Roland Barthes Theory

Example Videos and explanations:

Enigma:

Melanie Martinez, Sippy Cup- This video was chosen as there can be a lot of unanswered questions left after viewing. The audience doesn't know what happens to the mother who killed her husband, if she gets caught or gets away with it. At the end we don't know what happens to the daughter, Melanie, as she is gassed by her mother and we are left wondering as to whether she is dead or not. Upon further reading, I have found out that what happened to this character is that she is put to sleep so when she wakes up she forgets the events from the night before. This is enigmatic as without this further reading we are left not knowing what happens to the characters in the narrative of the music video.

Action:

Eminem, Space Bound- at the end of this video Eminem's character commits suicide, an event that triggers this tension. However there are previous events that acted as this build up of suspense,  for example a girl leaving him at a bar, which trigger other events until we get to the suicide. This is the action code as suspense for the audience is being built up all throughout the video until we get to the end of the narrative.

Semantic:

Justin Timberlake, Cry Me a River- as well has having its overall meaning of going through a breakup in a really negative way, there is a hidden meaning that is personal to the artist. The only way in which the audience can guess this meaning is via connotations, but also having background knowledge on the artist. By obtaining this we then know that the song is about Justin's breakup with Britney Spears after she cheated on him. We can also see hints of this as we briefly see a girl with blonde hair that may represent her.

Symbolic:

Lady Gaga, Bad Romance- within this video there are many objects which can symbolise other connotations through association. For example, Lady Gaga at one point wears all black, which can symbolise death and power. Another setting involves a room featuring what looks like modern looking coffins, one of which having the word 'Monster' written in red on it. This can again connote death and have quite a satanic feel to the video. Other examples include the enlargement of the artist's eyes, referencing drug abuse, and the colour red, which symbolises love and passion, but also danger and anger.

Referential:

Sia, The Greatest- the song references to the Orlando shooting, which is clear from the start as a girl puts rainbow coloured paint across her cheeks. The children dancing with her also represent the victims of this tragic event.

Macklemore, Same Love- this love references to same sex marriage being legal, promoting the equality of sexuality. This is done through showing a wedding between two men and also how the character is clearly unsure and worried about his sexuality and what other people will think.


Application:
In terms of applying this theory to my own music video, I would like to use the enigma and action code together to keep the audience hooked onto the narrative of my story and to leave them wanting to know more at the end. I'm also considering the semantic code as I could use a song that has a really special meaning that only fans of my artist would be able to work out.