 This theme of animal testing being acceptable in the 80's is carried throughout the song. During the sequence  in which we see the scientists, the two characters remove a green substance from the otter it is then at 0:31 we see the green substance being used as hair product on one of the characters. The use of these scenes in particular illustrate the songs title and main chorus by showing us the viewer the relationship between animal testing and fashion during the 80's. These visuals with the songs title may be asking the question was this actually acceptable and with the excessive use of 80's stereotypes and weird imagery, one may assume that the director of the music video is saying no. The weird imagery present a sort of humorous tone to the testing process in someways making fun of it rather than celebrating it.

Throughout the track the toy otter becomes a visual motif as see many of the characters interact with it including the artist himself and dancers. During the video we see many mid shots of the dancers playing around with the otter. One could argue that this in turn presents the the otter as property of the people to do whatever they want with it rather than an actual being. This may suggest linking with the title of the song once again that the director is presenting to audiences the attitudes towards the treatment of animals during the 80's; animals could be testing on and there were no  ethical issues about it.

Next at 0:53 -  1:47 we see a series of visuals depicting the scientists once again testing on the otter and then removing an orange substance from its body which is then taken away by another person only for the orange substance to be prepared as baby food for a child. During this sequence of shots we hear Harris mention "I've got love for you,If you were born in the 80's, the 80's,I've got hugs for you,If you were born in the 80's, the 80's I'll do things for you, If you were born in the 80's, the 80's."

  If one were to read the lyrics without watching the music video because of the context songs release in 2007, one could argue that the song is talking about the legal consent between relationships i.e. Harris is telling us he would be able to have a relationship with you if you were born in the 80's and thus you would be over 16. However, the lyrics in context of this sequence lyrics may convey a different meaning, that rather than going out with someone this suggests more of taking care of someone or yourself. "I'll do things for you" could suggest the extent people went to, to take care of themselves during the time period allowing things such as animal testing to happen.

In terms of mis en scene the when the food is delivered to the child , the room the child and the parent live in features natural lighting and a vibrant coloured wall. In contrast to the low key lit room of the scientists this could this could convey a sense of innocence to the family; they are happy yet oblivious about the food and where it came from. This could convey that possibly animal testing was only considered acceptable because people were oblivious to it during that time.

At 3:01 we see a man the toy otter on a large balancing scale. This may raise ethical questions about rights; who's life is more important the humans life or the life of animals and is testing on animals right.

When thinking about relationship between music and visuals, visuals tend to cut on beat to the tune of the track each time creating a different effect. One example of this can be found early during the first 7 seconds of the video we see a range of close up shots of two women dancing each time cutting from shot to shot on beat. The may connote the idea the idea that the 80's as liberal and carefree. Furthermore during these shots one could suggest that the women dancing have been put on sexual display due to the composition of the shots sometimes cutting to parts of the human body that are considered desirable and attractive such as legs and the seductive nature of the dance itself.  This may have been employed to convey the artists image as sexy and desirable but may also connote how the 80's focused on style and fashion. The shots also tend to cut to close ups of the clothing the dancers are wearing perhaps conveying the 80's focus on fashion and ones status.

This idea of the 80's fixation on fashion may also be evidenced around 0:11 as we cut on beat to a shot in which the frame is split into a 3 by 3 grid and within each frame we the audience can see the dancer once again dance with the otter. The use of the 3 by 3 grid presents each frame as a sort of TV  monitor thus conveying a notion of looking in someway. Based the idea that these frames represent TV monitors one could suggest that this connotes how fashion was everything people saw and consumed within the media during the 80's and how fashion dominated the decade.

Moreover another interpretation of this shot could be that this may be an intertextual reference to the work graphic designer Patrick Nagel who designed the album artwork to Duran Duran; a popular 80's music group. This could be evidenced by the similarities of the two being that both frames featuring women as their focal points against a solid colour background as well as the similarities between the dancers appearance and the women normally depicted in Nagel's work i.e  fashionable women with dark black hair and bright red lips. Said intertexutal reference as a result further adds to the 80's aesthetic of the video whilst also conveying the idea that said decade was glamorous and a time for art.

Another significant sequence when video cuts on beat is when we are introduced to the scientists at 0:15 seconds when it cut on beat from close up shot to close up shot of each scientists face. Both scientist when cut to convey an emotionless look in addition to the electric of the beat on each cut this presents the scientists in a more robotic manner rather conveying any humanity to them. This may emphasise how cold the experimentation on the otter is; it presents the experimentation in darker outlook.

This imagery is also repeated around 0:52 as we see both scientists move their heads down on beat thus suggesting the robotic nature of these scientists. It also conveys how effective they are in what they do since no flinching can be seen as they move their heads in uni seen on beat; there conveyed as more of a factory line producing these experiments with no thought as to whether this is right or wrong.

Other instances in which visuals cut on beat are during the scenes in which the child is eating the food, we see shots of the mother feeding the child jump cut and zoom in to show the passage of time in a stylised way.

During the extract, one notices there are many close ups of the artist Calvin Harris performing  and dancing with the toy otter.  One could suggest that the record company are trying to sell Harris' image as comic and fun; this can be evidenced by the nature of Harris' eccentric performance during the video as he attempts dance with a toy otter against a vibrant background which is constantly changing colour.

Furthermore, when taking in consideration of his costume, Harris mainly wears bright saturated clothing with large bright green headphones that bears resemblance to older headphone designs of the 80's. However the headphones Harris are wearing are plugged in the toy otter rather than Walkman or other type of music player. Perhaps this has been used to poke fun at 80's technology and how it looked;particularly how large and clunky the technology appeared to have been. This ties back to the title of the song as this sort of technology was considered acceptable in the 80's but also this may also tie with Harris' artist image that is trying to be sold. Harris's bright clothing and uncanny take on tech may further convey a fun whimsical nature but may also connote some sort of retro feel to the artist as he adopts an exaggerated version of the 80's style. This retro feel will produce some sort of familiarity among older listener whilst his exaggerated take would provide something new for those who weren't born in the decade and younger to engage with.

In addition, during the video similar to the dancers we can see a 3 by 3 grid of a close up of Harris' face. In the shot he is seen wearing a particular set of glasses known as "fly eyes" due to their studded design. The glasses bear a sort of resemblance to disco balls in there colour and texture and thus could link in with the title of the debut album the track is on "I created disco". This would further add to the artists retro image as well as presenting him as stylish as well by introducing an unconventional type of eye wear to audiences.

Upon watching two other videos of Harris' music ready for the weekend and the girls it appears that a notable theme throughout these videos are the use of vibrant colours, abstract and eccentric imagery and seductive performances from a female cast. Similar to acceptable in the 80's one could suggest that Harris image is being sold here as fun, sexy and stylish due to the creative and abstract look of the videos as well as how campy and over the top they can be.

However after watching Harris' more recent videos I Need Your Love ft Ellie Goulding and Feel so Close , it appears there has been a change of artist image  being sold to audiences. The campy and eccentric nature of Harris' previous image appears to be toned down as evidenced by a more greyish colour filter applied to both videos to make them seem more realistic. However, I need you love his most recent video keeps the motif of women on sexual display and both feel so close and I need your love carry on the fun attitude to his image however not so overt as his previous videos by featuring other people enjoying themselves. Perhaps this shift in campy image and whimsy may signify an attempt to mature the artist image and brand since he has become more established and wouldn't need to rely so much on a strange appearance and attitude to sell his work. Another factor could be since another artist is featuring in I need your love they must sell her image as well.

After watching the video to acceptable in the 80's one notices that there is a strong notion to looking present as many of the cast stare and smile directly at the camera causing a slightly uneasy effect for the viewer. Against the bright colours these cast members staring towards us causes the visuals within the music video to seem distorted and sort of dreamlike. This may connote the directors feelings towards the decade presenting it as very exaggerated and strange to emphasizes how bizarre the decade was looking back.

Other notions of looking can be found when Harris is performing he directly looks at the camera when singing "I've got love for you If you were born in the 80's  the 80's I've got hugs for you If you were born in the 80's, the 80's". This direct address in as well Harris directly looking at the camera immerses the viewer into video as it becomes more of Harris directly talking to us rather than a general character.

 

When thinking about intertextual references used in the video one may consider that the video the video itself is big intertextual reference to the 80's itself, featuring many of its stereotypes and other visual motifs we associate with the 80s such the fashion sense of the time. One could suggest this may fit in with the stars image as mentioned previously to convey a retro look to his image. Also one may suggest that as a result of these intertextual references Harris' image may have taken some of the more desirable qualities of the 80's i.e. 80's fixation on fashion has been conveyed during this video which may as a result promote Harris' image as fashionable as well.

Overall  it seems that the music video to acceptable in the 80s uses a range of exaggerated stereotypes, intertextual references of the 80's and strange but vibrant imagery to convey how bizarre the decade, its fixation on style and fashion as well as commenting on the ethical issues of animal testing during said decade. Furthermore, the use of vibrant and eccentric imagery conveys conveys Harris' artist image as whimsical, fun and stylish. Finally, the video uses a mix of performance,concept  and narrative based performance as evidenced by the narrative of the scientists testing on an otter and the effects it has and the use of slightly abstract imagery for that are open to interpretation. In addition, the fact that the artist performs during the video due to the fact that this song was on his debut album therefore Harris wouldn't been know among a mass audience and needed the promotion.

It was acceptable in the 80's
It was acceptable at the time
It was acceptable in the 80's
It was acceptable at the time

I've got love for you
If you were born in the 80's, the 80's
I've got hugs for you
If you were born in the 80's, the 80's

I'll do things for you
If you were born in the 80's, the 80's
I've got hugs for you
If you were born in the 80's
Yeah

It was acceptable in the 80's
It was acceptable at the time
It was acceptable in the 80's
It was acceptable at the time

I've got love for you
If you were born in the 80's, the 80's
I've got hugs for you
If you were born in the 80's, the 80's

I'll do things for you
If you were born in the 80's, the 80's
I've got hugs for you
If you were born in the 80's
Yeah