Being part of the alternative genre, the music video for Blink 182 ‘First
Date’ enlists the uses of various codes and conventions indicative of the
genre. It is narrative as well as performance based; this is because humorous
narratives make up part of the band’s signature as well as engaging the
audience an making the music video more memorable. A long shot also adds to the
band signature because the audience is able to see the band as a whole. This
allows us to see the iconography such as instruments and microphones which
suggest that the genre is alternative as well as giving an indication that the
band members are dressed as characters and also links the performance with the
narrative. 
Having close ups as well as dialogue at the beginning of the music video sets up the
narrative because it suggests that the characters are people that do what they
want and don’t really care, which can be seen as humorous as well as rebellious
and also typical of this genre. It is also seen during the music video where two
of the band members stick up their middle fingers to a young girl and so we see
this rebellious behaviour throughout the music video. Fast paced editing has
been used to match the speed of the music as well as having the visuals pause to
show the end of the verse and then the beginning of the chorus when the visuals
begin to start again. 
The music also pauses as a guy hits the ball with a base ball as an
amplified sound of the ball hitting the bat is played. The music continues
after the girl flies off her bike and scrapes along the floor. This is so that
the audience is either shocked or amused by this and so it engages the
audience. We also see a worm’s eye view of the bat flying in the air and so
this creates an enigma code because it leaves the audience in suspense and wondering
where the bat will go. Having a small empty room is popular locations within
alternative music videos as you are able to have the whole band perform and
they will be the main focus of each shot.
The music video has been edited so that it appears quite dated as it is
set in 1974 this gives it more dated feel to it. The use of medium close ups
focuses on a woman’s body where their heads are not in shot. This creates
the idea of sexualisation as well as the voyeuristic element. The use of slow
motion as the band gets out of the campervan creates a false kind of celebrity
status because they think that they are popular when actually they are not. The
slow motion highlights the fact that he falls out of the campervan because at
normal speed the audience may miss it and it also allows us to see his facial
expression as he hits the floor and so this makes it funnier for the audience. 
Slow motion has been used along with a close up to increase sexual
tension as the woman turns around and looks at the band. This then leads to
eyeline match because we see in turn the reaction of each band member. This
creates the sense that the woman is attractive as well as creating humour as
the band is relating to the sight of the woman. There is also an Intertextual
reference as the characters appear to be dressed up as ‘The Bee Gees’. This is done through slow motion and a fan,
which gives an airbrushed and celebrity effect. By doing this it creates a
humorous image for the audience because of the thought of these rebellious and
immature individuals being legendary artist is amusing for the audience. 
The music video ends with conclusions about what has happened to the
characters. This has been added to give an extra bit of humour to the music
video and makes it memorable for the audience because they are more likely to
remember an interesting ending. The music video for ‘First Date’ is effective
because it keeps the audience engaged throughout the music video with the
comical narrative and codes and conventions within the genre.
No comments:
Post a Comment