Dale Luck Otis A2 Media StudiesTom Cartwright by Kanye West and Jay-Z Coursework2
Why did you choose the text you are analysing?
Its a nice example of a straight-performance video with a few elements of creativity, and is actuallya pretty good song as well. The video is also a good example of how a performance video can keepyou interested despite a small number of things actually happening.
In what context did you encounter it?
Dale found it whilst reading an article on digital distribution and counter-acting piracy. The album forWatch The Throne was released online exclusively to iTunes 4 days before the release of its physicalside, and it was also released as a Deluxe Edition with exclusive songs. It was one of the few albumsin recent years to avoid a leak before its release, which increased the number of sales.
What influence do you think this context might have had on your interpretation of the text?
We think it probably made us appreciate the song and video a lot more, beyond just beingsomething entertaining, but really there isnt much there to interpret and we dont think it changedour view of it that much.
Which conventions of the genre do you recognize in the text?
The illustration genre often has the lyrics being a straight performance or having a narrative elementto them this has both, with the song being sung to the audience directly by Kanye and Jay-Z oncamera, but at the same time showing them driving a car which links to the song where they singabout doing just that (not in the exact same fashion, but its still basically connected).
To what extent does this text stretch the conventions of its genre?
It stretches the conventions of keeping it simple rather than simply being a performance ornarrative video it takes
creative interpretation with the setting and use of the lyrics, so in thatsense its actually more like amplification than illustration, and yet does enough sole performance tokeep it classed as illustration.
Where and why does the text depart from the conventions of the genre?
It takes a creative view of the lyrics rather than just being a straight interpretation they sing aboutmore than just their car, and they do a lot more with it in the lyrics than just riding around for fun,but the video chooses to focus on that and their performance alone.