COMM 333: Chapter 5 - Style

From Why I [Still] Want My MTV - Williams

"Videos can be interpreted in terms of patriarchy and capitalism; as within the purview of  contemporary myth and ideology." -Williams p.95


Style is a massive labyrinth that we can all judge the workmanship and concepts behind it while keeping the subjective process of being the audience. The originators message can be vastly misinterpreted depending on the "contemporary." Some are timeless struggles that can be felt through the ages but others are simply a telling of the times. Creativity and style go hand in hand with the central thoughts of pastiche as we take something that was retro and conform it into the modern ideal.

With each new generation of music video there are new concepts and old concepts. Some are way out there in terms of their content but that does not diminish their artistic integrity to create them as they are. As with the Erasure video we find a strange and on some level disturbing vision while at the same time it intrigues the mind into asking, "Why?" Do we have a right answer? Not really as we can't fully tell the artist's thought process from the abstract representations. 

"Rhymes may be implemented less for meaning than for sound." (Williams p.109)

In the sense of style and how it has changed over the years ambiguity is where all music thrives in the contemporary. Rock no longer holds the banner for this style choice as many other genres have taken to using the same for their lyrics and imagery. To keep the audience guessing and to not necessarily give them all the answers is also a trick most writers use today, as it stirs the feelings of the audience driving a need for more and in some cases allows them to mentally create their own content.

Style allows for many things, but in the end it ultimately allows for a true connection between the audience and the creator. Music given a life and theme to it, gather a following that love the style and message they interpret from the content, it all goes so well with the ideal MTV originally put out in the beginning. Self-promoting advertisement.