Andrew Goodwin

Alanis Morissette- ‘You Oughta Know’

Within this essay I hope to evaluate Andrew Goodwin (1992) and his theory regarding ‘how to analyse music videos’. His theory consists of five different elements. Firstly he suggests that we should look at the beat of the music itself. Within Alanis Morissette’s music video ‘You Oughta Know’ the artist voice is represented as extremely unique. This forms an identification, creating a star image, which the audience find easy to connect with. This allows the music video to become more appealing to the audience. This music video is additionally focusing on the performance rather than the narrative within the video.

His second analyses element consists of evaluating the narrative and performance within a video. In regards to this video, Alanis is constantly walking through the desert and changes outfits from black to white. Moreover the song fails to give a complete narrative, ultimately leaving the audience to decide what is truly happening. Alanis is additionally shown throughout the whole video (acting as bothy the narrator and the participant). However we don’t get a complete image of her face suggesting that there is an element of mystery. This helps to draw the audience in further. This acts as his third element to his theory whereby music videos have a ‘star image’.

His fourth element to his theory analyses the reaction of visuals to the song, this is done through illustrating, amplifying or disjunction. Within the music video the use of ‘amplify’ is used. Alanis’s image is repeatedly used throughout the video to create atmosphere and ultimately help to capture the audience.

The final element to his theory is the technical aspects within a music video. Throughout this music video a range of close ups and frequent cuts are used to create atmosphere and emphases the motif behind the music video. Mise-en-scene is additionally used to create meaning and suggest an edgy feel to the video which matches its genre. Moreover engaging the audience further. In conclusion by using Andrew Goodwin’s theory, we can analyse music videos in more depth and begin to determine why particular features were incorporated into the music video.