Applying Goodwins Theory to Echosmiths Come Together music videoBilly Clayton

Genre Characteristics Echosmith are an American Indie-Pop band based in Los Angeles (pictured above). Because of the genre of the track, the video contains common characteristics of Indie-Pop music videos such as the locations. The video for Come Together is set in a modern American high school and cuts between shots of the band performing in the gym, running in the hallways and sitting in detention; an easily achievable location without a large budget, much alike the locations of Indie-Synthpop artist Charli XCXs music video for Break The Rules (pictured below) set in an American high school playing field, gym and school bus. Echosmiths music video also puts focus onto the bands use of live instruments which reinforces the common characteristic of Indie bands use of live instruments.

Relationship between lyrics & visuals As soon as the music video begins, a short narrative takes place in which the lead singer sits in what appears to be her fathers car and says I cant believe I have to be here on a Saturday which then cuts to a shot of a detention notice stuck on the school door which reads the names of the band members; an instant link of lyrics to visuals. Next, the first verse opens with Here we are with our backs against the wall as the band are shown arriving at detention facing away from a large bookcase. When the chorus arrives, the lyrics We are gonna come together, we are gonna run together now are repeated multiple times throughout the song and create the overall message of social activity that rebels against the rules. This directly links to the various shots of the band joining one-another in the classrooms and running together in the hallways.

Relationship between music & visuals There are many shots in the video that have been cleverly edited to match the pace of the track itself. When the lead singer gets out of the car to enter the school, the track instantly begins the second she opens the door, synchronising with the drum beat. Between 0:32 and 0.35, the individual shots of the band members sat in the detention seats are synchronised to change with each guitar chord, creating a consistent flow of music to visuals. This technique is then repeated between 1:07 and 1:09 when the lyrics We are, we are, we are play, the band members reactions to their teacher are shown with each we are. Overall, in every performance scene, the band are dancing on time with the track as well as the scene in which the teacher begins to do a Ballet style dance in time with the slowest part of the song.

Visual Style Like almost every other music video, a large amount of close ups are used to display the artists in a specific way. In this music video, the lead singer is represented via close ups of her face and focus on her red lips, her legs and her shoes. Many of these shots can be considered voyeuristic which refers to the sexual please of looking. This is due to the fact that she is being observed by the much older teacher who appears to sit down and hitch up his trousers whilst holding a stare at the female lead singer at 0:51 and again at 1:01 when he smirks in her direction before quickly turning to frown at the males in the room as if he has forgotten hes not alone with the girl. The lead singer being the only female in the music video may also suggest male dominance which begins to objectify her as something to observe. There are also multiple close ups of the other band members but shown with their instruments or educational equipment, setting the mise-en-scene as that of talent and intelligence. In the females case, she is portrayed in a contrasting negative manner as she sits with her phone, her nail file and a makeup bag which implies that females are air-heads who only take pride in appearance.

Intertextual references in Come Together The music video for Come Together can be compared to The Breakfast Club (1985) due to its setting in an American high school which focuses on five students who meet in detention and befriend one-another. The visuals of the band dancing on the stairs and running in the hallways are also very similar to the shots found in The Breakfast Club. Another intertextual reference would be the very popular and controversial 20th century novel Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov. This novel revolves around a thirty-eight year old literature professor called Humbert Humbert who becomes obsessed with a twelve year old named Dolores Haze who he later becomes sexually involved with. This can be linked to Come Together as the teacher in this music video displays a high fascination with the female singer in a voyeuristic manner.

Comparing Come Together to Africa Shoxx The audience for Come Together by Echosmith would be 16-24 year old white males and females from America, Canada, the UK and other European countries interested in Indie-Pop, electropop and bands that fit into these categories. This is because the main demographic for the Indie-pop genre, Pop specifically is made up of white people from the ages of 8 24. I also estimated this because of the group members themselves who are stylised to a level that the audience would achievably stylise themselves. The music video for Come Together represents the USA as a brightly-lit, teenage movie orientated positive atmosphere. In comparison, the audience for Africa Shoxx by Leftfield would be 24-38 year old black and white males (primarily) from the UK, America and Africa who have interests in electronic, urban, hip-hop and industrial music. This is once again based on the representations shown in the music video i.e a black man surrounded by working and upper class white business men. The music video for Africa Shoxx represents the USA to be a dull, dark dystopian environment that encourages judgement and seperation between the races.