Textual Analysis of Devo-Beautiful World Part 1

Textual analysis for Devo-Beautiful World
The clip opens with close up of a control panel being toyed with, by some unseen character, this is synchronized with the synth beats denoting to the audience that the videos is for a synth-pop/new wave band, furthering this point id the fact that the control panel itself does look like a synth; given the look of it, it's use of bright colours (blues, reds) and lights is evocative of '50s atomic age sci-fi, the video uses this iconography throughout the video to mock the '50s idealized view of the world.

The video then cuts to close up shots of flowers blossoming in time-lapse (and in time with the rise of the synth beats) , this creates connotations of growth, innocence and new beginnings, this all fits in with the audience's preconceptions of what an ideal world is and is therefore used (as most of the footage is in the video) to create this conventional view of a "beautiful world"- this is playing on a superficial interpretation of the song's lyrics to play with the audience's conceptions , though this is later subverted by use of harsher imagery (with the common theme of war, death and intolerance) that is used to challenge this idealized view of the world as the sardonic nature of the song is made all the more clear; this could be seen as an attack on the way the media represents the world around us (these images are after all shown via a large TV), and the rejection of reality in favor of an artificial idealized representation.

The opening of the video also introduces the character of Booji Boy to the audience, by way of a medium close up, the fact that the character is edited between the clips, and seems to react to them makes it clear that he is meant to be an audience cipher, this point is further strengthened by the way he seems to control the images via the panel (shown here by the lever he pulls), this is a reflection of how the audience would be viewing the video. In keeping with Goodwin's theory on the conventions of music videos, it is also creating a star image that is recognizable to the audience.

These two shots of flowers blooming in close up again carry on this "call and response" editing between Booji Boy and the screen images; the use of colour carries on the running theme of the mise-en-scène, that being of pastel colours, which connote a sense of happiness, but whilst also being artificial. By framing them in close ups in the center of the frame, it makes it the focus of the shot, this is heightened by the shallow depth of field which renders the background in decipherable- this could be read as encapsulating the message of the video and song, that being with something pretty in the fore, it is distracting us from what is going on in the background.

Also, in the second shot, featuring the flower releasing white buds that take over the screen, this is then used as a graphic match to a shot of rolling clouds.

Cinematography wise, the shot pulls back from the image of the clouds to reveal the set, this creates the idea of pulling back ans looking at the whole image, this is central to the message of the song.
The mise-en-scene, both alludes to the band's recently released album at the time ("New Traditionalists"), by way of incorporating Roman pillars in the background of the video- these recur in the other videos supporting this album, almost forming a motif throughout them; this is then conforming to Roy Shuker's 2001 theory, stating that music videos are "promotional devices" used to encourage record sales. Though given the way in which the video is presented, it lends itself more to being a far more artistic venture, given the nature of message of the video, the sardonic nature of the lyrics and the general way it is delivered (via archival footage)- this would then put as a conceptual clip in Sven E Carlsson's (1999) types of music video- this is shown in the music video in the mise-en-scene by the use of pastel colours which are put into direct juxtaposition with the black and white visuals on the monitor. This is used by the video to contrast the initial idyllic view of the world that is presented, with that of the hate and intolerance that is shown in the video later.
It also introduces the idea of Gerald Casale being a televised bard, guiding us through the plethora of images, using the song's lyrics to provide some context.

The next shot is a closer shot of the monitor, this focuses on Gerald Casale as a televised bard; his positioning makes him appear to be talking directly to Booji Boy (looking to the left of the screen), before making a direct address towards us while stating "it's a beautiful world" (breaking the forth wall). His hand movements during the sequence reprise the imagery of the opening, that of flowers in bloom, creating connotations of the happiness and new beginnings, but it could also be seen as drawing the viewers attention to the images that appear on screen- which is '50s stock footage of women and leisure; this almost seems as though it is criticizing the use of the male gaze and women as stock items in other videos.

The Booji Boy character moves in time with the lyric "for you", this further stresses the breaking if the forth wall and directly addressing the audience. He also pulls down on the lever in time with the synth beat, this again links back to the mechanical nature of the music production.