Case Study: Media Language

Leftfield/ Afrika Shox

Information about the songThe song is by Leftfield featuring Afrika Bambaataa.

Leftfield is a British electronic project created in the 1990’s created electronic and progressive house music. The word ‘leftfield’ has political connotations. The Left Field was first designed to promote left wing politics (Labour and trade unionism). It travelled to festivals and showcased political comedians such as Mark Thomas and Tony Benn, as well as left wing musicians like Billy Bragg.

The song got to no. 7 in the UK charts and was used in the 2001 soundtrack of ‘Vanilla Sky’ which was a romantic comedy starring Tom Cruise.

Bambaataa has also done other black-racial songs such as “Zulu Groove”, “Zulu War Chant”, & “Zulu Nation Throwdown”.

Behind the music videoIt was directed by Chris Cunningham so has close ties to Warp Records, and is primarily known for music videos for electronic music such as Aphex Twin.

He has also designed many album art works for musicians.

In the Aphex Twin music video for “Come to Daddy” the same urban environment is used. This motif in his music videos emphasises the freakish and bizarre within our society and creates them in a nightmarish concept that the audience can watch.

Album artwork for

Aphex Twin by Chris Cunningham

Stills from Aphex Twin “Come to Daddy” directed by Chris Cunningham

Andrew Goodwin’s Theory

Goodwin wrote a book called 'Dancing in the distraction factory' where he outlined the 6 main characteristics of a music video.

He also made 3 different categories that all music videos fit into:

Illustration: The video illustrates the song, the images derive from the lyrics

Amplification: The video adds extra meaning to the song meaning doesn't relate to lyrics

Disjuncture: The video has no apparent link to the lyrics at all

The 6 main characteristics of a music video

1.Genre characteristics The song’s genre is mainly electronic, hip hop or dance. The pulsing rhythm of the song dips in and out, in a repetitive pattern to set a pace for the song. The vocals are spoken rather than sung in a chanting tone which is monotone and robotic sounding. The concept of hip hop music started in New York with young people trying to break down racial barriers by singing and dancing. Electronic music started at the end of the 19th century, but became more well known and diversely used in the 1940’s and 50’s where artists could use magnetic audio tapes to record the music. Electronic music then became part of pop culture. Mainstream artists like David Bowie, Madonna and Duran Duran were using conventions of the electronic style in their music. By the 21st century, electronic is the mainstream pop culture with artists such as Katy Perry, Beyonce, David Guetta and Calvin Harris all defying

2. There is a relationship between lyrics and visualsWhen the word “Africa” is spoken, the African American protagonist looks up to the sky. It could suggest that he’s looking up and metaphorically at his past and culture. Throughout the narrative of the video, White Americans, sit and stare as he stumbles past. It suggests that because of the main character's ethnicity, he is ignored by society.

Furthermore, the lyric “let’s get electrified” is said, the cripple touches the fence. It suggests that he is trapped in this dystopian, bleak environment and a society in which he doesn’t fit in. The lyric also signifies the electronic style of music; electronic through the shouting of “electrified.”

The lyrics “Z.U.L.U that’s how we say we say Zulu, Zulu Nation, City of Angels”. The Zulu tribe are based in Africa, mainly in South Africa. They wear traditional clothing such as necklaces and head-wear as well as carrying staffs or javelin shaped weapon. It suggests that the Zulu’s are a community like family which look out for each other. The lyrics are contradict the visuals as the cripple walks alone with no help. In the second screenshot below, the artist Afrika Bambaataa plays the hero in the video as he is the only one that helps the crippled man. He wears similar traditional dresswear as a Zulu warrior such as the staff and necklace, but also a hood and long black coat which is a more westernised way of dressing. It is a stereotypical and conventional way of dressing in relation to the hip hop artists of the time wearing similar clothing. It shows that the two backgrounds of the music video: African culture of Zulus and the culture of Hip Hop: it conforms the two styles together.

3. There is a relationship between music and visualsThe built up urban environment of New York for the

setting of the music video relates perfectly to the hip-electronic culture and where it originated from. The harsh concrete, geometric shapes coincides with the harsh mechanical momentum of the music.

The genre of the music was created by a mainly African American culture in New York. Break-dancing and Rapping originated from Hip Hop and spread to a more wide culture; not just African Americans. In the Breakdancing scene in the music video, White males are dancing to supposedly the music the audience can hear. It shows the audience that Hip-Hop and electronic music is now apart of the main pop culture and is made for a mainstream audience.

4. It reinforces the stars image, close ups and motifsCunningham uses monstrous and shocking imagery to challenge the opinions of the mainstream and how we function in society. The artist is only shown at the end, but rather an unknown male protagonist. The whole narrative of the story starts with the man emerging from the dark alleyway and walking round the city. Close ups were used to show the pain in the protagonists face as he was hurt by society's choices and actions. They are also used to show other people’s reactions to the man. It not only shows how society looks at African Americans but how they look at a disabled person. This music video tackles the stereotypical views of our modern age society.

5. Using intertextual referencesThe architecture of the setting used in the music video is instantly recognisable as New York with the yellow cabs and tall skyscrapers. This urban environment is intertextual to the Fritz Lang film “Metropolis” which also gives a bleak, dystopian look on the world. The city is built on inequality with the exploitation of power and greed which leads to Fascism. The tall buildings in both “Metropolis” and Afrika Shox are intended to entrap the characters, making the city a claustrophobic environment. The second screenshot below is at the start of the music video and shows this entrapment. Because the music video is set in New York, there is the intertextual signifier of the Twin Towers. A similar photo of the second screenshot is of the Twin Towers in the third screenshot. It could imply that the building shown in the music video is the building used in the music video. The Twin Towers symbolises power and wealth, just like “Metropolis”.