Goodwin Analysis

Andrew Goodwin devised a theory explaining it through 6 different conventions within a music video, these being:

1)  A relationship between the lyrics and the visuals, which illustrate, amplify or contradict the lyrics.

The music video Stan, by Eminem is a perfect example of the lyrics and visuals having a strong relationship and amplifying the theme and genre of the song. The lyrics are a personal message from a fan towards Eminem expressing his emotions towards the artist, this fans is called Stan and Eminem takes on this ego when singing this song. It shows how stans life is turning upside down due to his obsession with Eminem, through both the visuals and the lyrics.

2) Thought beats: seeing the sounds (the relationship between the music and the visuals, which illustrate, amplify or contradict the music.)

The video Stan , also supports Goodwins theory as the sound is in sync with the visuals, as it is a slow paced, emotional and personal scenes and lyrics which amplify the music 

3)Genre-related style and iconography present.

 Using Stan again, it is evident that the theme and style of the song is generally being represented, as it is an emotional, dark and depressing song, which is connoted through the visuals, acting and the lighting. However, the video goes against the typical stereotypes of rap and hip hop music as usually the stereotype is that artists in this genre are seen as gangsters with lots of money, flashy items, and women who adore them, so in this sense it makes this hip hop video very distinctive and unique.

4)Multiple close-ups of the main artist or vocalist: the creation of a star image to promote a recognizable brand image.

This video definitely supports this as Stan's emotions are expressed through facial expression in close ups. However, I would not say it promotes a recognizable artist image as it is not the artist who is the main protagonist, yes Eminem does play a part in the video, but the character Stan is a lot more recognizable, so close ups have not particularly been used in production sense, but in more of a narrative and expressive way.

5) Voyeurism

Voyerism is the idea of using imagery, angles and visuals to make a person appeal in a sexual way. For example, a typical stereotype in hip hop videos are that women are sexual objects, and the males are usually the predominant figure, and supporting Mulvey's theory of the male gaze. The video Stan completely goes against this as the female in the video is not presented in a sexual way. However, she is represented as having less importance than the main figure Stan, and is represented as a pest and an annoyance to him.

6) Intertexual references to other media texts may be present, especially in humorous videos.

It is a very stand alone and individual video, and does not include any individual references