Textual analysis (Alice Cooper's 'Poison' 1989)

Focus: Hall's reception theory.

The Dominant meaning gathered from Cooper's entrance is of gothic design. Gothic iconography is quite clear the shape of the door way and the dark colours with the light blue mist emphasising the dark colour of his own clothes.
However, his entrance is in opposition to the general pop genre of music prevalent in the 1980's and adopts a darker theme that is more common in the 1990's.

The Dominant meaning we might gather from Cooper staring directly at the camera is that he is imposing the macabre feeling of the video upon the audience as if seeping through the screen into the surrounding area.
This is in direct opposition of the typical 80's genre as it is directly opposed to the general dance-rock and pop-rock of that era.
A Negotiated meaning is that it could be one of the heralds of the 90's era of music which was more dark and centred around grunge and punk, due to it's close proximity to the 90's.

In this scene we see Cooper walking amongst chains in an almost dungeon like scenario, this could portray a sense of imprisonment and no escape as it's Dominant meaning.
This is in direct opposition with the general light, upbeat pop music of the 80's as it emphasises a dark, gothic style.

The Dominant meaning that can be taken away from this shot, and coopers posture, is a sense of hopelessness and despair as the strength to live wanes with loss.
This is in obvious opposition to the hyper, lively theme of the 1980s which emphasises bright happy music, which this is clearly not.


















It could be negotiated that this song is one that heralded the coming of 90's music with it's mixture of dark colours and setting, for example, despite the relatively light blue, in comparison to the other colours, used in the background, it still appears artificial and unnatural in nature.

Textual analysis (Music video older than yourself)

Bonjovi: you give love a bad name (Mise-en-scene and camera)

The video begins as the camera fades in onto a horde of screaming fans, this emphasises that they have a lot of fans whereas the screaming shows that the crowd is almost fanatical in their support of the band.

The entrance of the band is flashy and ostentatious and plays off of the crowds desperation to see/hear the band, and presents the band in an exciting manner as opposed to them walking on stage, the fireworks are clearly the main focus in the shot as to draw the audience's eye away from the band, making the band's appearance more surprising, electrifying the crowd further. This shot is a low angle shot and shows the band standing above the crowd whilst both the band and the crowd take up the shot in equal measure.

The camera is at a slight low-angle shot emphasising that both the crowd and the viewer look up to Bonjovi as well as his importance to the band. The way he stands shows him as theatrical and flamboyant, this is emphasised by him taking up almost the entirety of the shot aside from the one band member to the camera's left. The fact he is also pointing to the camera can also be interpreted as breaking the 4th wall and is performing for those who are not there as much as for the crowd who are.

In this shot, Bonjovi is seen twirling the stand that the microphone was attached to, again, this is an ostentatious display of vainglory. However, this could also be something to excite the crowd as showy moves are often done for the crowd's benefit to keep them excited and focused on the performance.

This medium shot shows both Bonjovi and the crowd. Bonjovi is seen directly facing the audience, addressing them personally. The crowd themselves can be seen reacting to this, as confirmed by the fan scrambling over the other fans to get closer to the stage. Somehow, neither ardent or fanatical can describe the crowd.




In conclusion, the band are shown as ostentatious and extravagant in their actions and movement as well as just about anything they did on stage, and the crowd cheer all the more because of it, validating the success of said theatrics.