Afrika Shox
-Artist/ Leftfield ft. Afrika Bambaataa
-Track/ Afrika Shox
-Genre/ Electronic, Acid House, Dupstep, Hip Hop, Noir, Dance,
-Released/ 6th September 1999
-Directed/ Chris Cunningham
Lighting
- Noir lighting is used to imply that the dim and faded life of the black man as he is struggling to cope with his life and is slowly starting to suffer in the streets of New York, the lighting also links to the representation of chiaroscura lighting to imply the noir into the music genre effectively.
- At the beginning of the music video there is a police car i which it appears to have its lights flashing, this connotes a club/rave like effect which links in with the genre of the track which is dance and dupstep which are all associated with party themes.
- The track in itself is designed to make people dance too which the music videos incorporates with the lighting, flashing lights are used to continue the effect of a dance club to keep the genre of the track alive, the lights symbol the way people would dance in a club to this song.
Mise en Scene
- The police car in the beginning connotes that the area that the music video is shot in is a place of violence and corruption, the surrounding area looks like a nightmare and shows that the lead character is struggling and loosing power to the city. It portrays a sense of destruction the black man as he is being ripped apart from the city, like he's no longer apart of society.
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- The lead role wears a dog tag which implies that he has served in the American military and from this we can interoperate that he is a returning veteran from the Vietnam war which is established from the time the video was set and New York suggests the period in which it welcomed the return of the soldiers from the war including the black man who has been mistreated and seen as an outsider of society due to the failure of the war to bring back victory from the American Citizens. Another interpretation could be that he's a metaphor for slavery and he is looked down upon by middle class white people and is seen as someone who doesn't deserve the same respect and a chance at life as they do. This can be reinforced by the fact that throughout the music video pieces of this body start to fall off which suggests that he is loosing his confidence and place as a human being. The stereotype of a black person suggests that fear is placed into the eyes of the white people which includes the genre horror into the music video, it neglect from society that he is seen as a danger and a possible nuisance.
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- In the car park there are white street dancers that appear to be dancing to music with a stereo, this links in with the idea of the genre of the music video being Hip Hop and dance themed. The dancing originates from black children who enjoyed this certain type of dance and suggests that the lead characters' identity is being stolen and doesn't have any other identity so he is being corrupted by the city until he is no longer.
- The car park in which the black male walks through connotes the alienation which shows isolation which again, shows the world he is living in is separate from him as a human being and there is no help being received from anyone outside of his situation. The lead character is a binary opposite to the white man reading the newspaper through status and power that the white man possesses. It shows there is racial tension, lack of respect and inequality between the two men and that consists as a theme through the entire music video of the racial equality in New York City.
Camera Shots
- The first shot is a low angle/establishing location shot of the twin towers which suggests the wealth, status and power of the city, with the black character on ground level looking up at the tall buildings suggesting the immense power white people have over him. It also shows how different ethnicity is and how dominant they each are shown over each other, it implies that he is stuck at the bottom of the chain looking up at the other dominate figures.
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- A panning shot is used to show the bowels of New York which shows the place where he belongs, this scene is an intertexual to The Third Man when Harry Lime is in the sewers which are darkened and claustrophobic.
- There is a close up at 00:41 - 00:49 to show how disorientated the man is about being lost in the big city, it reinforces the struggle that he finds coping after returning from Vietnam.
Lyrics to Visuals Goodwin's Theory
- One of Goodwin's most famous theories is that the lyrics need to link with the visuals and in the music video the stand out lyric to visual was "Lets get electrified', that being the lyric and the visual when the black character touches the electric fence. The electric fence symbolizes him being trapped in the city and not being able to escape, like a prisoner, it links to the idea of being a prisoner of war. It could also connote that he is trapped in his own body in the sense of facing up to the harsh reality, another could be that everyone not just him are slaves, trapped inside rules and opinions of others.
- The electric fence is also a symbol of imprisonment, normally to stop people or animals that are seen as a threat to humans from hurting or endangering them. This suggests that he is seen as a threat to other human beings and is trapped from re-entering society. Middle class white people feel that he is a liability and he is seen as a danger so they make him feel isolated by refusing to give help and ignoring him.
Genre to Visual and Lyrics
- Another of Goodwin's theories of music videos are that genre characteristics with visuals which is when shots and mise en scene are used in the music video e.g. the police cars with the flashing lights used to imply the hip hop and dupstep genre of the song.
Intertextuality
- New York is seen as a dystopia in the music video and it also can be linked in with Carol Reed's 'The Third Man'. A dystopia is a place that looks like a degraded environment and feels like a nightmare, Vienna feels the same way New York is portrayed in the sense of post war and a city full of danger. The genre of noir also links in with 'The Third Man' because there is use of chiaroscura lighting in scenes in which black and white are shown.
- The beginning of Once upon a Time is an intertextual reference in Afrika Shox because the music video is seen to be very dark and mysterious, bleak and somewhat a devastating environment to be in. This is similar to the film when Eve was killed right at the start of the film when the American streets were seen to be dystopia and damaged.
- Within the video (3:12) there is a reference to colonialism where white dancers are seen to be dancing in a particular fashion (Freestyle) which indicates that the white dancers have stolen the black stereotype's dance moves. The stereotype derives from when black kids used to dance in the streets of New York, by this time the lead character stumbles over to the dances and a piece of his arm smashes to the ground which connotes that a piece of his heritage and stereotype for the dancing has been destroyed and he feels less significant with the lack of power he feels over the dancers.
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